What is the occurrence of alcoholism? According to a Gallup poll, 67 per cent of the people of the United States twenty-one years of age and over were using alcoholic beverages in some form in 1945. Dr. Jellinek of Yale places that figure at 6o per cent, saying that 58,250,000 persons, exclusive Of the Armed Forces, made up the number using alcoholic beverages in 1945. Male users increased 26 per, cent between 1940 and 1945, and female users inCreased 52 per cent. The year 1046 showed further increase, but 1947 shows the women dropping out. The majority of women never enjoyed drinking, and were simply following the male pattern of life while employed in war work. Now they have resumed their own role and do not have the former large salaries to spend, and cannot afford alcoholic beverages.
Over three million people in the United States are excessive drinkers, and about 750,000 of this class are chronic alcoholics. The chronic alcoholic, according to Jellinek, is one who, as the result of many years of excessive drinking, has acquired a bodily or mental disorder, and impairment is present.
The problem of alcoholism, then, is one which any minister of the gospel may expect to meet. If he has had opportunity to gain some understanding of the alcoholic's point of view, he will be more tactful in his approach, and, the chances are, more successful in his results.
The agony that a family goes through because of an alcoholic member sometimes far exceeds that brought about by death. The minister should feel deeply humble that his parishioners turn to him at such a moment. He should know how to meet the situation intelligently and helpfully.
The alcoholic is neither a pleasant nor an easy person to approach when he is under the influence of alcohol or when he is coming out of a debauch. His external behavior belies what is really going on in his mind. He is rebellious and overly confident, to cover up his feelings of guilt, shame, and remorse. He has come to a place where he cannot handle himself, and he is badly frightened. He is a disintegrated and a discouraged person. But would he admit all this ? Not he ! But do not be afraid to try to help him. Remember, he is a frightened child, suffering untold physical and mental agony. If your approach is right, the false exterior will melt away, and the real man will be plainly evident.
Do not expect the alcoholic coming out of a debauch to return at once to his normal personality. It is most important at this stage for the one who is trying to help to let him know that he feels for him and with him. So long as the would-be counselor keeps himself on a plane above the alcoholic, or shows him in any way that he feels superior, he will get nowhere. When the pastor can get down beside him, show him that all flesh is weak, but that there is a power that can help us all up from the depths, then the sufferer will begin to show interest. Although he knows too well that he does not amount to much, he wants to be thought of as someone of importance. He is often a person of high ideals, but he cannot match actuality with his dreams, and has been resolving his difficulties by drowning his sensibilities in alcoholic beverage.
Always keep this in mind that the approach to the alcoholic is probably harder for the ministers than for any other class -of people. The alcoholic will suspect him and be antagonistic to him because he is a minister. The pastor must disarm this suspicion, and he can do so by sincerity and friendliness.
As a person must have a "green thumb" to make a garden grow, so one must have a deep love for lost souls if he hopes to approach and help the alcoholic. He has a sixth sense; he knows when the one offering help is genuine in his desire to help, and he knows when that person is genuine too. No one can fool an alcoholic by pretending what he really does not feel.
Help in Dealing With the Alcoholic
It is well that the minister be informed on certain points before the alcoholic appears on his horizon. He should know a reputable physician who is interested in the alcoholic and whose methods of treatment are modern. He should know what facilities his community has for treating alcoholics. Is there a clinic for alcoholics available? Such clinics are all too few as yet, but some cities have them. Many cities of size have one or more groups of ardent workers in an organization called Alcoholics Anonymous (familiarly called the A.A.'s).
Members of A.A. were once all alcoholics, but now are in an arrested stage of the disease of alcoholism (arrested, not cured, for the alcoholic admits that he cannot be cured to the point where he can safely drink again). These arrested alcoholics are anxious to help someone else who is struggling with the bottle, to become an A.A. too. They will come on call at any hour, and there is no charge. There is a definite bond between them and the alcoholic. He feels this and responds to their proffered help.
