If you drink alcohol, then you need to know the different stages of alcoholism as they may help you to weigh the available options for detoxification and treatment. The good news is that you can identify the stage of alcoholism in which your loved one is in and get the right help today.
Remember that regardless of the stage of alcoholism in which you or your loved is in, you can find specific treatment at most rehabilitation centers. This post explains the main stages of alcoholism.
Stage 1: Pre-alcoholic
If you’re in the pre-alcoholic stage, it means there is little evidence that you have a problem drinking. As a result, most of your behavior can look quite normal for many people. Drinking can be usually social at the start of this stage, but as the stage progresses, you will experience that drinking increases as a means of reducing stress.
One of the key physiological changes in this stage is that you tend to begin developing a tolerance for alcohol. So it means that you can drink larger amounts of alcohol and still function properly. Eventually, you can take larger amounts of alcohol that leads to inebriation.
Therefore, if you’re not sure if you’re in the pre-alcoholism stage or not, perhaps you should ask yourself if you drink so that you can feel better or you drink because other people with you are also drinking and are socially right. If you’re drinking so that you can feel better, to forget bad memories, and many others, then you may be in the pre-alcoholic stage.
Stage 2: Early alcoholic
When you suffer the first alcohol-related blackout, then you may be in the early alcoholic stage. In this phase, you may have great discomfort with drinking and you can also have an inability to resist it. You may find yourself lying about your drinking to your loved ones and friends.
You may even hide drinks like spiking your coffee when no one else is around. Your tolerance of alcohol can increase at this stage and you can also be obsessed with thoughts of alcohol.
Stage 3: Middle alcoholic
With the middle stage of alcoholism, the symptoms can become pretty clear to your family members and friends. You can start missing work or various social obligations because of hangovers or drinking. You find yourself drinking at inappropriate times like when driving or even at work. Worse still, your body can start to change because of alcoholism, such as stomach bloating, facial redness, and sluggishness.
Stage 4: Late alcoholic
In the late alcoholic stage, you can have signs of long-term alcohol abuse and can develop serious health issues. You can drink daily and everything in life, such as family and friends can take a backseat to your drinking.
In most cases, you can experience several job losses, and diseases as a result of your drinking become quite common. As if this is not enough, you can also develop paranoia and become overly fearful without any good reason.
