Living With An Alcoholic » Alcoholism Facts

What is alcoholism?

Daniel — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:02:00 +0000

Surprisingly, many people wonder what an alcoholic is and what is alcoholism. There is much information to be covered on the subject of alcoholism. The coverage here of this disease will be but a glimpse of the condition.

The term alcoholism is given to a disease which creates a strong craving for alcohol. The person that has this condition is considered to be an alcoholic. These people seem to have varying degrees of need in their drinking desires. While some seem to need the alcoholic beverage constantly others only seem to crave a drink when something goes wrong for them or causes them a degree of stress which is more than they feel they can handle on their own. Still, others are what are known as a social drinker.

While the medical world does not know the exact causative factor in alcoholism there is a suggestion that social factors, genetic factors and psychological factors all contribute to the development of this condition. Additionally, the term alcoholism is not simply equivalent to excessive drinking of any magnitude. It is more a relationship of severity and to the extent of the disorders related to alcohol use along a progressive course.

And while the person with a drinking problem might even realize they could harm their health or circumstances in their life caused by excessive drinking, they seem to not have the ability to control the drinking and cravings for the alcohol. They can grow to depend on that alcoholic drink as a means to support their psychological well being. They have become dependent on alcohol. But to what magnitude?

Well, the magnitude of a drinking problem varies with each affected person. As such, there have been some terms created to signify to what degree a person is affected by the need for alcohol. What are these terms or levels of disorder?

* Social Drinker

* Heavy Drinker

* Problem Drinker

* Alcohol Dependent

The least severe of the alcohol disorder is: Social and the most severe is a dependent drinker. Furthermore, with each increase in drinking needs, the health risks also will increase. Let’s look at what these levels basically mean…

* A social drinker is defined as a person who drinks to enhance their experience at a social gathering but the drinking is not the focus of their activity.

* A heavy drinker is basically defined as a person who incorporates alcoholic drinking into more and more activities with the focus being on drinking.

* A Problem drinker is basically defined as a person who does not recognize that drinking alcoholic beverages and getting the resulting intoxicating effects have become a goal in itself. They often will deal with a problem by drinking even if it was originally caused by having too much to drink.

* An alcohol dependent person is a drinker that can not control or resist the urge to drink an alcoholic drink period. This is the stage or level that a doctor considers a serious disease.

So, there you have a brief explanation of what qualifies someone as an alcoholic and a brief look at alcoholism.

The truth about Alcoholism

Daniel — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:07:00 +0000

Alcoholism is a disease. The alcoholic craves an alcoholic beverage as strongly as a person who is hungry craves food, or a person who is thirsty craves a glass of water.

There is a genetic connection discovered by scientists who have studied the disease. In other words, alcoholism can run in families; much the same way as other diseases can. There are other factors that are present just as even though Diabetes may run in your family, not all siblings contract the disease. So, it is with Alcoholism. Not all family members will become alcoholics. The other factors may be the presence of peer pressure, availability of alcohol, etc.

It is not true that Alcoholism can be cured. There is no such accuracy in the thinking that “a person who has been drinking for just a short period of time can be cured”. The length of time the person has been drinking has nothing to do with the disease being a part of that person’s physical makeup. An alcoholic can through professional help and a system of support be able to stay dry/sober over a period of time; but the disease will still be there and the person must always remember that. Understanding the disease and that there is no cure is an important part of being able to be in control of the disease.

Even though there is no cure for Alcoholism, a person can be helped to stop drinking by using the tools of counseling and medications prescribed by a physician who is experienced in treating Alcoholics. Some of the more commonly used prescriptions used to treat Alcoholism are disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate. These medications are used to both reduce the occurrence of drinking and to help avoid a relapse into heavy drinking. These medications are also used to foster abstinence in the person who suffers from Alcoholism. Treatment for Alcoholism is like the treatment for any other chronic disease; there are varying degrees of success. The degrees can vary from total success in that a person undergoes counseling, and medication therapy and never touches a alcoholic beverage again, to someone who experiences several relapses to someone who cannot stay sober despite counseling, support and medications.

