The Three Stages of Alcoholism: Early, Middle, & End-Stage Alcoholism

The last stage of alcoholism is addiction, where an individual is completely unable to control their drinking and has developed physical and mental health problems due to their excessive drinking. The most destructive form of alcoholism is chronic alcoholism, an emotionally, socially and physically devastating disease. Alcoholism emerges from alcohol abuse, when there’s a pattern of drinking despite negative consequences. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are both categorized as alcohol use disorders—affecting people of all ages and stages of life. The severity of the disorder lies on a spectrum, ranging from mild to severe dependence, also known as chronic alcoholism (although even a mild disorder can spiral out of control without early treatment).

Knowledge surrounding the causes of alcoholism was still scarce until the mid-1900s. Of course, there are many social and young drinkers that won’t continue following the stages in which alcoholism develops, but there will be those who will. Between 90 and 100 percent of alcoholics develop a fatty liver, which can progress to cirrhosis.

Do You Have to Drink Every Day to Be An Alcoholic?

This can make it more difficult to show the effects of intoxication. Eventually, their tissue cells may become dependent on alcohol to function normally. When alcohol enters the bloodstream, one of the central impacts is slowing the rate of communication between nerve cells. The rate of communication returns to its typical levels once alcohol leaves the body.

Depending on the severity of the alcohol use disorder, this stage can be mildly annoying or severe. Early withdrawal symptoms include headaches, anxiety, nausea, irritability and shaking. If you think a family member or loved one might be showing signs, signals or symptoms of alcoholism, know that it won’t “go away” on its own. Their brain is changing—and without help, there can be serious long-term consequences. When casual drinkers move into early-stage alcoholism, their tolerance begins to rise.

Early Alcohol Abuse

For example, if problems of any kind occur when you drink, then you could have a drinking issue. While end-stage alcoholism is a dire situation, it’s not a hopeless one. Late-stage alcoholics can get better if they seek treatment, and some https://ecosoberhouse.com/ of their health problems can even be reversed if caught early enough. As alcohol consumption increases, the liver adapts to break down alcohol more quickly. Over time, repeated alcohol exposure also alters a person’s brain chemistry.

These are similar to the varicose veins that some people develop in their legs. But esophageal varices are prone to rupture, and when they do, the alcoholic can bleed to death. It’s common at this point for alcoholics to have lost their jobs as well their friends and family. The mental and physical health of alcoholics are rapidly deteriorating at this stage, and unless they seek alcohol rehab, they may drink themselves to death. Addiction Resource is an educational platform for sharing and disseminating information about addiction and substance abuse recovery centers. Addiction Resource is not a healthcare provider, nor does it claim to offer sound medical advice to anyone.

The Origins of the Stages of Alcoholism

This first stage of alcohol addiction is most often undergone at a young age, although some adults do not drink alcohol for the first time until adult age. At this stage, the person is only trying the substance out – possibly out of curiosity or due to peer pressure. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder.

• Changes in your body such as facial redness, stomach bloating, shaking, sweating and memory lapses start to affect you.
• Some individuals may need additional help breaking their addiction to alcohol.
• Also, when you look at this point of how alcoholism begins and how alcoholism develops, you’ll see the person likely has a physical dependence on alcohol.

When they do attempt to stop drinking, they may experience withdrawal symptoms. The body can become distressed even when a person stops drinking for a short time. The primary way a person with early-stage alcoholism differs from someone in middle-stage alcoholism is that alcohol is no longer leveraged for a quick high. When a person with alcoholism reaches end 3 stages of alcoholism stage alcoholism, they have reached a point that is dramatically different from the initial stages. During the early stages of the disease, the person may drink heavily and may experience hangovers in between drinking episodes. However, during the end stage, the addiction has taken over, and the person may no longer be able to control their drinking impulses.