Late Stages of
Alcoholism
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There are four stages of alcoholism.
Therefore, the late stages of alcoholism consist of the
third and the fourth stages of this disease. Perhaps
the defining characteristic of the late stages of
alcoholism is the loss of control the alcoholic has
concerning his or her drinking
behavior. Stated differently, in the
earlier stages of alcohol addiction, the alcoholic had a
choice whether he or she would take the first
drink. In the late stages of alcoholism,
however, an alcoholic no longer has a choice: he or
she simply must drink in order to function.
Due to the fact that the last stages of alcoholism
consist of the third and fourth stages of alcoholism, we
will review each one of these stages in an attempt to gain
a better understanding of this disease, especially during
the late stages.
Late Stages of Alcoholism: The
Third Stage
In the third stage of alcoholism, the loss of control
becomes more problematic. This means that the individual
is not able to drink according to his or her intentions.
For instance, once the individual
reaches this stage and takes the first drink, he or she can no
longer control further drinking behavior despite the fact that
their intentions were to have just a "few drinks."
Another key chrematistic of this stage of the
disease is the following: the drinker often
starts to experience serious relationship, financial,
work-related, and perhaps legal problems (such as multiple
DUIs).
In the third stage of alcoholism, the drinker starts to
avoid family and friends and exhibits a lack of interest in
activities that once were meaningful or fun. Also typical
during this stage are "eye-openers," that is, drinking that
takes place whenever the alcoholic awakens. The
alcoholic resorts to eye-openers mainly to "calm the nerves,"
to lessen a hangover, or to quiet the feelings of remorse the
drinker sometimes feels after a period of time without having a
drink.
As the alcohol continues to drink more, he or she starts to
neglect most things of importance, even necessities such as
shelter, personal interaction, food, and water. At
this stage of the disease, moreover, it is interesting to point
out that instead of encountering an increase in tolerance, the
drinker frequently experiences a decrease in alcohol
tolerance. Simply put, this basically means that less
alcohol is needed for the person to get drunk.
And finally, during this stage, the alcoholic usually makes
half-hearted attempts at getting medical treatment.
Stated differently, due to the fact that most alcoholics during
this stage are hesitant to reveal the extent of their drinking,
they seldom receive any lasting medical care. Even
when they admit a small segment of the "truth" concerning their
drinking behavior to a health care provider, they typically
fail to follow through with the medical treatment, consequently
accomplishing little, if anything of significance regarding
their disease.
Classic Alcoholic Behaviors in the
Third Stage of Alcoholism
The following list characterizes some of
the classic alcoholic behaviors in the third stage of
alcoholism:
- Loss of willpower
- Increasing tremors
- Serious financial, work-related problems, and
relationship problems
- A decrease in alcohol tolerance
- Unreasonable resentments
- The start of physical deterioration
- Frequent destructive or violent behavior
- An increase in failed promises and resolutions to one's
self and to others
- Loss of interests
- Problems with the law (e.g, DWIs)
- The loss of control has become a pattern
- The development of an alibi system - an elaborate
system of excuses for their drinking
- A decrease in alcohol tolerance
- Avoidance of friends and family
- Aggressive and grandiose behavior
- Eye-openers upon awakening
- Half-hearted attempts at seeking medical treatment
- Neglect of necessities such as food, shelter, and
water
| Studies have shown that
inpatient detoxification programs are more
effective and longer lasting than outpatient
detox programs. The important issue here,
however, is the following: the more
severe the alcohol-related withdrawal symptoms,
the more likely that inpatient detox programs
should be used. |
Late Stages of Alcoholism: The Fourth
and Last Stage
The fourth and final stage of alcoholism is
exemplified by an almost total loss of control regarding
drinking behavior. In the earlier stages of the
disease, for instance, the individual may have been
successful in maintaining employment. Now,
however, since drinking starts earlier in the day and
frequently continues throughout the day, very few, if any
full-time positions can be sustained once an individual
reaches such circumstances.