There are things that family members, friends and others who care about Alcoholics can do when the person who is suffering refuses to get help. Some of these things are:

Do not protect the person by covering up the consequences of their drinking. The person needs to be forced to be responsible for the consequences of his/her disease and the actions they partake in while drinking. Sometimes the court will force a person into a treatment center, this is a difficult way to have help come about; but for some it is a blessing in disguise.

Speak of your concerns to the person as soon as you can following an alcoholic event. Make sure that the person is sober before approaching them, so that they have the ability to understand what is being said. Any discussion should be conducted in privacy and when all involved have had the chance to calm down. During the discussion there should be a listing of what consequences occurred or what the results of the drinking event were. Be as specific as you can in regard to these results and consequences. Using examples can help the person relate to your concern regarding the drinking problem.

It is important to get help for the person suffering from Alcoholism. Have counseling, treatment and support information ready and available when you decide to discuss or confront the person.

Discussing and offering information with the alcoholic is called “intervention”. It is where you intentionally confront the person with the issues involved in the drinking problem, but in a way that is helping to solve the problem and not just to be critical or as a form of punishment.

There are support groups for all members of the family of Alcoholics: spouses, significant others, teens and children. These support groups help those close to an alcoholic to understand the disease better and to be able to connect with others who have similar experiences.

The Power of Group Support For Alcoholism

Daniel — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0000

Alcoholism is a disease that requires a treatment program. That program should include both individual counseling and group support. These two are important ingredients to the recovery and ongoing management of the disease. The individual help is a given and most will agree with it’s importance. The group support system is a powerful aid to staying sober and tool to meeting your maintenance goals.

Group Support Provides:

Support groups are a safety net that exposes those who need help with caring professional who have a compassion for those suffering from this disease

An environment to share experiences with others who are going through the same disease.

There is a common trust factor where you can feel safe in expressing your thoughts, feelings and fears.

You may feel comfortable about sharing something about your addiction that you may have previously kept hidden from others. In the group, the comfort level allows for these types of revelations. In revealing these situations, additional help can be realized.

There is a moral victory gained from being in the company of peer who really do understand.

Professional group settings can foster opportunities to investigate and resolve possible family conflicts and alcoholic issues.

Source of information

Some support groups offer in addition to help for the alcoholic, support for their families as well. These family support groups offer educational aids so that they can understand the disease and what it does to the one who has it. Relationships run smoother when understanding can be achieved about why people behave the way they do.

How To Find Support Groups:

1. Your physician or treatment center is one good source for finding support groups.

2. Recommendations from others you know who have gone through treatment.

3. Local phone books, community centers, or churches often have lists of local support groups.

4. Organizations have links on their Website to local groups.

Listing of some Support Groups:

Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.)

This is a popular National group with local groups. They have well-known 12 step program for men and women who share their experiences, strengths and encourage each other to remain strong and to continue to resolve their common problems associated with alcoholism. There are no dues or fees for AA membership

http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org

Recovery Connection offers look up services for meetings in most areas around the United States. You can call them if you have a drug or alcohol problem and are seeking a local group to join 1-800-993-3869.

Al-Anon and Alateen (for teens) has been in existance for over 50 years.

There are no dues or fees.

http://www.al-anon-alateen.org

Managing your disease should not be a lonely journey. Gathering as many support networks as possible will be beneficial to the goal of staying sober. As the saying goes: No man is an island. We all need human contact, understanding and compassion as we go through our life experiences. When a chronic disease is part of that life, it can be uplifting to know that you are not alone.

The Facts behind Alcoholics Anonymous – How It Works

Daniel — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:09:00 +0000

Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), founded in 1935, is a 12-step program that is designed to help the alcoholic recover. A.A. is based on personal experience as a means for people to help each other to stop drinking. Over the years, A.A. has helped hundreds of thousands of alcoholics to recover and become sober.

