“Tell them of all the things men do that they would blush at sober, and that drunkenness is nothing but a state of self-induced insanity. For imagine the drunken man’s behavior extended...

“Tell them of all the things men do that they would blush at sober, and that drunkenness is nothing but a state of self-induced insanity.  For imagine the drunken man’s behavior extended over several days:  would you hesitate to think him out of his mind.  As it is, the difference is one of duration, not of degree.”  --Seneca

Entertain that hypothetical, for a moment, Dear Reader.  Imagine if the effects of alcohol were permanent.  Is there any question a person in the midst of heavy intoxication would have to be institutionalized?  Loss of motor control, slurred words, incontinence, loss of inhibition, nausea, dizziness, amnesia, etc.  This is quite the constellation of symptoms and the only reason most of us were willing to bear them is because we knew that they would ultimately wear off.

And what did we do when those effects wore off?  That’s right, we got good and drunk all over again.  It’s often been attributed to Einstein (although there’s no proof he’s the one who coined it), that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Well, I sure knew what to expect when I made my alcoholic purchase for the night or for the weekend.  And then, of course, there are the consequences we sometimes don’t expect.  The fights, the heart palpitations, the night sweats, the bruises and scrapes from some bump or fall we don’t remember, etc.

Seneca knew that it was a profound disorder of the rational mind to drink to extreme intoxication.  We know that too.  We are not our best selves in that state.  We hurt ourselves.  We hurt others.  We yo-yo between drunkenness and hungover.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.  Insane.  Irrational.

These principles bear on recovery too.  The thought that invariably creeps in our heads when we put together a little sober time is the misplaced notion that we are “cured” and can drink again like a normal person.  Experience has demonstrated time and time again that we cannot, but like the insane person, we return to drink again and again, expecting different results from the same actions.  We vainly hope for different output when the input hasn’t changed.

I normally have to build bridges between Seneca’s teachings and the lessons of sobriety, but not here.  Here, Seneca is taking on the subject head-on and what he is teaching is that drunkenness is simply incompatible with Stoic principles describing the pursuit of a better life.  This should give us pause.  Seneca’s teachings were designed to allow followers to live lives of peace, in harmony with nature.  If that is something you want, Dear Reader, then drinking to excess simply ought to be excluded from your plans.

Imagine, instead of a bottle of intoxicating liquor, we were talking about a building being fumigated.  Imagine the classic brightly covered tent over the building and stern warning signs warning individuals that entry into the building could result in confusion, loss of motor control, loss of consciousness, and death.  Now, imagine a group of friends finding the building, reading the warning sign, and entering the building anyway.  As the friends breathe the toxic air, they start to feel the effects.  Some leave.  Some stay.  Those that stay get progressively sicker.  More leave.  Maybe one or two don’t make it out.  Can you imagine that?  Why should we conceptualize alcohol any differently?  

Humans are blessed with the greatest intellects of any living organism we have ever encountered.  Our discerning minds are either a cosmic blessing or the gift of a Divine Creator.  Whatever explanation you choose to believe as to why we have such advanced minds, you’d have to concede that self-destruction of our mental faculties is foolhardy to the utmost degree.  It has been recognized for thousands of years to be tantamount to insanity.  As such, we should consider our sobriety and recovery as a return to sanity and an act of self-love and self-respect.