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Alcoholism Stages
Alcoholism article By Mark Thiffault
Progressing through the three alcoholism stages isn’t a quick trip. It generally takes years of steady alcoholism for a person to reach the dire end-stage alcoholism, so while the consequences are very real and very serious, there is plenty of time for treatment.
Alcoholism Stages
The first of the alcoholism stages is the early stage. A person enters the early stage of alcoholism when he or she starts relying on alcohol to relieve stress or otherwise alter moods. The early stage of alcoholism is also characterized by an increased alcohol tolerance. Of the three alcoholism stages, the early stage is the most difficult to detect because the symptoms aren’t often regarded as serious and people with early stage alcoholism are still high functioning. As the body adapts to the high blood alcohol levels it is experiencing, how a person functions may even improve when he or she is drinking.
The downside to that improved functioning is that after a while when an alcoholic has stopped drinking their motor skills may deteriorate somewhat while they are sober. This creates a physiological need for alcohol, and is one of the key signs that a person has transitioned alcoholism stages and is now in the middle stage.
The middle alcoholism stages are characterized by a more intense desire to drink and an impaired ability to control how much alcohol is being consumed. An alcoholic in the middle alcoholism stages will start drinking larger quantities and begin drinking earlier and earlier in the day. Alcohol tolerance does not increase steadily with alcoholism, rather in the middle stage a person’s tolerance will decrease as the body’s ability to process alcohol falters. The middle alcoholism stages are marked by frequent hangovers, blackouts, stomach problems, and more severe withdrawal symptoms if the person stops drinking.
The most severe of the alcoholism stages is end-stage alcoholism. At this stage both the mental and physical health of the alcoholic is slipping. Malnutrition mars the alcoholic’s body while mentally the alcoholic is obsessed with alcohol to the extent of excluding nearly everything else, including work, family and friends.
In addition to the social ramifications of the alcoholism stages, financial and legal difficulties may be mounting due to an end-stage alcoholic’s drinking preoccupation. Despite all of this, an end-stage alcoholic will continue to drink.
Many of the alcoholic’s organs will have been damaged by the end of the alcoholism stages, most notably the liver. At this point, if a person continues to drink, alcoholism will most likely be the cause of their death.
It is possible to get help or treatment at any of the alcoholism stages. Even in the last of the alcoholism stages it is possible to rebound from years of alcohol abuse. However, withdrawal symptoms can vary from mild to life threatening, and a doctor or other healthcare professional should always supervise alcoholism rehabilitation at any of the alcoholism stages.