The first step of the A.A. program is for the alcoholic to recognize and admit that he or she has a problem with alcohol. This is the first and most important step because it means that the alcoholic has come out of the denial stage and realizes that alcohol is causing problems in his life. A.A. is set up for the alcoholic to obtain complete abstinence from alcohol. The program focuses on changing a person’s attitude and way of life rather than simply behavior modification. Abstinence from alcohol is a life change for the alcoholic. The premise of the program is to work the 12 steps and if the person returns to alcohol after a time of abstinence he or she is not scolded or asked to leave the program but simply is encouraged to start over and continue working through the steps. The 12 steps are numbered because they are designed to take in order.

There is a spiritual aspect to A.A. but members are not required to believe in anything. Another focus of the program is for the alcoholic to make amends with people he has brought harm to by drinking and to pass along to other A.A. members what they have learned and accomplished by working through the steps of the program.

A.A. does not have to be used as a stand-alone treatment. It can be used with other recovery programs and even medical detoxification and rehabilitation. There are A.A. meetings on any given night all over the world. Anyone needing a meeting at anytime should be able to attend one, get the support, and help that he or she needs. A.A. also has associated programs called Al-Anon and Al-Ateen that are for the spouses, children, and other family members of alcoholics.

The 12 steps of A.A. are:

1. We admit we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives have become unmanageable.

2. We have come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. We have made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understand what this Power is.

4. We have made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. We have admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. We are entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. We have humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.

8. We have made a list of all persons we had harmed and have become willing to make amends to them all.

9. We have made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. We have continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. We have sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand what this higher Power is, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we have tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Medical Testimony On Alcohol

Daniel — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:03:00 +0000

Dr. Ezra M. Hunt says: “The capacity of the alcohols for impairment of functions and the initiation and promotion of organic lesions in vital parts, is unsurpassed by any record in the whole range of medicine. The facts as to this are so indisputable, and so far granted by the profession, as to be no longer debatable. Changes in stomach and liver, in kidneys and lungs, in the blood-vessels to the minutest capillary, and in the blood to the smallest red and white blood disc disturbances of secretion, fibroid and fatty degenerations in almost every organ, impairment of muscular power, impressions so profound on both nervous systems as to be often toxic these, and such as these, are the oft manifested results. And these are not confined to those called intemperate.”

Professor Youmans says: “It is evident that, so far from being the conservator of health, alcohol is an active and powerful cause of disease, interfering, as it does, with the respiration, the circulation and the nutrition; now, is any other result possible?”

Dr. F.R. Lees says: “That alcohol should contribute to the fattening process under certain conditions, and produce in drinkers fatty degeneration of the blood, follows, as a matter of course, since, on the one hand, we have an agent that retains waste matter by lowering the nutritive and excretory functions, and on the other, a direct poisoner of the vesicles of the vital stream.”

Dr. Henry Monroe says: “There is no kind of tissue, whether healthy or morbid, that may not undergo fatty degeneration; and there is no organic disease so troublesome to the medical man, or so difficult of cure. If, by the aid of the microscope, we examine a very fine section of muscle taken from a person in good health, we find the muscles firm, elastic and of a bright red color, made up of parallel fibres, with beautiful crossings or striae; but, if we similarly examine the muscle of a man who leads an idle, sedentary life, and indulges in intoxicating drinks, we detect, at once, a pale, flabby, inelastic, oily appearance. Alcoholic narcotization appears to produce this peculiar conditions of the tissues more than any other agent with which we are acquainted. ‘Three-quarters of the chronic illness which the medical man has to treat,’ says Dr. Chambers, ‘are occasioned by this disease.’ The eminent French analytical chemist, Lecanu, found as much as one hundred and seventeen parts of fat in one thousand parts of a drunkard’s blood, the highest estimate of the quantity in health being eight and one-quarter parts, while the ordinary quantity is not more than two or three parts, so that the blood of the drunkard contains forty times in excess of the ordinary quantity.”

Dr. Hammond, who has written, in partial defense of alcohol as containing a food power, says: “When I say that it, of all other causes, is most prolific in exciting derangements of the brain, the spinal cord and the nerves, I make a statement which my own experience shows to be correct.”

