The 4 phases of alcoholism (and how it affects the person)

Alcohol is currently the most consumed drug globally. And yes, alcohol is a drug, although some people do not want to admit it. It is the most dangerous drug in the world, if we take into account the large number of deaths it causes each year, both due to illnesses and accidents, violent acts and many other social problems. More than all other drugs combined.

Alcohol is very addictive. Some studies estimate that around 20% of people who consume alcohol develop some type of dependency throughout their lives. That's one in five.

Another reason that alcohol is the most widely used drug is that it is so strongly embedded in the culture of many societies. Many risk behaviors or clear signs of alcoholism go unnoticed by most people, because they are so normalized that they do not attract attention in many contexts. In many environments, risky consumption is even promoted to feel socially accepted.

In this article I will briefly explain what alcoholism really consists of, and what are the main phases a person goes through while developing alcohol addiction.

• Related article: "The 5 types of alcoholism (and associated disorders)"

What is alcoholism really?

Alcoholism or alcohol addiction is the psychological problem for which a person lose control over your alcohol use. That is, the person cannot really choose whether he wants to drink or not, or he has great difficulty resisting his urges to drink.

Many people with alcoholism I have worked with have told me how "When they start drinking, they don't know how to stop"They lose control and end up doing things they regret the next day, as well as endangering their lives and the lives of other people.

Alcoholism is not just about getting very drunk every time you drink. The person suffering from alcohol dependence feel like drinking very often, it is common for them to find "excuses" to drink any day of the week or even at any time of the day.

• You may be interested: "Alcoholism: these are the effects of alcohol dependence"

What are the 4 phases of alcoholism?

These are the main stages, summarized.

1. Pre-alcoholic phase

The person uses alcohol to relieve unpleasant sensations and stress from day to day. It is recreational consumption, leisure, and it is usually very normalized at a social level, so the alarm signals are not usually seen from the outside.

The person gradually increases their consumption, both in quantity and frequency. Tolerance to alcohol develops, so the person needs to drink more and more to feel the same effects as at the beginning.

2. prodromal phase

The person begins to practice more risk behaviors, Looking for that drunken feeling arrive faster and stay longer. They tend to consume higher-grade drinks (higher percentage of alcohol), ask for rounds of shots, drink faster, etc.

It is at this stage that some people begin to drink on the sly, or lie about how much they drink. They are aware that they drink a lot and feel some shame and fear that other people suggest that they drink less.

3. critical phase

Alcohol consumption becomes more extreme and begins to directly affect various areas of the person's life. You suffer from loss of control, memory gaps, your drinking begins to affect your personal relationships, or even your work life. Alcohol consumption becomes the center of his life, all other activities revolve around alcohol consumption.

4. chronic phase

In this phase, tolerance to alcohol has gone so far that the person begins to experience symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, causing the person to drink almost continuously to try to avoid these symptom.

The person's life is constantly in danger due to the risk of overdose, and feel unable to cope with many activities of daily living, in many cases requiring continuous supervision.

If you suspect you have a problem with alcohol, don't wait until you reach the last stage (the chronic phase) to ask for help. This model is useful to help people detect their risk behaviors in the early stages, in order to prevent future more serious problems.

I have worked with hundreds of people who realized that sometimes they "drank too much", and made the decision to stop drinking and become abstinent, because they understood that alcohol brought them absolutely nothing, and that it also prevented them from fully enjoying social encounters and their relationships in general.

• Related article: "How to quit alcohol and get sober (7 keys)"

How to overcome alcoholism

Alcoholism is one of the most dangerous problems that exist, but can be overcome if you have help. There are many communities and support groups, as well as centers and institutions to help a person achieve abstinence. The best method to overcome alcoholism is individual psychotherapy, because it allows the person to:

• Delve into the origins of your addiction
• Learn to deal with everyday stress without alcohol, with other strategies
• Build or reinforce new pillars in life, which bring you satisfaction
• Prepare a relapse prevention plan
• Get up after relapses, learn from them and maintain abstinence

These are things that can only be worked on well in individual therapy, since the person has personalized attention. Support groups (such as Alcoholics Anonymous) are helpful for some people, but they are not for everyone.

Although all the people who come have good intentions, they are not addiction professionals, and What worked for one person may not work for another., because each case is a world. They are usually very useful for the person to feel social support and a space to vent their emotions, but they cannot replace personalized attention by a professional.

My name is Louis Michael Royal, and I am a psychologist specializing in addictions. If you are having trouble quitting alcohol and need help, contact me and we will start working on your case as soon as possible.