There are twelve steps which the A.A. urges the alcoholic to take, one of the most important of which is the admission that there is a power higher than himself who can help him up from his present state and keep him, day by day, from drinking. The watchword is, "Easy Does It," and the alcoholic makes his pledge fresh every morning that he will not, that day, indulge in alcohol. Thus he lives, a day at a time, realizing that alcoholism, like tuberculosis, cannot be cured but may be arrested.
When a community has no facilities with which to deal with the alcoholic, the pastor should try to interest the local hospital to provide at least an outpatient clinic for them. General hospitals are not usually too friendly toward alcoholics and look upon them as nuisances, but with a little time spent on education it might be possible to get them to help.
The Pastor's Role in Helping
Just what is the role of the pastor in helping the alcoholic? It means, first of all, willingness to be called upon whenever the alcoholic becomes frightened or thirsty, and these occurrences may arise at almost any hour of the day or night. Many pastors feel that they cannot give unlimited time to such activities, so they search out lay therapists in their congregation to do this work for them.
An A.A. in a church group can be a wonderful help at this point. Having decided to do his own counseling with the alcoholic, the first thing to do is to establish rapport. As he is coming out of his debauch, the alcoholic is at the height of his feeling of guilt and mental suffering. It is at this point, if he can find a sympathetic ear, that he is anxious to tell his story. He wants to unburden the feelings of guilt and remorse that overwhelm him. Further, at this point, he usually wants to get away from the habit that binds him, but he doesn't know how. This unburdening has a healing effect, and all the pastor should do at this point is to lend a listening ear, throwing in a pertinent question now and then, or an encouraging yes or no, just to liet the speaker know he is listening.
An objective attitude should be maintained throughout these interviews. Each piece of information should be carefully weighed as a possible clue to the cause for the drinking. The alcoholic may tell his counselor what led him to drink; but the wise counselor knows that the reason given may be far afield from the real one, and must listen carefully to discover what that reason is.
It is highly important to determine the reason for drinking, for, in some instances, when this is discovered and removed, drinking stops as a matter of course. Also, it is advisable for the alcoholic to face the real reason in making up his mind to quit alcohol.
In holding the objective attitude the counselor will never appear shocked at any of the statements the alcoholic may make, and he will remember that the alcoholic is an inveterate liar. Remember, too, that his story should be held in strictest confidence. If he has previously known God, urge him to pour forth his repentance to Him.
Many an alcoholic knows nothing of God or prayer when he comes to his counselor for help.
One author has spoken of the father-and-son relationship between the counselor and the alcoholic. Just as the father stands in the place of God to his child until the child has reached a point of spiritual understanding, so the counselor is held in the groping alcoholic mind until it has come to a state of accountability again. It is well to remember that "God will be better glorified if we confess the secret, inbred corruption of the heart to Jesus alone."—Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 645.
When the counselor has received his story from the alcoholic, he may know that his client has accepted him as a help along the way. The pastor now begins to give suggestions and help. Small doses are advisable at first. The inebriate's mind is not yet clear of the influence of alcohol, and he cannot appreciate too much all at once. He will probably argue against his counselor and apparently refute what he says, but that should not be a cause for discouragement. A few days later he may be expressing, as his own ideas, the very things his counselor has been telling him, which he formerly denied. As soon as possible, make out a program for every waking hour of the inebriate's day, or, better still, help him to make out one with you.
Give him something to do that will keep his hours filled and intrigue his interest. One patient I knew turned to a study of psychology in a well-known university, another took up the study of radio, and a third raised gladioli. What the activity will be depends on the person's interests and capabilities, and it makes little difference what it is so long as it fills his time and interest and there is no occasion to turn to alcohol in boredom. The inebriate should be encouraged to associate with a new and abstinent group of people. Association with Alcoholics Anonymous often helps the ex-alcoholic to find a satisfactory social life.
The one thing which all alcoholics share in common is that they all consider themselves misunderstood. Because he has felt that his counselor understood him, he has clung to him for support. The untrained counselor may develop a very gratifying sense of power from such dependence, but if this situation occurs, it is time for him to turn the alcoholic over to someone else or to encourage him to stand alone.