Another eminent physician says of alcohol: “It substitutes suppuration for growth. It helps time to produce the effects of age; and, in a word, is the genius of degeneration.”

Dr. Monroe, from whom “Alcohol, taken in small quantities, or largely diluted, as in the form of beer, causes the stomach gradually to lose its tone, and makes it dependent upon artificial stimulus. Atony, or want of tone of the stomach, gradually supervenes, and incurable disorder of health results. Should a dose of alcoholic drink be taken daily, the heart will very often become hypertrophied, or enlarged throughout. Indeed, it is painful to witness how many persons are actually laboring under disease of the heart, owing chiefly to the use of alcoholic liquors.”

Dr. T.K. Chambers, physician to the Prince of Wales, says: “Alcohol is really the most ungenerous diet there is. It impoverishes the blood, and there is no surer road to that degeneration of muscular fibre so much to be feared; and in heart disease it is more especially hurtful, by quickening the beat, causing capillary congestion and irregular circulation, and thus mechanically inducing dilatation.”

Sir Henry Thompson, a distinguished surgeon, says: “Don’t take your daily wine under any pretext of its doing you good. Take it frankly as a luxury one which must be paid for, by some persons very lightly, by some at a high price, but always to be paid for. And, mostly, some loss of health, or of mental power, or of calmness of temper, or of judgment, is the price.”

Dr. Charles Jewett says: “The late Prof. Parks, of England, in his great work on Hygiene, has effectually disposed of the notion, long and very generally entertained, that alcohol is a valuable prophylactic where a bad climate, bad water and other conditions unfavorable to health, exist; and an unfortunate experiment with the article, in the Union army, on the banks of the Chickahominy, in the year 1863, proved conclusively that, instead of guarding the human constitution against the influence of agencies hostile to health, its use gives to them additional force. The medical history of the British army in India teaches the same lesson.”

But why present farther testimony? Is not the evidence complete? To the man who values good health; who would not lay the foundation for disease and suffering in his later years, we need not offer a single additional argument in favor of entire abstinence from alcoholic drinks. He will eschew them as poisons.

Lifetime Alcoholism Risk Is Linked to Early Aged Drinking According To Survey

Daniel — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:22:00 +0000

The survey appeared in Volume 160, of the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, pages 739-746. The article states “of those 43,000 participants in a survey of U.S. adults who had developed the disease, Alcoholism; 47% of them had met the criteria for alcoholism by age 21.” That is almost half of those involved in the survey. This is important information that will support the theory that alcohol use by our youth is a risk factor for developing alcoholism and for developing it at a quicker rate and at a younger age, usually within 10 years of when they started drinking. The survey took into account other risk factors for alcohol dependence to further validate the evidence.

The survey was very specific regarding terms such as “starting to drink” did not mean tasting or sipping but actually consuming the drink. The survey involved personal interviews that were face to face. The participants in the survey were age 18 and older. The data used in the survey was gathered from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), according to the article.”

While interpreting the survey results, one may surmise that as the world ages, our youth are exposed to more intense pressures and temptations are inclined to be “in their face”. Youth may see alcohol as an answer to escape these pressures. As the survey suggests, turning to alcohol at an early age will hold lifelong consequences (namely alcoholism). The Internet is a prime example of how the trials and temptations of the day can come right into our homes. The Internet exposes our kids at an earlier age to a barrage of advertising, Websites and chat rooms that are of an adult nature. If not supervised or monitored closely enough this exposure will continue without the benefit of safeguards for health or safety. Not only are kids bombarded with stress but also they are exposed to the inappropriate ways to handle stress, especially drugs like alcohol. Communication is at lightening speed, and involves more than local participants, as the Internet is a global medium.

