The Doctors Opinion

In the 1930s, alcoholism was seen as a moral failing rather than a disease. Dr. Silkworth, a doctor who focused on addiction, believed that alcoholism was both a physical and mental condition. He introduced the idea of an allergy to alcohol, where some people experience a physical craving that they can't control. He also emphasized the importance of spiritual and moral psychology in overcoming addiction. His ideas laid the foundation for Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and highlighted the need for a holistic approach to treatment. While his allergy theory may not align with current scientific understanding, his emphasis on addressing the mind, body, and spirit in recovery remains relevant today. Dr. Silkworth's work continues to shape how we view and treat addiction. You know, it's wild, um, how much our view of addiction, like, has totally changed even in the last, you know, few decades. And today we're really going back in time with this piece, uh, The Doctor's Opinion from the big book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Okay. This excerpt takes us back to, like, the 1930s when, you know, alcoholism, uh, wasn't really seen the way we see it now, as this, like, disease, you know. Right, it's true. Back then, it was like, if you had a problem with alcohol, it was a moral failing. Right. You were weak. Yeah. And you can just imagine the, like, the stigma around this. Oh, totally. For people, families. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's like, hard to even wrap your head around that now. Right. So, like, how did this writing start to change people's minds? So, that's where Dr. William D. Silkworth comes in. He's the one who wrote this piece, right? Okay. So, he was a big deal, a doctor who focused on addiction. He was the head doctor at a famous hospital. Wow. So, he was dealing with alcoholism every day, back when nobody really knew what to do. He was seeing it firsthand. Exactly. Yeah. And, as we'll see, his ideas were really different from what everyone else thought. He just, like, refused to believe that it was just a lack of willpower, like, people were just choosing this. Right. So, he was already going against the grain here, bringing his medical experience to something that was so immoralized. And he really shows this with one of his patients, this successful businessman, who, in 1934, they're like, well, he's a lost cause. Yeah. That was kind of the attitude back then. Right. You know, like, once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic, there's no hope. It's like a dead end. Okay. So, this businessman, it sounds like his story's important. What happened? Well, this guy, totally unexpectedly, he turns things around, figures out a way to deal with his drinking. Wow. But here's the thing that's not even the most amazing part. This one guy's experience. Yeah. It's like the foundation for something much, much bigger. Keep going. This is where it gets good. This, like, random event, it basically starts Alcoholics Anonymous. I mean, you know, AA, it's still huge, almost 100 years later. Wow. That's amazing. See, you have this doctor, right? He's treating these hopeless cases. Yeah. Challenging the whole idea of what alcoholism even is. Right. And bam! This global movement is born from his work. It's pretty incredible. It really is. It makes you wonder, like, what did he see that others were missing? And that's exactly what we're going to dig into. Yeah. The really interesting thing about Dr. Silkworth was this idea he had that alcoholism, it wasn't just, you know, in your head, it was physical too. He said, and this is a quote, the alcoholic's body is quite as abnormal as his mind. So, he's not ignoring the mental side, but he's saying, hold on, there's more to this, the body's part of it. Yeah. That must have been huge back then. Oh, totally. He was, like, way ahead of his time. And so, to try to make sense of this physical part, he says, what if, right? What if it's an allergy? An allergy. Okay, now I have to hear more. How did he think that worked? Like, how could an allergy make someone an alcoholic? This is where it gets really cool how he's thinking about this. He's saying that for some people, alcohol, it sets off this physical reaction in them, this craving that they can't control. So, it's not even a choice. It's like their body's, like, fighting against them, you know? He thought this allergy could actually make you dependent, make it almost impossible to just quit on your own. So different from someone who can just, like, take it or leave it. Exactly. Their body's really working against them. Yeah, and this idea, this allergy thing, it might sound a little, I don't know, a little off, right? Yeah. But it shows that people were starting to see that there's this whole physical side to addiction. It's not just in your head. Okay, so he's, like, ahead of his time in a lot of ways. But he didn't just stop at the physical stuff, right? Right. He also talked about spirituality and this moral psychology idea. Yeah, he thought that to really get better, it wasn't enough to just, like, deal with the physical part of it. You needed something more. Okay, so help me with this moral psychology thing. What did he mean by that? It's not about being, like, a saint or anything. It's more about how you see the world, what's important to you, you know? Okay. He thought you had to, like, change your whole perspective to really beat this thing. So it's like you need a reason to stay sober that's bigger than just not