Moreover, in the earlier stages of the disease,
the alcoholic had a choice whether he or she would take the
first drink. Once the alcoholic had the first drink,
he or she typically lost all control and would therefore
continue drinking. In the last stage of alcoholism,
however, alcoholics no longer have a choice: they
must drink in order to make it through the day.
| A dysfunctional family is a
family in which conflict, abuse, or
misbehavior, by individual family members takes
place on a continuing basis, leading other
members of the family to perpetuate, enable,
and reinforce such behaviors. Often,
children grow up in dysfunctional families with
the belief that such behaviors and ways of
relating are "normal." |
Flights Into
Oblivion
In this stage of the illness, the alcoholic
typically exhibits an almost total disregard for
everything, including necessities such as food, shelter,
family interactions, and employment. During the last stage
of alcoholism, moreover, benders are
common. More to the point, in this stage, the
alcoholic frequently gets helplessly and hopelessly drunk
and may linger in this condition for days at a time.
The unachievable goal for the alcoholic at this
time is to experience the "high" he or she once
felt. Paradoxically, these occasional "flights into
oblivion" are perhaps best described as drinking to get away
from the problems caused by drinking.
| Factors that affect your blood
alcohol level include the following: how
quickly your body metabolizes alcohol, how
quickly you consume the alcoholic drink, how
much food is in your stomach at the time you
drink, and how strong the alcoholic drink
is. |
In the second or third stages of alcoholism the
alcoholic's hands may have trembled ever so slightly on
mornings after getting drunk. In the final stage of the
disease, however, alcoholics get "the shakes" whenever they try
to or are forced to quit drinking. These tremors are a
symptom of a critical nervous disorder that now affects the
entire body.
| Research has demonstrated that
American children who are raised in
single-family households are almost twice as
likely to experience an alcohol-related problem
such as alcohol abuse as compared with children
who are raised by both parents in the same
household. |
The Shakes and the
DTs
When "the shakes" are combined with
hallucinations, the result is known as "the DTs" or
delirium tremens, a potentially fatal form of alcoholism
withdrawal if the alcoholic does not receive immediate
medical treatment.
After an attack of the DTs, more than a few
alcoholics promise to never drink again. Regrettably,
most of them do not and can not fulfill their promise, and so
they gradually return to drinking, and the process starts all
over again.
| More than 2 million Americans
suffer from alcohol-related liver
disease. Some drinkers, moreover, develop
alcoholic hepatitis (that is, an inflammation
of the liver) as a result of long-term heavy
drinking. |
The Need to Hide the
Booze
In the fourth and final stage of alcoholism,
the most important thing in the life of the alcoholic is having
an easily accessible supply of alcohol close at hand so that he
or she can avoid "the shakes." Consequently, during
this stage, alcoholics will do almost anything to get the
alcohol they need. Once the alcohol is acquired,
however, alcoholics will typically hide their bottles so that
they can get a drink whenever they desire, which usually means
any hour of the day or night.
| In a study of more than 450
American alcoholics and 80 heroin addicts, it
was found that the absent father is a very
typical occurrence. In fact, according to
this study, it is the rule rather than the
exception. |
Alcoholism Last Stage
Symptoms
The following represents some of the classic
alcoholic behaviors in the fourth and final stage of
alcoholism:
Impaired thinking
- Moral deterioration
- Unreasonable hostility and resentment toward
others
- Benders, or lengthy intoxications
- Devaluation of personal relationships
- "The shakes"
- Obsession with drinking
- Visual and auditory and hallucinations
- Continual loss of control
- Nameless anxieties and fears such as feelings of
impending doom or destruction
- The "DTs"
- The disintegration of the alibi system
- Persistent remorse
- Nebulous spiritual desires
- The realization of being out of control
- The possibility of alcoholic psychosis
- Loss of tolerance for alcohol
- Indefinable fears
| In some situations, even social
or moderate drinking can be hazardous.
Examples include the following: drinking
during pregnancy, when taking various
medications, or when driving. |
Late Stages of
Alcoholism: Conclusion
The Late Stages of
Alcoholism. The third and fourth stages of
alcoholism comprise the "late stages of alcoholism" are
typified by an almost total loss of control regarding drinking
behavior.
This lack of control is pivotal and basically
the cause of virtually everything the alcoholic
experiences. Stated differently, if alcoholics had
control over their drinking, they would not find themselves
caught in the vice-like grip of alcoholism, the disease.
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| If drinking alcohol is going to
affect your ability to have children, not to
mention the negative health consequences that
alcohol presents to you who will be having the
child, why not simply abstain from drinking
alcohol while you are trying to have a child,
while you are carrying the child, and while you
are breast feeding the child? |
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