There is a 2005 survey that supports the finding of the previously mentioned survey. The 2005 survey is the Youth Risk Behavior Survey that was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It found that in the U.S., “26% of high school students had already consumed at least one alcoholic beverage, before the age of 13.” Based on this it would seem that there is enough evidence that youth are indeed drinking, not just experimenting with alcohol and that this could contribute to the existence of younger alcoholics. These younger alcoholics would have obviously a longer time to deal with this devastating and chronic disease. There is no telling what the ramifications of contracting Alcoholism earlier and having longer affects of the disease would have on the body and mind of those who suffer from it; one might guess that it would not be good.

How to Quit Alcohol without Gaining Weight

Daniel — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:12:00 +0000

Not everyone gains weight when he or she begins an alcohol recovery program but there are many people who do gain weight. The average gain is about ten pounds but there are many people who gain a significant amount of weight. This weight gain is discouraging because with alcohol, it is generally easier to stay thin. The weight gain also discourages other alcoholics from recovery because they know there is the possibility of a significant amount of weight gain. The important thing to realize is that a person would have to gain 150 pounds for the weight gain to be unhealthier than the excessive drinking.

The most important components to quitting alcohol without weight gain are:

1. Physical activity – Most alcoholics are not physically active because they spend most of their time drinking and/or acquiring their alcohol. The addition of a minimum of just 30 minutes of physical activity a day will help keep away any additional pounds that may come on from eating instead of drinking. The physical activity will also help to pass the time that may have normally been spent drinking so that the activity of drinking will not be missed as much.

2. Healthy eating – Alcoholics have a tendency to be unhealthy eater because they do not typically eat full meals but they eat snack type meals a lot throughout their awake hours. Getting rid of junk food and substituting alcohol for healthy foods and snacks will help weight stay off and keep the person from unhealthy weight gain.

3. Manage cravings – It is important to plan activities that can substitute for time normally spent with alcohol. Cravings are worse during times of boredom. Remember H.A.L.T. and never get too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired because those things will exacerbate the alcohol cravings.

4. Positive attitude – A positive attitude can be the key to success during the recovery period. It is important to focus on the fact that recovery is a healthy choice and is quite possibly the best choice a person could ever make for himself or herself.

When going into recovery it helps to know ahead of time what situations may promote weight gain so they can be avoided or dealt with properly. Longer meal times are one situation that can be a problem. Many alcoholics will hurry through their meals so they can get back to serious drinking. Without the anticipation of the alcohol, many people will spend more time sitting at the table, which can lead to eating bigger amounts of food and for longer periods. Another problem can be the oral cravings for the alcohol. The alcoholic is used to the taste of the alcohol and actually keeping their mouth and hands busy so they fulfill the craving with food. Social situations are a big problem for recovering alcoholics because when everyone else is drinking they will need to find something to do with their hands. This can lead to high calorie drinks and heavy snacking. It is best to avoid situations where there will be alcohol simply because it can cause a relapse but if it is an event the person must attend, they need to plan ahead of time what they will do instead of drink.

Recovery without weight gain can be a reachable goal with some planning and awareness of the situations.

How Alcohol Retards Digestion

Daniel — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:23:00 +0000

And here, in order to give those who are not familiar with, the process of digestion, a clear idea of that important operation, and the effect produced when alcohol is taken with food, we quote from the lecture of an English physician, Dr. Henry Monroe, on “The Physiological Action of Alcohol.” He says:

“Every kind of substance employed by man as food consists of sugar, starch, oil and glutinous matters, mingled together in various proportions; these are designed for the support of the animal frame. The glutinous principles of food fibrine, albumen and casein are employed to build up the structure; while the oil, starch and sugar are chiefly used to generate heat in the body.

