Jim Morrison's Substance Use Disorder
No One Here Gets Out Alive: Jim Morrison’s Substance Use Disorder
Douglas M. Nowik
Northeastern Illinois University
The Diagnosis Of Jim Morrison: Substance Use Disorder
Psychodynamic View Of Substance Use Disorder Psychodynamic theorists believe that people suffering from substance use disorders have intense dependency needs that can be traced to persons early years in childhood. The theory states that it is due to a lack of parental nourishment, which ultimately hinders the child’s development and leads them later in life to look for outside support, such as an illegal substance or alcohol. In order to best relate this theory to Jim Morrison, there are a few key aspects of his childhood take into account.
Father …show more content…
And Son. Throughout Jim’s childhood mobility and separation characterized the relationship between father and son. Both, mobility and separation were due to the fact that Jim’s father was in the military, which Jim saw as the ultimate authoritative figure (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991). The moves often came with little warning and the separation ranged from a few weeks, to a few months. For the young Morrison this nomadic like existence provided no consistency, but inconsistency. According to Hopkins and Sugerman (1980) Morrison grew to be looked upon as a terror within the family, with his hell raising, attention seeking behavior often caused embarrassment to his parents, especially his father. When Jim’s father was around he frequently punished Jim for this type of behavior. He did this by verbally abusing Jim until he felt necessary to produce sufficient remorse and repentance (Hopkins & Sugerman, 1980).
Jim’s Substance Use Disorder In The Psychodynamic Perspective Although, Jim was never directly diagnosed with having a substance use disorder, it is well known that he used drugs and alcohol in his late teenage and adult years. Morrison’s substance use disorder, in terms of a psychodynamic perspective, could be connected to the lack of relationship between him and his father. Perhaps Jim acted out as a child to get attention from his father and that attention, most of the time, came in form of punishment. Instead of spanking him, Jim’s father would repeatedly instill extreme guilt into the children. This shame based behavior pushed Jim to rebel against his father and any sort of authority figure. Jim’s drug use in his adult life could have been a form of rebelling against his father and authority in general.
When Jim first became famous in 1967, he repeatedly stated in interviews that his family was dead, though they were not (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991).
It is evident from this statement that Jim did not want to talk about his childhood because the thoughts caused him great pain. This pain, I believe, is the main factor for his substance use disorder. Jim used alcohol and illegal substances throughout his life to quiet and submerge the painful memories of his childhood. The constant moving in Jim’s childhood meant that he learned to make new friends quickly, but he also learned not to get too close. This learned inability to open up and trust people caused Jim to feel disconnected from society and his peers. I believe that this detachment from peers and society at an early age caused him to seek other ways of connecting with people, which he did by taking drugs to disorient and disorganize his consciousness and bury his inability to …show more content…
trust.
Cognitive-Behavioral Approach To Substance Use Disorder
This approach argues that majority of people use drugs as a way of self-medicating when they feel tense or upset about something. To explain this approach and how it relates to Jim, we again look at a specific event occurred when Morrison was ten.
Indians Scattered On Dawns Highway Bleeding.
The Morrison family was driving through the desert in New Mexico, when they came upon a horrific car accident. A truckload of Indian workers had been hit by another car, and as a result, there were Indians scattered all over the highway bleeding to death. Jim recalled the event in an interview years later, “all I saw was funny red paint and people lying on the ground, but I knew something was happening because I could dig the vibrations of my parents that were next to me, and all of the sudden I realized that they didn’t know what was happening any more than I did” (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991, p. 26). Jim elaborated and went on to say “That was the first time I tasted fear and I do think, at that moment, the souls or ghosts of those dead Indians were just running around, freaking out, and leaped into my soul and I was like a sponge, ready to just sit there and absorb it… and they’re still in there” (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991, p.
27).
Cognitive-Behavioral Approach To Jim’s Substance Use Disorder Jim truly believed that the spirit of a shaman possessed him because of that day in the desert. The shaman is the medicine man and visionary healer who is the central figure in many tribal cultures (Hopkins & Sugerman, 1980). Alcohol is a depressant and for Morrison, it was depressing a lot of things he did not want to deal with, manly the spirits that were in his head. Frank Lisciandro, Doors photographer and long time friend, said, “Jim drank not for inspiration, but to quiet the ceaseless clamor of the demons, ghosts, and spirits begging for release” (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991, p. 23). Ray Manzarek, Doors keyboardist, explained that Jim had angels and demons inside of him fighting for control and found relief in drinking (Hopkins & Sugerman, 1980). In terms of the Cognitive-Behavioral view, Jim was drinking to medicate himself. Jim was coping with these spirits in his head by drowning them in alcohol. By drinking mass amounts of alcohol, Jim was getting a reward or positive mental affect. This reward was ceasing the spirits inside of his head and easing the tension in his consciousness.
Riordan, J., & Prochnicky, J. (1991). Break on through: The life and death of Jim Morrison (pp. 10-65). New York: Morrow.
Densmore, J. (1990). Riders on the storm: My life with Jim Morrison and the Doors. New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press.
Hopkins, J., & Sugerman, D. (1980). No one here gets out alive (pp. 1-50). New York, N.Y.: Warner Books.
