What Are the Stages of Addiction Recovery? Recovery at the Crossroads

With the combination of professional alcoholism treatment and sobriety maintenance, recovery is possible for anyone. This fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders includes some notable changes. https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/5-stages-of-alcoholism/ In DSM-IV, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence were classified separately. DSM-5 sees them integrated into a single disorder, alcohol use disorder. In the beginning, alcohol made you feel happier and more sociable.

Early-stage alcoholism, or the prodromal phase, is when people begin binge drinking regularly and may even black out occasionally. This behavior may be a sign of experimentation with alcohol gone too far, especially in the case of adolescents or young adults. If their drinking continues, though, and they keep drinking past a certain point, they’re showing signs of early-stage alcoholism.

What Is Alcoholism?

Those around the person may have noticed specific physical changes like facial redness, weight changes, sluggishness, and stomach bloating that come from the abuse of alcohol. Other symptoms, such as missing work and increased irritability or forgetfulness, may be observed. Many may benefit from support groups if they seek help during this stage. Problem drinkers may experience heightened depression, anxiety, or disturbances in sleeping patterns. Additionally, an individual may feel ill due to their drinking, however, enjoy the effects produced too much to stop.

For drinking to be considered binge drinking, a male would consume five or more drinks within the space of two hours. A female, meanwhile, would consume four or more within two hours. Teenagers and young adults make up a large percentage of the binge drinking crowd. While many of them end their binge drinking behaviors as they grow older, some of them will progress to later stages of alcoholism.

Symptoms of Alcohol Detox

Other warning signs of this stage include lying about drinking, drinking excessively, and thinking obsessively about drinking. Alcoholism is the most severe form of problem drinking and can be divided into five stages. What starts as leaning on alcohol can gradually grow into full-blown dependency. This means you may feel you need a drink in order to function normally. You may think about alcohol all the time or neglect other activities so you can drink. If you notice signs of alcohol misuse or addiction in a loved one, you should encourage them to seek help.

They may use it to help with depression, only to become more depressed. Usually it is the person’s family and friends who notice an alcohol problem first. The person may begin hiding things or lying about their alcohol intake.

The 5 Stages of Alcoholism: Alcohol Addiction Timeline

Additionally, drinking in large amounts can lead to alcohol dependency or addiction – making it the first stage of alcoholism. For some people, the end stages of alcoholism are when they hit absolute rock bottom and they simply cannot stop drinking. 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.

So, while some people may take a long time to progress from stage one to five, other people may do so quite quickly. In any case, as soon as you realize you have a problem with alcohol use, you should seek professional help. Fortunately, things are not hopeless even at this advanced and chronic stage of alcohol use disorder. Drinking is now the main event with everything else being forced to revolve around alcohol.

Addiction and Mental Health Resources

This stage can last from six months to five years, depending on the severity of the addiction and the individual’s genes and experience. It takes a small minority of people six months of abstinence to reach the point where they don’t go back to their addictive behavior. However, for most people, a commitment of two to five years is necessary to truly break the habit and solidify change. The five stages of addiction recovery are precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. What might seem harmless at first can get worse if it’s not treated.