drinking. Exactly. And that's where the psychic change comes in. Psychic change, that's, like, a big one. What is that and how does it happen? He never really defines it, but he talks about it like it's this huge shift in the way you think, the way you act. He uses it to describe these patients he saw who, like, totally transformed their lives. And he tells the story, right, about that businessman we talked about, the one who kind of started AA. After a year sober, Dr. Silkworth says he was, like, a different person. Totally. And it wasn't just about the drinking. He was, like, happier, more positive, just, like, healthier overall. This psychic change really affected his whole life. Was that typical, though, or was this guy, like, a special case? It's hard to say for sure. The excerpt, it just tells these stories, right? It doesn't give us, like, numbers or anything to tell us how common it was. That makes sense. He's just telling us what he saw, what he thinks is important. Exactly. But then to really drive home how powerful this idea could be, he tells this other story. Okay. About this guy. They found him in an abandoned barn about to end it all. Oh, man. That's rough. It just shows how bad this disease can get. No kidding. Even this guy, once he heard about this psychic change idea, found something to, you know, believe in, something bigger than himself, he was able to turn his life around, got sober, and stayed that way for years. That's incredible. It shows the power of hope, right? Yeah. Finding something to hold on to. So how does this psychic change thing connect to moral psychology? Good question. See, Dr. Silkworth, he didn't think you could just, like, force this change to happen. It had to come from within. Exactly. It had to connect with something deeper, something outside of yourself. It had to be real, you know? So he's saying that to heal from addiction, it's not just about willpower or medicine. It's deeper than that. It's about your mind, your body, and, like, your spirit. Yeah. And even though he's using old-fashioned language, you can see how this moral psychology idea is kind of like what we do today with therapy. So like changing your thought patterns, learning how to cope, dealing with the underlying stuff. Exactly. It's all connected. It's our thoughts, our feelings, our actions. And Dr. Silkworth, he was figuring this out way back when. It's amazing how his ideas still matter today, but what about his allergy theory? Does that fit with how we understand addiction now? Yeah. It really makes you think about that allergy idea. Mm-hmm. Like, does that even make sense with everything we know now? Well, we don't really use that word anymore. Right. But Dr. Silkworth was definitely onto something, right? He saw how important the physical part of addiction is. And we know that's true. Like, literally, certain things can mess with your brain, make you crave them like crazy, just like he was saying. So even if he didn't have the, like, scientific words for it, he was describing something real. It wasn't, like, just in their heads, you know? Totally. And that idea, it, like, set the stage for how we treat addiction today. Mm-hmm. Dr. Silkworth, he might not have known all the brain science we know now. Yeah. But the idea is, they helped us understand that addiction is this, like, complicated thing. Yeah. It's both physical and mental. It makes you wonder, like, what would he think of how we treat it now, right? I know. It's crazy to think about. With, like, therapy and medication and all this research on the brain, what would he say about all that? He'd probably be blown away by, you know, how much we've learned about how the brain works. Mm-hmm. Especially when it comes to addiction. Mm-hmm. He'd still say, okay, that's great, but it's not the whole story. Right. Because he was all about that psychic change thing. Exactly. And that inner transformation, that had to happen alongside the, like, physical healing. Couldn't have said it better myself. It's like, he's reminding us that recovery isn't just about, like, fixing the body. Yeah. It's about the whole person, their mind, their feelings, everything, even their, like, spiritual side. It's about really taking back your life. Exactly. And, you know, finding that reason to keep going, even when it's hard. Couldn't agree more. Yeah. And that's what's so cool about, like, going back and looking at these old ideas. Yeah. It makes us think differently, you know? Helps us see how we got to where we are now. Mm-hmm. And reminds us that we have to treat the whole person, not just the addiction. It really makes you appreciate people like Dr. Silkworth. Oh, totally. Like, he wasn't afraid to say, hey, maybe we're thinking about this wrong. Yeah. And he gave people hope. Absolutely. When they really needed it. Yeah. He really did. He changed the way we think about addiction. Mm-hmm. And that's still making a difference today. For sure. Well, I think that's a good place to wrap up this deep dive. Yeah. It gives us a lot to, like, think about. How can we keep building on what people like him started? Mm-hmm. How can we make sure that we're, like, using science, but also treating people with compassion? Those are important questions. And how do we get rid of the shame that still surrounds addiction? Right. Because it's still there. Yeah. These are things we need to keep talking about. Absolutely. For sure. For ourselves. For people who are struggling. For everyone, you know? Totally agree. So, until next time, keep those deep dives going, everybody.