dry drunk
n.— «A non-alcoholic drunk—a person intoxicated with his own abstiencne—was described here yesterday at a medical meeting.—Dr. Curtis T. Prout labeled such a person a “dry drunk.”—The “dry drunk” was found to have grown almost obsessed with his changed existence. The maintenances of abstinence was associated frequently with a disturbed mind. Dr. Prout pointed out that addiction was characterized by a desire “toward an object and away from it.”» —“Addictions Study Cites ‘Dry Drunk’” by Morris Kaplan New York Times Feb. 24, 1957. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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