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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:
From what has been said thus far it might be gathered that prolonged sprees lasting from two days to several weeks are the only form of drinking to be considered pathological and hence in need of formal curative measures.
While this type of reaction is the most conspicuous, it is by no means the only manifestation of the fact that alcohol has disintegrated a man psychologically.
In the first place there is the partial or potential drunkard who follows out the procedure of the individual outlined above part of the time, and the other part seems to drink in a fairly normal manner.
If he is not slowly but surely increasing his dosage, he is at least rather uncertain of the outcome of any given alcoholic occasion, and as a result he keeps those who are dependent on him in a perpetual state of anxiety.
His problem, if he wishes to stop his habit, is easier in one way than that of the out-and-out inebriate, because alcohol has not entirely absorbed his attention, but it is more difficult in another, because heroic measures do not seem to him to be so imperative and his tendency to rationalize on his ability to control himself has enough truth in it to prevent him from making a sincere effort.
He is a drunkard every so often and a social drinker the rest of the time, but except as an aftermath of a disastrous occasion he bolsters up his self-esteem by thinking of himself as a social drinker, and it sometimes takes a genuine catastrophe to bring him to his senses.
Then there is the man who restricts his indulgence to the social event where it started, but who, during this time, runs amuck either habitually or at unexpected intervals.
He may develop a maniacal viciousness which seriously menaces all who cross his path, or he may, with the best intentions in the world, perform insane acts which endanger himself and those about him.
It is indeed far from unknown for an apparently mild person to commit a murder in a drunken rage without the slightest provocation, without, needless to say, premeditation, and without any remembrance of what he has done after he sobers up.
I knew a man who for no apparent reason developed a streak of madness while under the influence of alcohol which led him to run his horse full gallop at an eight-foot stone wall, killing the animal and all but killing himself.
This extreme sort of behavior in certain individuals may occur regularly until death or the law intervenes, or it may come infrequently "out of the blue" as it were; in which case a certain amount of luck may permit the offender "to get away with it" for some time.
As a matter of fact this horseman acted normally under the influence of drink a large proportion of the time, but occasionally he became temporarily insane, and at those times nobody knew what he would do -- least of all himself.
Alcoholic indulgence for this type of person is a more dangerous activity than it is for many out-and-out inebriates.
Of a similar nature, but to a modified degree, are the people who, while not actually dangerous, are morose, disagreeable, or disgusting, so that they make enemies, while drinking, through their slanderous remarks or vulgarity.
As often as not these people are perfectly pleasant and gentlemanly when sober, though it is hard not to believe that there is a strong antisocial sentiment within them which comes to the surface when alcohol has removed the inhibitions.
It behooves them not to irritate this abnormal streak, especially in a manner that makes them irresponsible when they are doing it. Many, though not all, of these obnoxious drinkers have considerable remorse when they sober up, particularly if they are confronted with and are about to suffer in some concrete manner from the harm that they have done.
This naturally leads to brooding, an unhealthy activity for any mind, and such an unpleasant one that sooner or later alcohol in larger quantities is resorted to as a means of forgetting it.
While some degree of alcoholic depression following even a successful "party" is natural, a few carry it to an unwarranted extreme. These people are probably predisposed to a morbid state of mind in sobriety, and are living temporarily and in miniature what they may come to live permanently even to the point of a pernicious depression if they do not mend their ways.
Their reaction to alcohol is a danger signal which should not go unheeded. Unfortunately these various manifestations of drinking may be combined in the same man.
At any rate those missing are in many instances latent and will probably develop under sufficient provocation. I knew an inebriate, whose conduct was for a long time condoned because of his humor and amiability, suddenly to become rude, obscene, and sometimes actively hostile.
Another man with these unpleasant qualities to begin with always prided himself upon his ability to be at his office early the next morning in a state of sober efficiency. In the course of time he became a continuous drinker; he lost his habit of quick recovery, but he did not lose any of his disagreeable traits.
Once the nervous system has begun to react pathologically to liquor we can be sure of one thing only -- it is going to maintain this form of action, but in what way, and to what degree of intensity, time alone will tell.
Certain forms of conduct, as we have seen, are latent in the alcoholic, and we might suggest that they are latent in any more people than is realized. Whether such a manifestation actually appears or not may be entirely fortuitous, depending upon the nervous strains to which the persons are subjected.
The strongest systems have a limit to what they can withstand. A certain number, if hard enough pressed, will take refuge in excessive alcoholic indulgence, though they had for years thought of themselves as immune to abnormal drinking.
Nor is it always disaster that produces the crisis. Success, particularly when it is financial, and thus permits a life of luxurious leisure, has been frequently known to create the same slavery to alcohol that is so often attributed to misfortune alone.
By this statement, however, I by no means imply that alcoholism is a probable or even possible outcome of the moderate drinking of the large majority. Far from it, as the life histories of an overwhelming number of men show.
What I do mean is this -- there are enough alcoholic breakdowns late in life to show us that there is a considerable group who only need a strong and easily accessible stimulation to force them from moderate drinking into chronic alcoholism.
