Author: John Carter

5 Stages of Alcoholism: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatments

There’s no obligation to make any decisions right away and all calls are 100% confidential. The affects can range from dementia and intellectual functioning to debilitating conditions that require long-term care, even if a person has been sober for a period of time. Once stabilized, the goal is to transition from detox, to treatment, to maintenance (practicing sober living by changing your life), to transcendence—the final step in the path to recovery.

Stages of Alcoholism

You’ll live in safe, substance-free housing and have access to professional medical monitoring. In the third stage of alcohol addiction, individuals have increased beyond moderate levels but have not reached severe dependence. One of the biggest concerns with risky drinkers is when they don’t think they have a problem. Moderate drinking is the only safe way to consume alcohol, but drinking in general isn’t safe for everyone. You may become more depressed, more anxious, or start losing sleep.

Stage #5: Addiction and alcoholism

However, most people with AUD—no matter their age or the severity of their alcohol problems—can benefit from treatment with behavioral health therapies, medications, or both. Knowing what AUD looks like is the first step in combating it. Jellinek viewed alcoholism as a chronic relapsing condition that needed to be treated by health professionals and developed a theory on the progression of alcoholism through various stages. At this stage, drinking becomes everything in your life, even at the expense of your livelihood, your health and your relationships. Attempts to stop drinking can result in tremors or hallucinations, but therapy, detox, and rehab can help you get your life back. At this stage, you no longer want to drink just for pleasure.

Stage 5: Alcohol Use Disorder

At this point, it’s obvious to those close to you that you’re struggling. You might miss work, forget to pick up the kids, become irritable, and notice physical signs of alcohol abuse (facial redness, weight gain or loss, sluggishness, stomach bloating). Support groups can be a highly effective form of help at this stage. Compulsive behaviors are prominent in addiction, and people with alcohol addiction often drink whenever and wherever they desire. This is especially true for teens who attend parties where drinking is the primary activity. You might think binge drinking is safe when you only do it occasionally, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

These drinkers may be new to different forms of alcohol and likely to test their limits. This experimental stage is commonly seen in young adults. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that 17 million American adults have alcohol use disorders.

Graduate School of Addiction Studies

Alcohol addiction is characterized by a physical and psychological need to drink. At this point, you have an attachment to alcohol that has taken over your regular routine. You’re aware of the adverse effects, but no longer have control over your alcohol consumption. Frequent, uncontrolled alcohol abuse eventually leads to problem drinking. While any form of alcohol abuse is problematic, the term “problem drinker” refers to someone who starts experiencing the impacts of their habit. The first stage of alcoholism is a general experimentation with alcohol.

Here, the impact of alcohol on daily life becomes more apparent, with friends and family noticing changes in behavior and lifestyle. Negative health consequences may also appear more prominently. Individuals in this stage meet at least four to five criteria from the DSM-5 list, indicating a progression toward severe alcohol use disorder. As alcohol use disorder (AUD) doesn’t progress overnight, read on to learn about the stages of alcohol addiction, how to recognize them, and the steps you can take to intervene effectively.

  1. Cirrhosis of the liverOur liver filters out harmful substances, cleans our blood, stores energy and aids in digestion.
  2. Blacking out from drinking too much is a warning sign of this stage, along with lying about drinking, drinking excessively, and thinking obsessively about drinking.
  3. The individual can stay in this stage for many years but eventually start showing more disordered behaviors.
  4. Addiction Resource does not offer medical diagnosis, treatment, or advice.

Stage #1: Occasional abuse and binge drinking

Another 855,000 Americans ages 12 to 17 years old have alcohol use disorders. It’s important to remember that alcoholism isn’t created overnight. These programs organize your treatment session based on your schedule. The goal of outpatient treatment is to provide therapy, education, and support in a flexible environment. Most will offer aftercare once you complete the inpatient portion of your treatment.

The most severe form of alcohol withdrawal is delirium tremens (DTs), characterized by altered mental status and severe autonomic hyperactivity that may lead to cardiovascular collapse. Only about 5 percent of patients with alcohol withdrawal progress to DTs, but about 5 percent of these patients die. Drinking large amounts of alcohol at one time is dangerous, and can even lead to coma or death. Furthermore, you may become dependent on the feeling you get from drinking and find that these episodes increase in frequency. The individual can stay in this stage for many years but eventually start showing more disordered behaviors. AddictionResource aims to present the most accurate, trustworthy, and up-to-date medical content to our readers.