ABSTRACT
Throughout civilization and up to the present day human ingenuity has found various ways of coping with the stresses that life brings. Sometimes these entail a form of escapism into a drug-induced illusory world to eschew temporary troubles. A resort to alcohol, for example, can bring a transient euphoric uplift from pressing matters of the day. These strategies are perhaps truer today than they were in Dionysian cultures, exceptions being those countries where alcohol is taboo for religious reasons. It is generally believed that stress-induced illness is a phenomenon of contemporary urban civilization. The widespread prescription of tranquillizers and the high incidence of alcohol addiction support this view. Their impact on fitness and well-being has received scant attention.
