The Psychodynamics of Chronic Inebriation: Observations of Alcoholics During the Process of Drinking in an Experimental Group Setting
JOHN S. TAMERIN M.D.1, and
JACK H. MENDELSON M.D.2
1 Clinical associate, National Institute of Mental Health, 5454 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, Md. 20203
2 Chief, National Center for the Prevention and Control of Alcoholism, National Institute of Mental Health, 5454 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, Md. 20203
Four male volunteer alcoholic subjects were studied prior to, during, and following a period of experimentally induced intoxication. The anxiety reduction model was found inadequate to explain their motivation for alcohol use. Euphoria was manifest only during the initial phase of intoxication; prolonged drinking was characterized by progressive depression, guilt, and psychic pain. However, termination of a drinking episode appeared to be associated with states of physical discomfort rather than with specific psychological determinants.
