Lecture Notes: Managing Stress and Decision-Making

Introduction

• Personal story of breaking into own house during a cold Montreal winter.
• Highlighted the stress and resulting poor decision-making due to cortisol release.

Incident Breakdown

• Circumstances of Incident:
  • Midnight, -40 degrees (Celsius/Fahrenheit).
  • Forgotten keys inside the house.
  • Attempted to call a locksmith but worried about time and temperature.
  • Broke into the house through a basement window.
• Next morning:
  • Realized passport was also left behind, leading to a frantic rush to the airport.
  • Ended up with a poor seat on the flight due to the delay.

Reflection on Stress and Decision-Making

• Acknowledged the impact of cortisol on thinking and decision-making during stressful situations.
• Realized the need for systems to prevent or minimize future mistakes.

Concept of Pre-Mortem

• Definition:
  • A method of looking ahead to identify potential problems before they occur, as explained by Danny Kahneman.
  • Contrast with a post-mortem, which analyzes what went wrong after a disaster.
• Application of Pre-Mortem:
  • Identify what could go wrong and how to mitigate risks.

Practical Applications at Home

• Organizational Tips:
  • Designate specific places for easily lost items (keys, passport, etc.).
  • Leverage the hippocampus for better spatial memory.
• Travel Tips:
  • Take cell phone pictures of important documents and store them in the cloud for easy access.

Medical Decision-Making

• Example:
  • Discussing cholesterol management and the importance of understanding the number needed to treat (NNT).
  • NNT Definition: The number of patients that need to be treated for one to benefit from the treatment.
• Statistical Insight:
  • Statins: NNT of 300; only 1 in 300 might benefit from treatment.
  • Side effects can affect 5% of users, creating a risk-reward scenario.

Importance of Informed Decision-Making

• Key Questions for Patients:
  • Ask about NNT and side effects to understand the risks involved in treatments.
  • Engage in discussions about treatment plans and quality of life considerations.

Conclusion

• Recognize personal flaws in decision-making under stress.
• Importance of proactively setting up systems to avoid failures.
• Personal example of installing a combination lock for future access to keys.
• Emphasis on gradual organization and improvement process.

Final Thoughts

• Acknowledgment of ongoing challenges with organization but commitment to improvement.

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Thank you for listening!