Alcoholism Stages

As we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some of us sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding companionship and approval. Momentarily we did - then would come oblivion and the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen - Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair. ~ Alcoholics Anonymous, The Big Book

Alcoholism is defined as a progressive degenerative disease resulting due to habitual intoxication, prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks leading to a breakdown in health and an addiction to alcohol. Deprivation of alcohol in case of alcoholics is marked by loss of control, craving for alcohol, physical dependence on alcohol and very high alcohol tolerance levels. Often people don’t realize that what starts as a harmless social drinking habit turns into a severe addiction that tends to have adverse effects on the psychological as well as physical health of the alcoholic. Alcoholism has varying degrees of dependence and hence aggravates gradually. It can be categorized in four stages with differences in the intensities of the alcohol addiction. Here are the four stages of alcoholism and the symptoms associated with each stage:

Stage One of Alcoholism

There is a very thin line between being a regular drinker and reaching the first stage of alcoholism. When a person starts drinking to get rid of his bad mood, it is a sign of the onset of alcoholism. Thus the first stage of alcoholism starts when the person starts to depend on alcohol basically for its mood altering properties. Apart from social drinking this stage marks the phase where the persons starts to consume alcohol for feeling good and getting rid of all the depression, stress and tensions in his/her life. One of the important characteristics of the first stage of alcoholism is the gradual increase in the alcohol tolerance level of the person. This means that amount of alcohol that has to be consumed by the person to get ‘high’ increases substantially.

Signs of Alcoholism : Signs of First Stage of Alcoholism

• Dependence on alcohol as a psychological escape from stress.
• Increased levels of alcohol tolerance
• Denial about dependence on alcohol.
• Frequent drinking

Stage Two of Alcoholism

The craving for alcohol becomes much more strong and intense in the second stage of alcoholism. This is the stage where the dependence on alcohol becomes much more evident and the person starts to drink not to relieve tensions or stress but because the body is accustomed to it and hence craves for it. This is the stage where the person starts to realize that his/her dependence on alcohol and may also feel shame or guilt about his/her excessive drinking. The person who has reached the second stage of alcoholism may also start drinking before social events and might also start drinking early at the beginning of the day. Although most of the people who reach this stage, feel the need to quit alcohol at this stage, majority are in denial. This is also the stage where the body starts giving indication of alcoholism, and the person experiences chronic hangovers and sporadic loss of control.

Signs of Alcoholism : Signs of Second Stage of Alcoholism

• Chronic Hangovers
• Frequent Blackouts
• Denial
• Increased alcohol dependence
• Sporadic loss of control
• Attempt to hide excessive drinking habits
• Unsuccessful attempts to quit drinking
• Guilt and shame about drinking

Stage Three of Alcoholism

This is the stage where the alcohol problem starts to affect other areas of the person’s life like his/her work and relationships. The person will show loss of interest in all the vital things and will also stop socializing much and will even avoid friends and family. The third stage marks a serious loss of control over alcohol consumption. The person cannot stick to his/her decision regarding drinking. For example although the person might have decided to limit the consumption to two or three drinks, he/she will have no control over drinking and will go on consuming excessive quantities of alcohol. One of the most characteristic features of the third stage of alcoholism is a decrease in the alcohol tolerance level of the person.

Signs of Alcoholism : Signs of Third Stage of Alcoholism

• Decrease in alcohol tolerance level
• Avoiding family and friends
• Alcohol affecting other important things in life
• Development of multiple excuses justifying drinking
• Aggressive behavior
• Tremors
• Unnecessary resentment and negative feelings

Stage Four of Alcoholism

In the fourth stage of alcoholism, the person will do almost anything and everything to get alcohol. Heavy drinking takes a toll in this stage and the person shows chronic loss of control. The drinking is throughout the day and often people who reach this stage find it difficult to maintain any full-time job. In this final stage of alcoholism, the person not only feels a loss of control over alcohol consumption, but the person is emotionally as well as physically accustomed to alcohol to such an extent that he/she must consume alcohol to function normally. In this stage the alcoholic makes unsuccessful attempts to experience the ‘happy high’ after drinking alcohol. The alcoholic shows complete disregard for every important aspect of life. The milk tremors seen in earlier stages now become ‘shakes’ which are experienced when the body is deprived of alcohol. One of the characteristic symptoms observed at this stage include delirium tremens, which are nothing, but the ‘shakes’ accompanied by hallucinations.

Signs of Alcoholism : Signs of Fourth Stage of Alcoholism

• Lengthy intoxications
• Moral deterioration
Experiencing indefinable fears
• Alcoholic psychosis
• Impaired thinking
• Delirium Tremens
• Loss of alcohol tolerance
Hallucinations
• Numbness

These are the four stages of alcoholism and the symptoms associated with each stage. Alcohol can make you feel good about yourself for a while, but remember that the joyride is short-lived. Alcoholism has ruined several men and women. Alcoholism is the reason for several broken marriages, domestic abuse, collapsed careers and failed relationships. There have been people who have hit rock bottom, been there done that and yet managed to battle the addiction to regain the control of their lives, and yet there remain those who simply wallowed in the misery only to be drowned in it forever…