Alcoholism Recovery & Treatment

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There are 4 stages in alcoholism and here is a brief description of them>

1st Stage:
drinking is no longer social but becomes a means of psychological escape from stress, problems, and inhibitions. More specifically, early in the disease a person starts to depend on the mood-altering effects of alcohol.

Another defining characteristic of the first stage of alcoholism is that a gradual increase in tolerance develops, meaning that increasing amounts of alcohol are required for the person to “get high” or to “feel the buzz.” For instance, it is common for people in the first stage of alcoholism to start gulping a few drinks before attending a social activity and then to increase social drinking to 3 to 5 drinks per day.

2nd Stage:
the need to drink becomes more intensified. For example, it is common during this stage for the individual to start to drink earlier in the day.

As tolerance increases, moreover, the person drinks not because of emotional stress relief or tension release, but because of his or her dependence on alcohol. During this stage, while the “loss of control” has not yet manifested itself on a regular basis, it is, nonetheless, starting to become noticed by others such as family members, co-workers, and friends.

Also during this stage of the disease, the drinker may begin to feel embarrassment and to be more concerned about his or her drinking. Frequently during this stage, drinkers are unsuccessful in their attempts to quit drinking.

In this stage, physical symptoms such as stomach problems, hand tremors, blackouts, and hangovers increase. Instead of seeing their drinking as the cause of the many difficulties they experience, however, drinkers in this stage typically start to blame others and things external to themselves for their problems.

3rd Stage:
the loss of control becomes more pronounced. This means that the person is not able to drink in accordance with his or her intentions. For instance, once the person takes the first drink, he or she typically can no longer control further drinking behavior, in spite of the fact that the intent might have been to have just a “few drinks.” It should be emphasized that a significant aspect of this stage of the illness is the following: the drinker often starts to experience serious work-related, relationship, and financial difficulties.

In the third stage of alcoholism, the drinker starts to avoid friends and family and shows a lack of interest in things and activities that once were important or fun. Also typical during this stage are “eye-openers,” that is, drinks that are taken whenever the alcoholic awakens. Eye-openers are taken mainly to “calm the nerves,” lessen a hangover, or to quiet the feelings of remorse the drinker occasionally experiences after a period of time without a drink.

As the drinking increases the person starts to neglect most things of importance, even necessities such as food, shelter, personal interaction, and water. And finally, during this stage, the drinker usually makes half-hearted attempts at getting medical help.

4th Stage:
is characterized by a chronic loss of control. In the earlier stages of the illness, the person may have been successful in maintaining a job. Due to the fact that drinking typically starts earlier in the day and usually continues throughout the day, however, few, if any, full-time employment positions can be maintained under these circumstances.

In the earlier stages of the illness, the alcoholic had a choice whether he or she would take the first drink. After taking the first drink, the alcoholic usually lost all control and would then continue drinking. In the last stage of alcoholism, however, alcoholics no longer have a choice: they simply must drink in order to function.

During the fourth stage of alcoholism, benders are typical. More precisely, in the fourth stage of alcoholism the drinker frequently gets helplessly drunk and may remain in this situation for a number of days. The unattainable goal for the alcoholic while involved in his or her bender is to experience the “high” they he or she once felt.

In the second or third stages of alcoholism the person’s hands may have trembled slightly on mornings after getting drunk the previous night. In the final stage of alcoholism, on the other hand, alcoholics get “the shakes” whenever they try or are forced to abstain from drinking.

These tremors are an indication of a severe nervous disorder that now affects the entire body. When “the shakes” are combined with hallucinations, moreover, the result is known as “the DTs” or delirium tremens. The DTs are a potentially fatal type of alcoholism withdrawal that will take place unless the alcoholic receives immediate medical treatment. Interestingly, after an attack of the DTs, numerous alcoholics promise to never drink again. Unfortunately, most of them do not and cannot fulfill their promise. As a consequence, they typically return to drinking and the alcoholic behaviors start all over again.