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- The Common Sense of Drinking (1930)
The Common Sense of Drinking (1930)
- By Misc Author
- Published 01/2/2007
- Alcohol
-
Rating:
What sort of people reach this unfortunate condition and by what route?
It is interesting -- if somewhat disheartening for the purposes of determining causes -- to note that the group which may be designated as "pathologically alcoholic " comprises persons from all walks of life, reared under the most varied conditions and undergoing the most diverse experiences.
Racially, we might say that the Slavs, Teutons, and Anglo-Saxons are less able to control their consumption of alcohol than the Latins and Orientals, even though we should of course expect individual exceptions to the rule.
Geographically, those living in the cooler climates seem more disposed to abuse liquor than those situated nearer the equator, though for some peculiar reason northerners who move south are apt to drink more than anybody else.
The idea suggests itself that, inasmuch as drinking can be reduced to terms of nervous instability, it tends to be predominant among those who have a larger surplus of easily stimulated nervous energy and hence feel the need of something that in the last analysis soothes far more than it elates.
When we investigate any particular group, we find the most strikingly contrasted persons succumbing to excessive drinking.
The rich and the poor, the highly intellectual and the ignorant, the frail and the robust, the shy and the apparently bold, the worried and the seemingly carefree, all furnish their quota of inebriates.
We find that this unhappy group includes people of accomplishment as well as those who achieve nothing, the religious and the unbeliever, those with an interest in life and those without one, those who love and are loved, and those who are alone in the world.
Among all these opposites and the many that come between we find a relatively small percentage, but a large actual number, whose nervous system cannot withstand alcohol in any quantity whatsoever.
While there are enough apparently confident and successful individuals who succumb to alcoholism to make impossible any hard and fast limitations to a particular type of personality, still the large majority of cases are found among those who are shy, egocentric, and shut in.
Jung has designated these people as introverts. They are ably described by Dr. Abraham Myerson in his book, The Foundations of Personality: "There are relatively normal types of the heavy drinker -- the socially minded and the hard manual worker. But there is a large group of those who find in alcohol a relief from the burden of their moods, who find in its real effect the release from inhibitions, a reason for drinking beyond the reach of reason."
"And so men with certain types of temperament, or with unhappy experiences, form the alcoholic habit because it gives them surcease from pain; it deals out to them, temporarily, a new world with happier mood, lessened tension, and greater success."
"Seeking relief from distressing thoughts and moods is perhaps one of the main causes of the narcotic habit. The feeling of inferiority, one of the most painful of mental conditions, is responsible for the use not only of alcohol but also of other drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, morphine, etc." [The italics are mine.]
It is interesting -- if somewhat disheartening for the purposes of determining causes -- to note that the group which may be designated as "pathologically alcoholic " comprises persons from all walks of life, reared under the most varied conditions and undergoing the most diverse experiences.
Racially, we might say that the Slavs, Teutons, and Anglo-Saxons are less able to control their consumption of alcohol than the Latins and Orientals, even though we should of course expect individual exceptions to the rule.
Geographically, those living in the cooler climates seem more disposed to abuse liquor than those situated nearer the equator, though for some peculiar reason northerners who move south are apt to drink more than anybody else.
The idea suggests itself that, inasmuch as drinking can be reduced to terms of nervous instability, it tends to be predominant among those who have a larger surplus of easily stimulated nervous energy and hence feel the need of something that in the last analysis soothes far more than it elates.
When we investigate any particular group, we find the most strikingly contrasted persons succumbing to excessive drinking.
The rich and the poor, the highly intellectual and the ignorant, the frail and the robust, the shy and the apparently bold, the worried and the seemingly carefree, all furnish their quota of inebriates.
We find that this unhappy group includes people of accomplishment as well as those who achieve nothing, the religious and the unbeliever, those with an interest in life and those without one, those who love and are loved, and those who are alone in the world.
Among all these opposites and the many that come between we find a relatively small percentage, but a large actual number, whose nervous system cannot withstand alcohol in any quantity whatsoever.
While there are enough apparently confident and successful individuals who succumb to alcoholism to make impossible any hard and fast limitations to a particular type of personality, still the large majority of cases are found among those who are shy, egocentric, and shut in.
Jung has designated these people as introverts. They are ably described by Dr. Abraham Myerson in his book, The Foundations of Personality: "There are relatively normal types of the heavy drinker -- the socially minded and the hard manual worker. But there is a large group of those who find in alcohol a relief from the burden of their moods, who find in its real effect the release from inhibitions, a reason for drinking beyond the reach of reason."
"And so men with certain types of temperament, or with unhappy experiences, form the alcoholic habit because it gives them surcease from pain; it deals out to them, temporarily, a new world with happier mood, lessened tension, and greater success."
"Seeking relief from distressing thoughts and moods is perhaps one of the main causes of the narcotic habit. The feeling of inferiority, one of the most painful of mental conditions, is responsible for the use not only of alcohol but also of other drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, morphine, etc." [The italics are mine.]