“The first step of the digestive process is the breaking up of the food in the mouth by means of the jaws and teeth. On this being done, the saliva, a viscid liquor, is poured into the mouth from the salivary glands, and as it mixes with the food, it performs a very important part in the operation of digestion, rendering the starch of the food soluble, and gradually changing it into a sort of sugar, after which the other principles become more miscible with it. Nearly a pint of saliva is furnished every twenty-four hours for the use of an adult. When the food has been masticated and mixed with the saliva, it is then passed into the stomach, where it is acted upon by a juice secreted by the filaments of that organ, and poured into the stomach in large quantities whenever food comes in contact with its mucous coats. It consists of a dilute acid known to the chemists as hydrochloric acid, composed of hydrogen and chlorine, united together in certain definite proportions. The gastric juice contains, also, a peculiar organic-ferment or decomposing substance, containing nitrogen something of the nature of yeast termed pepsine, which is easily soluble in the acid just named. That gastric juice acts as a simple chemical solvent, is proved by the fact that, after death, it has been known to dissolve the stomach itself.”

It is an error to suppose that, after a good dinner, a glass of spirits or beer assists digestion; or that any liquor containing alcohol even bitter beer can in any way assist digestion. Mix some bread and meat with gastric juice; place them in a phial, and keep that phial in a sand-bath at the slow heat of 98 degrees, occasionally shaking briskly the contents to imitate the motion of the stomach; you will find, after six or eight hours, the whole contents blended into one pultaceous mass. If to another phial of food and gastric juice, treated in the same way, I add a glass of pale ale or a quantity of alcohol, at the end of seven or eight hours, or even some days, the food is scarcely acted upon at all. This is a fact; and if you are led to ask why, I answer, because alcohol has the peculiar power of chemically affecting or decomposing the gastric juice by precipitating one of its principal constituents, viz., pepsine, rendering its solvent properties much less efficacious. Hence alcohol can not be considered either as food or as a solvent for food. Not as the latter certainly, for it refuses to act with the gastric juice.

“‘It is a remarkable fact,’ says Dr. Dundas Thompson, ‘that alcohol, when added to the digestive fluid, produces a white precipitate, so that the fluid is no longer capable of digesting animal or vegetable matter.’ ‘The use of alcoholic stimulants,’ say Drs. Todd and Bowman, ‘retards digestion by coagulating the pepsine, an essential element of the gastric juice, and thereby interfering with its action. Were it not that wine and spirits are rapidly absorbed, the introduction of these into the stomach, in any quantity, would be a complete bar to the digestion of food, as the pepsine would be precipitated from the solution as quickly as it was formed by the stomach.’ Spirit, in any quantity, as a dietary adjunct, is pernicious on account of its antiseptic qualities, which resist the digestion of food by the absorption of water from its particles, in direct antagonism to chemical operation.”

How Alcohol Causes Mental And Moral Changes

Daniel — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:02:00 +0000

The transforming power or alcohol is marvelous, and often appalling. It seems to open a way of entrance into the soul for all classes of foolish, insane or malignant spirits, who, so long as it remains in contact with the brain, are able to hold possession. Men of the kindest nature when sober, act often like fiends when drunk. Crimes and outrages are committed, which shock and shame the perpetrators when the excitement of inebriation has passed away. Referring to this subject, Dr. Henry Munroe says:

“It appears from the experience of Mr. Fletcher, who has paid much attention to the cases of drunkards, from the remarks of Mr. Dunn, in his ‘Medical Psychology,’ and from observations of my own, that there is some analogy between our physical and psychical natures; for, as the physical part of us, when its power is at a low ebb, becomes susceptible of morbid influences which, in full vigor, would pass over it without effect, so when the psychical (synonymous with the moral ) part of the brain has its healthy function disturbed and deranged by the introduction of a morbid poison like alcohol, the individual so circumstanced sinks in depravity, and “becomes the helpless subject of the forces of evil, “which are powerless against a nature free from the morbid influences of alcohol.”

Different persons are affected in different ways by the same poison. Indulgence in alcoholic drinks may act upon one or more of the cerebral organs; and, as its necessary consequence, the manifestations of functional disturbance will follow in such of the mental powers as these organs subserve. If the indulgence be continued, then, either from deranged nutrition or organic lesion, manifestations formerly developed only during a fit of intoxication may become permanent, and terminate in insanity or dypso-mania. M. Flourens first pointed out the fact that certain morbific agents, when introduced into the current of the circulation, tend to act primarily and specially on one nervous centre in preference to that of another, by virtue of some special elective affinity between such morbific agents and certain ganglia. Thus, in the tottering gait of the tipsy man, we see the influence of alcohol upon the functions of the cerebellum in the impairment of its power of co-ordinating the muscles.

