Booth's Mental health

[Susan Higginbotham]

I tend to think that Booth drank at times to be convivial (and my sense is that convivial drinking at the time meant consuming quite a lot), and at other times to relieve stress. I don't see him as an alcoholic--not even from these descriptions.

[RJNorton]

Just curious - does anyone know for certain where Booth spent the night of the 13th? I had assumed he spent it in his room at the National Hotel, but today I noticed that on p. 67 of A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours W. Emerson Reck wrote:

No one seemed to know where Booth spent the night of April 13. When three men (presumably Herold, Paine, and Atzerodt) sought Booth at the National Hotel on the morning of April 14, it was discovered that the bed in his room, No. 228, had not been touched. Somewhere, however, he had written at 2:00 A.M. a short letter to his mother, in which he excused his brevity with "am in haste."

I then checked Art Loux's book, and he has no definitive answer but gives several possibilities. One of the possibilities Art mentioned is that Booth did not sleep at all ("the prospect of the planned murder may have kept him awake") but walked about the city seeing the Grand Illumination and then possibly spending time with Lucy Hall and/or Ella Starr. Art writes that Booth may have then "returned to his hotel room and slept on top of the bed covers."

Does anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!

[Jenny]

My father is an alcoholic. He is physically and mentally abusive man who is so dependent on the bottle that my family has been utterly torn apart by it. He is entering the final stages of alcoholism (he probably won't be around too much longer). It is a living you-know-what to even be in his presence.

However for all of the passages provided from Fortune's Fool to attempt to support Booth's "alcoholism," I am not seeing it. At all.

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Roger,
I have always wondered what Booth did/where he went the night before the assassination. Honestly I can't even begin to guess! Maybe someone else has an idea...

[HerbS]

Jenny-thanks for sharing your torments with us!My father was an alcoholic beast also!

[Eva Elisabeth]

Diagnostic Criteria for Alcohol Abuse and Dependence

I. ALCOHOL ABUSE
(A) A maladaptive pattern of drinking, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by at least one of the following occurring within a 12-month period:

1. Recurrent use of alcohol resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home (e.g., repeated absences or poor work performance related to alcohol use; alcohol-related absences, suspensions, or expulsions from school; neglect of children or household)
2. Recurrent alcohol use in situations in which it is physically hazardous (e.g., driving an automobile or operating a machine when impaired by alcohol use)
3. Recurrent alcohol-related legal problems (e.g., arrests for alcohol-related disorderly conduct)
4. Continued alcohol use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of alcohol (e.g., arguments with spouse about consequences of intoxication).
(B) Never met criteria for alcohol dependence.

II. ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
(A) A maladaptive pattern of drinking, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by THREE OR MORE of the following occurring at any time in the same 12-month period:

1. Need for markedly increased amounts of alcohol to achieve intoxication or desired effect; or markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of alcohol
2. The characteristic withdrawal syndrome for alcohol; or drinking (or using a closely related substance) to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms
3. Drinking in larger amounts or over a longer period than intended.
4. Persistent desire or one or more unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control drinking
5. Important social, occupational, or recreational activities given up or reduced because of drinking
6. A great deal of time spent in activities necessary to obtain, to use, or to recover from the effects of drinking
7. Continued drinking despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to be caused or exacerbated by drinking.

(B) No duration criterion separately specified, but several dependence criteria must occur repeatedly as specified by duration qualifiers associated with criteria (e.g., “persistent,” “continued”).

Source: Adapted from American Psychiatric Association (APA). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC: APA, 2000.

Rosieo, how would you apply these criteria?
As I said, I, too, think it seemes JWB was physically used to drink. On the other hand I cannont see he met especially the criteria for dependence. I'd love to hear a professional's assessment (Dr. Houmes...?)

[RJNorton]

(07-21-2015 06:31 PM)Jenny Wrote:  Roger,
I have always wondered what Booth did/where he went the night before the assassination. Honestly I can't even begin to guess! Maybe someone else has an idea...

Thank you, Jenny!! I put my question in the mental health thread because I remember lack of sleep effected me when I was teaching (it actually made me hyper), and therefore I am curious if anyone feels lack of sleep could conceivably have effected JWB's actions on April 14th.

[L Verge]

Jenny,

You know that we are kindred spirits regarding our thoughts on Booth and Ella Starr. I have always thought she was the one "constant" female in his life at this point - despite the separation that went on not long before the assassination. Other than maybe Isabel Sumner, I don't think he had genuine feelings for any other female besides family -- and that includes Lucy.

We can only speculate, but I would like to think that he spent the night with Ella. On this point, I guess I am a romantic... And, one day, I will torture a certain author until he tells me what her married name was and what happened after she went back to Baltimore!

[Eva Elisabeth]

(07-21-2015 06:43 PM)HerbS Wrote:  Jenny-thanks for sharing your torments with us!My father was an alcoholic beast also!

I feel sorry for the both of you, that must be an unimaginably terrible situation.

[L Verge]

(07-21-2015 01:34 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  I tend to think that Booth drank at times to be convivial (and my sense is that convivial drinking at the time meant consuming quite a lot), and at other times to relieve stress. I don't see him as an alcoholic--not even from these descriptions.

You know that I agree, Susan. There are numerous incidences that other authors have brought out about Booth's generosity to others and his great relationships with children - even at the Garrett farm when fear and disappointment had to be taking control of him. That is not the sign of an out-of-control alcoholic, in my opinion.

