The Four Stages of Alcoholism: Pre, Early, Middle, & Late

Sunshine Behavioral Health strives to help people who are facing substance abuse, addiction, mental health disorders, or a combination of these conditions. It does this by providing compassionate care and evidence-based content that addresses health, treatment, and recovery. Some people — known as functioning alcoholics — can still maintain their life during this phase, but this is rare and likely to lead to liver damage or other alcohol-related illnesses.

Stage 1: Experimenting and Binge Drinking

In the later stages of alcohol use, addiction takes hold, affecting daily life and health. Unfortunately, for some people, even moderate drinking is not safe. People with a family history of addiction or a mental health disorder may be https://ecosoberhouse.com/ at a higher risk of alcoholism. Other factors that increase someone’s risk of alcohol misuse include their early use of alcohol, peer pressure to drink, or a lack of family involvement in their lives, particularly from a young age.

• However, many binge drinkers will exceed this amount substantially.
• Or, maybe your partner will break up with you because you would rather party than spend time together.
• Cirrhosis can cause a host of other health problems, including high blood pressure, which can lead to the development of enlarged veins in the esophagus called esophageal varices.
• Therapy combined with an AUD program tends to lead to a high recovery success rate.

Graduate School of Addiction Studies

The former causes people to relax while the latter is excitatory and makes them more active. If you’re struggling with drinking, consider limiting how much alcohol you keep at home. If you always drink with friends, consider meeting for coffee instead. To determine whether or not you may be in the first stage of this model, answer the following questions.

Signs That Indicate an Alcohol Use Disorder

• While many of them end their binge drinking behaviors as they grow older, some of them will progress to later stages of alcoholism.
• Dr. Hoffman has successfully treated hundreds of patients battling addiction.
• Typically, people in the first stage of alcoholism do not notice the harmful effects of alcohol because they’re not experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
• Alcohol abusers often fail to realize the dangers of their drinking habits until they’ve moved into the middle stage of alcoholism.

If you answer “yes” to most of them, you may be in this stage along with most people who drink on occasion. Calls to our general hotline may be answered by private treatment providers. We may be paid a fee for marketing or advertising by organizations that can assist with treating people with substance use disorders. Alcohol’s impact on the brain is the key to understanding how this disorder progresses over time. The severity of AUD is categorized as mild (2-3 criteria), moderate (4-5 criteria), or severe (6 or more criteria) based on the number of criteria met.

Stage 3: Problem Drinking

• Many drinkers at this stage are more likely to drink and drive or experience legal troubles as a result of their drinking.
• This means that anyone who feels like they’re on the path to addiction in one of these four stages can create a whole new fifth stage – recovery.
• If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder.
• Our team does their best for our readers to help them stay informed about vital healthcare decisions.
• We cannot guarantee payment or verification eligibility as conveyed by your health insurance provider will be accurate and complete.

Even if they never progress past this stage, regular binge drinking is not a healthy way to consume alcohol. The pre-alcoholic stage is a formative stage; people go in one of two directions. 5 stages of alcoholism Those who begin using alcohol as a tool someone uses to unwind after a long day, bolster themselves in social situations, or help them fall asleep progress into the next stage of alcoholism.

Alcohol Use Disorder Diagnosis Criteria

• The severity of early-stage alcoholism varies widely among individuals but generally increases over time.
• But esophageal varices are prone to rupture, and when they do, the alcoholic can bleed to death.
• He published a follow-up paper in 1952, “Phases of Alcohol Addiction,” that built upon his original ideas.
• To counteract the sedating effects of alcohol, for example, the brain increases the activity of excitatory neurotransmitters, which speed up brain activity.