Certain writers on diseases of the mind make especial allusion to that form of insanity termed ‘dypsomania’, in which a person has an unquenchable thirst for alcoholic drinks a tendency as decidedly maniacal as that of homicidal mania ; or the uncontrollable desire to burn, termed pyromania ; or to steal, called kleptomania.

Homicidal mania.

The different tendencies of homicidal mania in different individuals are often only nursed into action when the current of the blood has been poisoned with alcohol. I had a case of a person who, whenever his brain was so excited, told me that he experienced a most uncontrollable desire to kill or injure some one; so much so, that he could at times hardly restrain himself from the action, and was obliged to refrain from all stimulants, lest, in an unlucky moment, he might commit himself. Townley, who murdered the young lady of his affections, for which he was sentenced to be imprisoned in a lunatic asylum for life, poisoned his brain with brandy and soda-water before he committed the rash act. The brandy stimulated into action certain portions of the brain, which acquired such a power as to subjugate his will, and hurry him to the performance of a frightful deed, opposed alike to his better judgment and his ordinary desires.

As to pyromania, some years ago I knew a laboring man in a country village, who, whenever he had had a few glasses of ale at the public-house, would chuckle with delight at the thought of firing certain gentlemen’s stacks. Yet, when his brain was free from the poison, a quieter, better-disposed man could not be. Unfortunately, he became addicted to habits of intoxication; and, one night, under alcoholic excitement, fired some stacks belonging to his employers, for which, he was sentenced for fifteen years to a penal settlement, where his brain would never again be alcoholically excited.

Kleptomania.

Next, I will give an example of kleptomania. I knew, many years ago, a very clever, industrious and talented young man, who told me that whenever he had been drinking, he could hardly withstand, the temptation of stealing anything that came in his way; but that these feelings never troubled him at other times. One afternoon, after he had been indulging with his fellow-workmen in drink, his will, unfortunately, was overpowered, and he took from the mansion where he was working some articles of worth, for which he was accused, and afterwards sentenced to a term of imprisonment. When set at liberty he had the good fortune to be placed among some kind-hearted persons, vulgarly called teetotallers ; and, from conscientious motives, signed the PLEDGE, now above twenty years ago. From that time to the present moment he has never experienced the overmastering desire which so often beset him in his drinking days to take that which was not his own. Moreover, no pretext on earth could now entice him to taste of any liquor containing alcohol, feeling that, under its influence, he might again fall its victim. He holds an influential position in the town where he resides.

I have known some ladies of good position in society, who, after a dinner or supper-party, and after having taken sundry glasses of wine, could not withstand the temptation of taking home any little article not their own, when the opportunity offered; and who, in their sober moments, have returned them, as if taken by mistake. We have many instances recorded in our police reports of gentlemen of position, under the influence of drink, committing thefts of the most paltry articles, afterwards returned to the owners by their friends, which can only be accounted for, psychologically, by the fact that the will had been for the time completely overpowered by the subtle influence of alcohol.

Loss of mental clearness.

Alcohol, whether taken in large or small doses, immediately disturbs the natural functions of the mind and body, is now conceded by the most eminent physiologists. Dr. Brinton says: ‘Mental acuteness, accuracy of conception, and delicacy of the senses, are all so far opposed by the action of alcohol, as that the maximum efforts of each are incompatible with the ingestion of any moderate quantity of fermented liquid. Indeed, there is scarcely any calling which demands skillful and exact effort of mind and body, or which requires the balanced exercise of many faculties, that does not illustrate this rule. The mathematician, the gambler, the metaphysician, the billiard-player, the author, the artist, the physician, would, if they could analyze their experience aright, generally concur in the statement, that a single glass will often suffice to take, so to speak, the edge off both mind and body, and to reduce their capacity to something below what is relatively their perfection of work.