Douglas M. Nowik
Northeastern Illinois University
The Diagnosis Of Jim Morrison: Substance Use Disorder
Psychodynamic View Of Substance Use Disorder Psychodynamic theorists believe that people suffering from substance use disorders have intense dependency needs that can be traced to persons early years in childhood. The theory states that it is due to a lack of parental nourishment, which ultimately hinders the child’s development and leads them later in life to look for outside support, such as an illegal substance or alcohol. In order to best relate this theory to Jim Morrison, there are a few key aspects of his childhood take into account.
Father …show more content…
And Son. Throughout Jim’s childhood mobility and separation characterized the relationship between father and son. Both, mobility and separation were due to the fact that Jim’s father was in the military, which Jim saw as the ultimate authoritative figure (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991). The moves often came with little warning and the separation ranged from a few weeks, to a few months. For the young Morrison this nomadic like existence provided no consistency, but inconsistency. According to Hopkins and Sugerman (1980) Morrison grew to be looked upon as a terror within the family, with his hell raising, attention seeking behavior often caused embarrassment to his parents, especially his father. When Jim’s father was around he frequently punished Jim for this type of behavior. He did this by verbally abusing Jim until he felt necessary to produce sufficient remorse and repentance (Hopkins & Sugerman, 1980).
Jim’s Substance Use Disorder In The Psychodynamic Perspective Although, Jim was never directly diagnosed with having a substance use disorder, it is well known that he used drugs and alcohol in his late teenage and adult years. Morrison’s substance use disorder, in terms of a psychodynamic perspective, could be connected to the lack of relationship between him and his father. Perhaps Jim acted out as a child to get attention from his father and that attention, most of the time, came in form of punishment. Instead of spanking him, Jim’s father would repeatedly instill extreme guilt into the children. This shame based behavior pushed Jim to rebel against his father and any sort of authority figure. Jim’s drug use in his adult life could have been a form of rebelling against his father and authority in general.
When Jim first became famous in 1967, he repeatedly stated in interviews that his family was dead, though they were not (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991).
It is evident from this statement that Jim did not want to talk about his childhood because the thoughts caused him great pain. This pain, I believe, is the main factor for his substance use disorder. Jim used alcohol and illegal substances throughout his life to quiet and submerge the painful memories of his childhood. The constant moving in Jim’s childhood meant that he learned to make new friends quickly, but he also learned not to get too close. This learned inability to open up and trust people caused Jim to feel disconnected from society and his peers. I believe that this detachment from peers and society at an early age caused him to seek other ways of connecting with people, which he did by taking drugs to disorient and disorganize his consciousness and bury his inability to …show more content…
trust.
Cognitive-Behavioral Approach To Substance Use Disorder
This approach argues that majority of people use drugs as a way of self-medicating when they feel tense or upset about something. To explain this approach and how it relates to Jim, we again look at a specific event occurred when Morrison was ten.
Indians Scattered On Dawns Highway Bleeding.
The Morrison family was driving through the desert in New Mexico, when they came upon a horrific car accident. A truckload of Indian workers had been hit by another car, and as a result, there were Indians scattered all over the highway bleeding to death. Jim recalled the event in an interview years later, “all I saw was funny red paint and people lying on the ground, but I knew something was happening because I could dig the vibrations of my parents that were next to me, and all of the sudden I realized that they didn’t know what was happening any more than I did” (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991, p. 26). Jim elaborated and went on to say “That was the first time I tasted fear and I do think, at that moment, the souls or ghosts of those dead Indians were just running around, freaking out, and leaped into my soul and I was like a sponge, ready to just sit there and absorb it… and they’re still in there” (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991, p.
27).
Cognitive-Behavioral Approach To Jim’s Substance Use Disorder Jim truly believed that the spirit of a shaman possessed him because of that day in the desert. The shaman is the medicine man and visionary healer who is the central figure in many tribal cultures (Hopkins & Sugerman, 1980). Alcohol is a depressant and for Morrison, it was depressing a lot of things he did not want to deal with, manly the spirits that were in his head. Frank Lisciandro, Doors photographer and long time friend, said, “Jim drank not for inspiration, but to quiet the ceaseless clamor of the demons, ghosts, and spirits begging for release” (Prochnicky & Riordan, 1991, p. 23). Ray Manzarek, Doors keyboardist, explained that Jim had angels and demons inside of him fighting for control and found relief in drinking (Hopkins & Sugerman, 1980). In terms of the Cognitive-Behavioral view, Jim was drinking to medicate himself. Jim was coping with these spirits in his head by drowning them in alcohol. By drinking mass amounts of alcohol, Jim was getting a reward or positive mental affect. This reward was ceasing the spirits inside of his head and easing the tension in his consciousness.
Riordan, J., & Prochnicky, J. (1991). Break on through: The life and death of Jim Morrison (pp. 10-65). New York: Morrow.
Densmore, J. (1990). Riders on the storm: My life with Jim Morrison and the Doors. New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press.
Hopkins, J., & Sugerman, D. (1980). No one here gets out alive (pp. 1-50). New York, N.Y.: Warner Books.