Evening star., 1934-05-11
Worst alcoholics Neuer Get
Drunk and Hate Liquor Taste
DR.. Karpman Declares They Are So
Depressed They Need Alcohol
to Become ''NOrmal."
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

The worst alcoholics are those who
never get drunk" and hate the taste
Of liquor.
DR.. Ben Karpman Of the staff Of
st. Elizabeth's Hospital described
some of the obscurer mechanisms Of
intoxication before a conference of
the Washington Institute of Mental
Hygiene here yesterday.
Most Of the textbook statements
about the effects of alcohol. he said,
are based on the statistical drunk"
or the hypothetical average reactions
to liquor. OF course. this statistical
drunk doesn't exist in real life, any
more than any other kind of statis-
tical man. Some may come rather
close to him, but few really hit the
line
DR.. Karpman has been trying to
cure some drunks by getting at the
subconscious mechanismS responsible
for their cravings and, as a back
ground for this, has gone extensively
into the obscurer literature Of alco-
holism. He apparently has cured
some dipsomaniacs, but thus far only
incidentally to cures for other condi-
tions of which the drink-craving
itself, he says, was only symptom.
Two Kinds Of Users:
Depressed and Cheerful.
There are two kinds Of alcohol
users, he said, based upon the up and
down fluctuations of an hypothetical
psychological tension line"
First are the normally active and
cheerful persons. They are the ones
who get drunk" There is a tenn
porary pSeudo-s stimulation followed by
a more or less deep depression, de-
pending on the amount of liquor con-
sumed. Alcohol is always depressant
instead of a stimulant. There is q
sinking Of this hypothetical psyche
logical tension line" shown by such
symptoms as lowered sensitivity, inco-
ordination of movements, etc.
Second there Is the class who are
depressed anyway-whose psychology
cal tension line when sober is about as
low as that of the other class when
drunk. The effect Is strikingly differ
ent with these persons. The tension
line is raised, instead of lowered, to the
point where that of the other class is
when sober.
Thus, DR.. Karpman said, some Of the
worst dipsomaniacs who will commit
almost any crime to get liquor at GER
tain times, protest that they never
were drunk in their lives" In sense
they are telling the truth. It raises
them to normal. They converse nor
mally where otherwise they would not
converse at all. Their minds become
clear instead of clouded. The sleep
less are able to sleep. The perpetual
tired feeling disappears. Moodiness
gives way to cheerfulness. There is
no violent behaviour.
The trouble is, DR.. Karpman pointed
out, that even here alcohol acts in the
end as a depressant. Once the effects
wear of, the tension line sinks to q
lower point than before and more al
cohol Is required to raise 1t to normal
In the end, such a man is in a bad
way, forever sinking into a bottomless
pit Of depression.
Curiously enough, DR.. Karpman said
such persons usually say they hate
the taste of liquor. But they will
swallow the vilest concoctions for q
brief escape into normality from the
depths Of their depressions.
To fine such a man for drinking
alcohol, DIR. Karpman said, is about
As sensible as fning the normal person
for eating when hungry.