I do thank God that my father was a "benign alcoholic." I have been acquainted with others (male and female) who fit more the mold of other alcoholics mentioned here in relation to our posters. I have a very dear childhood friend who has spent years trying to overcome the evil things that her alcoholic mother did to both her and her sister. She has survived well - her sister is now the alcoholic.

Those that have gone through this have my sympathies; and Rosemary, I apologize if my attempt to pass along a tidbit of alcohol-related history (on what I genuinely thought was a light note) offended you.

[Jenny]

Herb, I am sorry you had to deal with a crazy alcoholic father too. I feel for both you and Roseio. And thank you, Eva!

Eva, you raise a great point by posting the modern criteria for alcohol abuse and dependency. What I think is sketchy about "diagnosing" John Willkes Booth with ANYTHING (and this is from someone who admittedly suspects he might have had a form of bipolar disorder) is that it can't be done using modern criteria. I mean, it usually takes *three* or more of what are listed as symptoms to get a diagnosis here and now. And unless we build that time machine, of course, and load up a professional to head back to the 1860s so he/she could observe or speak with JWB himself (provided JWB wanted to cooperate in the first place) to determine if he fit the number criteria for whatever issue, it is simply impossible to diagnose Booth with ANYTHING using modern standards.

Yes, a lot of us recognized traits in what is written about JWB that make us think, "I bet he was an alcoholic or had depression or bipolar disorder or schizophrenia because I recognize symptoms as I read about this man" etc. Despite our suspicions, there is just not enough material on JWB to diagnose him using the criteria doctors use now, no matter how much "research" is done. And we who live in the 21st century are used to the modern criteria which we simply can't use on Booth.

Just something I have been thinking about ever since this thread started. Whether or not he had anything wrong mentally or was abusing alcohol etc. I agree that any issues like those would have simply fuelled his anger and hatred towards the North around the time the war ended, not caused it.

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(07-21-2015 07:34 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Jenny,

You know that we are kindred spirits regarding our thoughts on Booth and Ella Starr. I have always thought she was the one "constant" female in his life at this point - despite the separation that went on not long before the assassination. Other than maybe Isabel Sumner, I don't think he had genuine feelings for any other female besides family -- and that includes Lucy.

We can only speculate, but I would like to think that he spent the night with Ella. On this point, I guess I am a romantic... And, one day, I will torture a certain author until he tells me what her married name was and what happened after she went back to Baltimore!

Haha! I'll bring the cattle prod if you will hold him against the wall! Kidding, kidding! (Sorry, Dr. Alford!)

[Jenny]

The definition? True enough. But there is just not enough definitive evidence from records of his life to diagnose Booth as an alcoholic in my opinion.

[Eva Elisabeth]

(07-21-2015 07:55 PM)Jenny Wrote:  Despite our suspicions, there is just not enough material on JWB to diagnose him us ing the criteria doctors use now, no matter how much "research" is done.

I totally agree.

[Jenny]

Roseio, please do not apologize for anything! I actually never heard that Dr. Alford ever came out and said that he theorized Booth really was an alcoholic in Fortune's Fool to be honest (Laurie?). And although I personally don't see it, that doesn't mean he wasn't one.

If it rings true to you (and I am terribly sorry that you had an alcoholic husband by the way - I know what a nightmare that had to be), there is no reason why you should apologize for what you feel makes sense. A lot of us have different thoughts on Booth - we also like to debate those thoughts. I'm sorry if I offended you!

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Roger, I forget to put in my two cents on the sleeping issue! I am one of those people who bumbles into walls and forgets what she is talking about mid-conversation if sleep deprived... it's interesting that lack of sleep made you hyper in contrast! I do think Booth could easily have been influenced on April 14th by a restless night although I am not sure to what extent.

[RJNorton]

Hi Jenny. Sleeplessness seemed to have an unusual effect on me. I coached basketball for 8 years in the school where I taught. Oftentimes I had trouble sleeping the night before games. Sometimes I was awake the whole night. During those 8 years I had only two technicals called on me. Both came during games when I had zero sleep the night before. The effect was that I talked more rapidly than normal to the team, yelled at the players more when mistakes were made, and yelled at the refs more when I disagreed with a call. Lack of sleep definitely made me hyper. My mind tended to race. I was also that way in college when I was up all night studying for finals - I'd be hyper the next day for the tests. When I get too much sleep it's just the opposite - I actually get sleepy the day after a night with too much sleep.

So this is why I am wondering if Booth got no sleep on the night of the 13th whether there was an effect. Why, when writing his mother at 2:00 A.M., would he include the words, "Excuse brevity; am in haste." Was his mind racing?

[Eva Elisabeth]

(07-22-2015 06:37 PM)Jenny Wrote:  Roseio, please do not apologize for anything! I actually never heard that Dr. Alford ever came out and said that he theorized Booth really was an alcoholic in Fortune's Fool to be honest (Laurie?). And although I personally don't see it, that doesn't mean he wasn't one.
If it rings true to you (and I am terribly sorry that you had an alcoholic husband by the way...), there is no reason why you should apologize for what you feel makes sense. A lot of us have different thoughts... - we also like to debate those thoughts. I'm sorry if I offended you!

I second Jenny again and had already reconsidered and deleted that part of my reply before you made your latest post, Roseio.