Stages Of Alcoholism You Should Know

Alcoholism is the phase where one's usage of alcohol has increased to such a degree that it interferes with both their phyiscal and mental well-being. Its impact is pervasive, wreaking havoc on the social and personal life of the addict.The degree or stage of alcoholism that one is in varies and therefore it is important not to treat all alcoholics as "the same." One often used measure tells usthat there are three phases of alcoholism. It can take years for a person to progress through the stages, though one of the reasons alcohollism is called a progressive disease is because very often a person progresses from the first stage to the second and then the third..

Most people who have no more than two drinks per day at most are not alcoholics in any sense.. It is when the frequency and amount increases from one or two drinks to more that early stages start growing.

The Early (Adaptive) Stage Of Alcoholism

In the first stage of alcoholism a person often drinks alcohol simply to changehis or her mood, or to seek relief from a problem. The person as well as their friends and family members are often unaware that theyre in the early stage of alcoholism. The person's thirst for alcohol goes up, and in turn they drink more to get the intended effects. In the early stages of alcoholism the alcoholic's body starts to build up an ability to tolerate the increased amount of alcohol consumed. During this stage, the alcoholic's mechanical body functions are not effected, allowing them to do things like walk in a straight line even when intoxicated.

The Middle Stage Of Alcoholism

In alcoholism's second stage the person starts drinking in larger volume and more frequently. As the disease progresses, the alcoholic loses their ability to limit his or her drinking tosocially acceptable times, patterns, and places. The person finds themselves turning to alcohol over every stressor or problem, and often finds themselves fixating mentally on drinking. In this stage the body beings losing the control that it maintained in the early stage of alcoholism which in turn begins to create problems with family and friends. And that in turn means they begin to create unwanted trouble with their change in attitude. This is the stage of alcoholism in which the person knows internally that they are in a noticeable stage of alcoholism but despite that they deny that they have an alcohol problem.

Late Stage Alcoholism

The final stage of alcoholism is horrific for the person's loved ones. It is also known as the deteriorative stage of alcoholism. It is in this stage that the over consumption of alcohol most damages the body. It will be evident to those around them that the alcoholic is drinking almost all the time. The late stage alcoholic is very prone to frequent illnesses as their immune systems are dramatically weakened, and their mental state is dull and foggy. This happens due to the damage that the mind and body has suffered due to high and chronic intake of alcohol. The result of this toll is quite often a few or many severe medical conditions. The medical conditions are widespread and can include pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, kidney failure, enlarged heart, severly high blood pressure, and others. Such physical and psychological changes are almost unavoidable for the late stage alcoholic. Incredibly, late stage alcholics very often have sunk further into denial about having any sort of drinking problem. This denial makes it very difficult for the alcoholic to handle everyday problems or to seek help for the problems, which in most cases are a direct result of their chronic and increased alcohol consumption.