A train was driven carelessly into one of the principal London stations, running into another train, killing, by the collision, six or seven persons, and injuring many others. From the evidence at the inquest, it appeared that the guard was reckoned sober, only he had had two glasses of ale with a friend at a previous station. Now, reasoning psychologically, these two glasses of ale had probably been instrumental in taking off the edge from his perceptions and prudence, and producing a carelessness or boldness of action which would not have occurred under the cooling, temperate influence of a beverage free from alcohol. Many persons have admitted to me that they were not the same after taking even one glass of ale or wine that they were before, and could not thoroughly trust themselves after they had taken this single glass.

General impairment of the faculties

Daniel — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:20:00 +0000

Dr. Richardson, speaking of the action of alcohol on the mind, gives the following sad picture of its ravages:

“An analysis of the condition of the mind induced and maintained by the free daily use of alcohol as a drink, reveals a singular order of facts. The manifestation fails altogether to reveal the exaltation of any reasoning power in a useful or satisfactory direction. I have never met with an instance in which such a claim for alcohol has been made. On the contrary, confirmed alcoholics constantly say that for this or that work, requiring thought and attention, it is necessary to forego some of the usual potations in order to have a cool head for hard work.

“On the other side, the experience is overwhelmingly in favor of the observation that the use of “alcohol sells the reasoning powers, “make weak men and women the easy prey of the wicked and strong, and leads men and women who should know better into every grade of misery and vice. If, then, alcohol enfeebles the reason, what part of the mental constitution does it exalt and excite? It excites and exalts those animal, organic, emotional centres of mind which, in the dual nature of man, so often cross and oppose that pure and abstract reasoning nature which lifts man above the lower animals, and rightly exercised, little lower than the angels.

It excites man’s worst passions.

Exciting these animal centres, it lets loose all the passions, and gives them more or less of unlicensed dominion over the man. It excites anger, and when it does not lead to this extreme, it keeps the mind fretful, irritable, dissatisfied and captious…. And if I were to take you through all the passions, love, hate, lust, envy, avarice and pride, I should but show you that alcohol ministers to them all; that, paralyzing the reason, it takes from off these passions that fine adjustment of reason, which places man above the lower animals. From the beginning to the end of its influence it subdues reason and sets the passions free. The analogies, physical and mental, are perfect. That which loosens the tension of the vessels which feed the body with due order and precision, and, thereby, lets loose the heart to violent excess and unbridled motion, loosens, also, the reason and lets loose the passion. In both instances, heart and head are, for a time, out of harmony; their balance broken. The man descends closer and closer to the lower animals. From the angels he glides farther and farther away.

A sad and terrible picture.

The destructive effects of alcohol on the human mind present, finally, the saddest picture of its influence. The most aesthetic artist can find no angel here. All is animal, and animal of the worst type. Memory irretrievably lost, words and very elements of speech forgotten or words displaced to have no meaning in them. Rage and anger persistent and mischievous, or remittent and impotent. Fear at every corner of life, distrust on every side, grief merged into blank despair, hopelessness into permanent melancholy. Surely no Pandemonium that ever poet dreamt of could equal that which would exist if all the drunkards of the world were driven into one mortal sphere.

As I have moved among those who are physically stricken with alcohol, and have detected under the various disguises of name the fatal diseases, the pains and penalties it imposes on the body, the picture has been sufficiently cruel. But even that picture pales, as I conjure up, without any stretch of imagination, the devastations which the same agent inflicts on the mind. Forty per cent., the learned Superintendent of Colney Hatch, Dr. Sheppard, tells us, of those who were brought into that asylum in 1876, were so brought because of the direct or indirect effects of alcohol. If the facts of all the asylums were collected with equal care, the same tale would, I fear, be told. What need we further to show the destructive action on the human mind? The Pandemonium of drunkards; the grand transformation scene of that pantomime of drink which commences with, moderation! Let it never more be forgotten by those who love their fellow-men until, through their efforts, it is closed forever.”

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