Any counselor only acts as a crutch for the alcoholic in aiding him to be rid of drink, and the situation should not continue indefinitely. The drinker needed him for support at first, but as with a child learning to walk, there comes a time when he must try to walk alone. The counselor begins to withdraw his support and teaches his client to transfer the dependence he has had on him to a Power greater than he.
This by no means indicates that the alcoholic is to be cut adrift at this point. Regular periods of contact should be established such as once in two weeks, later developing into once a month as the patient progresses, at which time the former inebriate will report to his counselor, tell of his progress, and receive any counsel necessary. Knowing that he will have to report about his behavior frequently has a deterring effect on sneaking a possible drink. Such counseling may continue as long as two years. A year is considered a fairly short time for counseling.
Religious Instruction for the Alcoholic
Religious instruction should be approached carefully, but should surely be offered. Many an alcoholic has had no religious tfaining whatsoever. He will not understand the same language that a pastor might use to his parishioner. The pastor must begin with him where he is in his religious experience. It may have to be a slow process with many repetitions, but the counselor should be patient and untiring.
It will not be surprising if the alcoholic falls from grace. He should not be approached with the view that the counselor is disappointed in him, but rather how long he has been without a drink should be emphasized. He should be told that next time the counselor expects him to go a longer time.
It sometimes happens that the alcoholic swears off once and for all, but more often he takes it in gradual stages. So long as the periods between drinks become longer, there is cause for encouragement. By watching the premonitions carefully, the counselor may help him to avoid these relapses. When tension begins to develop, anticipate trouble and call on the physician for help. He may be able to give medication that will ward off a drinking bout. Emotional disturbances such as sudden anger, grief, disappointment, may result in drinking. Every means possible should be used to keep such occurrences from happening. The family should understand this and be asked to help. The counselor has to deal with a sick mind as well as a sick body, and he should remember that it takes time, patience, and prayer to heal.
When the time is ripe, the pastor should ask whether his client would like prayer. It is possible that he will want to pray, too. Care should be exercised to introduce this element at the right time. It is all too easy to frighten the inebriate away by suggesting prayer before he gains confidence in his counselor.
There is no class of persons more trying than the alcoholic. He can be a most hopeful prospect today and an utterly impossible one tomorrow. He will try one's patience to the extreme, but if he finally comes to trust his counselor, he will listen to what his adviser has to say.
There are many types of treatment for the alcoholic, but there is none more sure to produce results than the acceptance of religion. It is the minister's privilege to offer that means of help. May God give him grace and courage as he meets the alcoholic in his field of labor.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alcohol, Science, and Society, Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 52 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, Connecticut, 1946.
Alcoholics Anonymous. New York : Works Publishing Co., 1942.
Brooks, Carolyne L. Beverage Alcohol. Evanston, Illinois: WCTU Publishing Co., 1946.
Carroll, Robert S. What Price Alcohol! New York: Macmillan, 1941.
Emerson, Haven (editor). Alcohol and Man. New York: Macmillan, 1935 (out of print).
King, Albion Roy. Psychology of Drunkenness. Mt. Vernon, Iowa: Hawkeye Press, 1943.
Strecker and Chambers. One Man's Meat. New York: Macmillan, 1944.
Weeks, C. C. Alcohol and Human Life. London : Lewis, 1938 (out of prinO•
White, Ellen G. Ministry of Healing.
MAGAZINES ON THE ALCOHOL PROBLEM
The Clipsheet. Methodist Board of Temperance and Morals, roo Maryland Ave., N.E., Washington, D.C.
The International Student. 12 N. Third Street, Columbus, Ohio,
The National Voice. 315 S. Broadway, Los Angeles 13, California.
The Quarterly Bulletin. American Temperance Society, General Conference.
The Quarterly Journal of Studies in Alcohol. 52 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, Connecticut,
The Scientific Temperance Journal. Edited by the Scientific Temperance Federation, Westerville, Ohio. The Voice. Methodist Board of Temperance.
