The alcohol induced hypnoid state and its analytic corollary

Alcohol can be ingested to achieve a hypnoid state. This altered awareness is actively sought by the alcoholic as part of an ongoing attempt at mastery. By this symptomatic resort to a change in consciousness, the painful affects connected with earlier assaults and seductions carried out by severely disturbed parents, are maintained in repression. At the same time this self-induced hypnoid state facilitates the gratification of both conscious and unconscious fantasies. The case history of a patient is reported who while in analysis, and on the analytic couch, evoked a hypnoid state. For this patient the analysis of this hypnoid state led to the recall and verbalization of early traumatic experiences. The similarity of early life circumstances, in regard to disturbed and inadequate parenting, in both the carefully studied analytic patient and the less frequently available data on patients treated by psychotherapy in an alcohol clinic is discussed.