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Dr Jekyll & Mr. Hyde a metaphor for Alcohol Addiction

Part 1

By Alistair Rhind,
Alcohol Addiction Treatment Consultant

In this section I am introducing the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This story can be seen as a metaphor for alcohol addiction and other addictions and is useful to enable a better understanding of the progressive nature of the condition of alcohol addiction or drugs or food, and to understand and identify the ‘loss of control’ suffered by those who have become dependent or addicted. 

“Once she had a drink she became unrecognisable. She was like two people, like Jekyll and Hyde.”

“In the day time he was a nice quiet man. Once he took a drink at night he turned into Mr. Hyde – he was a monster.”

“One minute I’m saying I will never drink again and the next I’m heading straight for the bar. I don’t know who I am anymore; I’m like Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

It is it is very difficult to understand the problem of addiction. We see that the sufferers have two sides to their character: the drinker \user and the non-drinker. Friends and relatives see and painfully experience, the duality of their addictive behaviour, as the Addict’s behaviour changes and as they are increasingly gripped by their addiction to their drug or activity. The relatives hear and believe the promises to quit or cut down only to have their hopes dashed when the drinking\using begins again or the individual once again loses control of their use.

Clearly the condition of Chemical dependency is baffling and powerful. Most people don’t realise that the sufferer is just as baffled by his behaviour as everyone else. And in their secret moments of despair, they secretly wonder what on earth is wrong with them.

The story of Jekyll and Hyde might help us to unravel this mystery and understand the experience of the addicted person. It might help us to realise that the drinker\user is not just being wilful in his continued use of the chemical. He is in fact struggling to control a monster within himself that is becoming stronger with each battle. Dr Jekyll is struggling with evil, whereas, the alcoholic\addict is struggling against cognitive, emotional, behavioural, social, neurological and biochemical changes which have taken place within and around him. To better understand the nature of this ‘loss of control’, we need to go back to the beginning of the story.

Dr Jekyll was a successful middle aged scientist. He had all the trappings of success, a big house, servants and the respect of his professional peers. He was, however, dissatisfied and felt that some aspect of his character or his life was not being expressed. He felt a powerful need to gratify his hunger for the release of this aspect of his character so he mixed together a powerful chemical potion to enable the release of this hitherto hidden part. This part emerged as Dr Jekyll transformed into Mr. Hyde. In the beginning we see that a desire for expression is met. Dr J. is allowing out something of himself that has been hidden and suppressed.

For the drinker\user the drug brings conviviality. For some it brings confidence and for others relief from stress or pain. Others experience a feeling of exhilaration, intoxication, relaxation; of numbness or relief, even a feeling of completeness or being taken care of. Ex alcoholics often say that when they drank alcohol it seemed to do something for them that they couldn’t do for themselves, as do those addicted to drugs or food. Overeaters or bingers often feel relief from painful feelings and like babies just fed a feeling of drunken stupor. Anorexics report feelings of being in control and of power. Those who self harm feel relief and release from pain and feeling trapped inside. In common to all is that the activity or drug brings a good feeling that was something they wanted to repeat. The memory of the deep pleasure associated with these activities keep the sufferer repeating the experience even when the pleasure or relief has long gone.

 For those people who don’t repeat such behaviours there is more often little or no pleasure or reward so they tend not to repeat the experience. “I tried it once but I didn’t like it.” Or, in the case of a drinker, “I got really drunk at the party the other night. It was great fun.” (It is important to remember that the reward may not be the immediate effect of the drug but the secondary gain such as feeling grown up or other powerful feelings like the deep satisfaction of being one of the crowds.)

The drinker usually experiences his drinking as positive. He often does not know his drinking persona as others do. Richard Bandler once said that the drinker and the non-drinker in the individual never get to meet each other. This is also true for other addictions. When the addict is not drinking\using his perspective on his behaviour is unrealistic. He minimises the amount and effects of the drinking and the drugging behaviour. The drunk often thinks of himself as funny and has a drug affected version of the reality of his drinking behaviour. People with eating disorders have a distorted perception of their bodies or lose touch with how their bodies experience fullness or starvation. Those who self harm have no experience of pain during their harming activity. In common to all is the trance like state they are in while indulging the addictive behaviour and are at those times lost too this destructive compulsion.

Like the alcoholic, Dr Jekyll experienced his transition to Mr. Hyde rather differently than those around him.

He felt younger, lighter and happier. He experienced a positive release and a sense of exhilaration that was absent in the persona of Dr Jekyll. The experience of becoming Mr. Hyde was liberating for Dr Jekyll. He became all of the things that he had suppressed over the years. For him it was a positive experience that was to turn on him later in the story.