~ ~
From the book by Richard R. Peabody, Ph.D.
© (1930) Little, Brown and Co. Boston
While this type of reaction is the most conspicuous, it is by no means the only manifestation of the fact that alcohol has disintegrated a man psychologically.
In the first place there is the partial or potential drunkard who follows out the procedure of the individual outlined above part of the time, and the other part seems to drink in a fairly normal manner.
If he is not slowly but surely increasing his dosage, he is at least rather uncertain of the outcome of any given alcoholic occasion, and as a result he keeps those who are dependent on him in a perpetual state of anxiety.
His problem, if he wishes to stop his habit, is easier in one way than that of the out-and-out inebriate, because alcohol has not entirely absorbed his attention, but it is more difficult in another, because heroic measures do not seem to him to be so imperative and his tendency to rationalize on his ability to control himself has enough truth in it to prevent him from making a sincere effort.
He is a drunkard every so often and a social drinker the rest of the time, but except as an aftermath of a disastrous occasion he bolsters up his self-esteem by thinking of himself as a social drinker, and it sometimes takes a genuine catastrophe to bring him to his senses.
Then there is the man who restricts his indulgence to the social event where it started, but who, during this time, runs amuck either habitually or at unexpected intervals.
He may develop a maniacal viciousness which seriously menaces all who cross his path, or he may, with the best intentions in the world, perform insane acts which endanger himself and those about him.
It is indeed far from unknown for an apparently mild person to commit a murder in a drunken rage without the slightest provocation, without, needless to say, premeditation, and without any remembrance of what he has done after he sobers up.
I knew a man who for no apparent reason developed a streak of madness while under the influence of alcohol which led him to run his horse full gallop at an eight-foot stone wall, killing the animal and all but killing himself.
This extreme sort of behavior in certain individuals may occur regularly until death or the law intervenes, or it may come infrequently "out of the blue" as it were; in which case a certain amount of luck may permit the offender "to get away with it" for some time.
As a matter of fact this horseman acted normally under the influence of drink a large proportion of the time, but occasionally he became temporarily insane, and at those times nobody knew what he would do -- least of all himself.
Alcoholic indulgence for this type of person is a more dangerous activity than it is for many out-and-out inebriates.
Of a similar nature, but to a modified degree, are the people who, while not actually dangerous, are morose, disagreeable, or disgusting, so that they make enemies, while drinking, through their slanderous remarks or vulgarity.
As often as not these people are perfectly pleasant and gentlemanly when sober, though it is hard not to believe that there is a strong antisocial sentiment within them which comes to the surface when alcohol has removed the inhibitions.
It behooves them not to irritate this abnormal streak, especially in a manner that makes them irresponsible when they are doing it. Many, though not all, of these obnoxious drinkers have considerable remorse when they sober up, particularly if they are confronted with and are about to suffer in some concrete manner from the harm that they have done.
This naturally leads to brooding, an unhealthy activity for any mind, and such an unpleasant one that sooner or later alcohol in larger quantities is resorted to as a means of forgetting it.
While some degree of alcoholic depression following even a successful "party" is natural, a few carry it to an unwarranted extreme. These people are probably predisposed to a morbid state of mind in sobriety, and are living temporarily and in miniature what they may come to live permanently even to the point of a pernicious depression if they do not mend their ways.
Their reaction to alcohol is a danger signal which should not go unheeded. Unfortunately these various manifestations of drinking may be combined in the same man.
At any rate those missing are in many instances latent and will probably develop under sufficient provocation. I knew an inebriate, whose conduct was for a long time condoned because of his humor and amiability, suddenly to become rude, obscene, and sometimes actively hostile.
Another man with these unpleasant qualities to begin with always prided himself upon his ability to be at his office early the next morning in a state of sober efficiency. In the course of time he became a continuous drinker; he lost his habit of quick recovery, but he did not lose any of his disagreeable traits.
Once the nervous system has begun to react pathologically to liquor we can be sure of one thing only -- it is going to maintain this form of action, but in what way, and to what degree of intensity, time alone will tell.
Certain forms of conduct, as we have seen, are latent in the alcoholic, and we might suggest that they are latent in any more people than is realized. Whether such a manifestation actually appears or not may be entirely fortuitous, depending upon the nervous strains to which the persons are subjected.
The strongest systems have a limit to what they can withstand. A certain number, if hard enough pressed, will take refuge in excessive alcoholic indulgence, though they had for years thought of themselves as immune to abnormal drinking.
Nor is it always disaster that produces the crisis. Success, particularly when it is financial, and thus permits a life of luxurious leisure, has been frequently known to create the same slavery to alcohol that is so often attributed to misfortune alone.
By this statement, however, I by no means imply that alcoholism is a probable or even possible outcome of the moderate drinking of the large majority. Far from it, as the life histories of an overwhelming number of men show.
What I do mean is this -- there are enough alcoholic breakdowns late in life to show us that there is a considerable group who only need a strong and easily accessible stimulation to force them from moderate drinking into chronic alcoholism.
~ ~
From the book by Richard R. Peabody, Ph.D.
© (1930) Little, Brown and Co. Boston
