Charlie – Big Book Study – The Doctor’s Opinion and the Psychic Change – 1986

About This Speaker Tape

Charlie dismantles the gap between the 'fellowship' and the 'textbook,' arguing that the society has drifted from the Big Book's original recovery rates. He maps out the physical and mental machinery of the disease, using the 'Doctor's Opinion' as the foundation. He describes the physical allergy not as a rash, but as the 'phenomenon of craving'—a chemical trap where acetone builds up in the alcoholic's system, demanding more alcohol.

He contrasts the 'normal' drinker's nausea with his own experience of alcohol as a 'bomb' that exploded through his body, granting him a courage he lacked as a shy kid. He concludes that while the body is allergic, the real battle is the 'psychic change' in the mind, moving from a state of restlessness and irritability to a place of serenity where the obsession to drink no longer takes hold.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Charlie distinguishes between the AA society and the AA textbook.
• 3:15 Discussion on the historical recovery rates (75%) versus modern fellowship.
• 6:40 Charlie uses the Book of Proverbs to describe the mannerisms of the alcoholic.
• 11:20 Analysis of the 'Doctor's Opinion' and the physical abnormality of the alcoholic.
• 15:45 Laughter: Charlie's confusion over the word 'allergy' and his trip to the dictionary.
• 19:10 Detailed description of the physical sensation of the first drink and the 'bomb' effect.
• 24:30 Explanation of the 'phenomenon of craving' and the definition of a 'chronic' alcoholic.
• 28:15 Breakdown of the five classifications of alcoholics from the Big Book.
• 34:50 The chemistry of metabolism: how acetone creates the physical craving.
• 41:10 The 'fish allergy' metaphor for the mental obsession to drink.
• 46:20 Charlie reflects on using alcohol to find courage as a shy child.
• 53:10 The 'psychic change' and the necessity of living below the emotional tolerance point.