| Alcoholism is a chronic disease that has the power to | | | | contain his drinking in the early stage, now that |
| break the career, family and physical health of the | | | | resistance wholly gives way. |
| addict over a course of time. Thankfully though the | | | | As the alcohol intake increases, so the patient's |
| start of full blown alcoholism is not difficult to spot | | | | physical ability to process that alchol is concurrently |
| and can be treated. | | | | reduced. Consequently the middle-stage alcoholic can |
| The advancement of the disease can often be | | | | get drunk without much effort, even on small |
| tracked over three stages - an early, middle and later | | | | amounts of alcohol. By this stage it should be |
| stage - and the sooner the addicted person or his or | | | | apparent to one and all, and even to the alcoholic |
| her family can spot the symptoms, the easier it | | | | himself, that he has a problem, though he might feel |
| should be to stop the development of the disease. | | | | at this stage that he has already lost the conflict. |
| In the early stage of alcohol dependency the | | | | The final stage of alcoholism is marked by obsessive |
| individual drinks purely to relax or to deal with a | | | | drinking and a desperate avoidance of having to face |
| fleeting problem that is responsible for anxiety. When | | | | the problem. Everyone around the alcoholic now |
| he drinks it lessens the pain and he feels wonderful, | | | | identifies the problem. When they confront the |
| and so drinking becomes the standard mechanism | | | | drinker, he will no longer be unconcerned, but may |
| through which he deals with his issues. | | | | become aggressively defensive or even violent. |
| Gradually this becomes into a steady habit, but even | | | | Physical health systematically degenerates during this |
| close family members can easily overlook this | | | | final stage, eventually ending in death if the disease is |
| development. The drinker, for the majority of the | | | | not treated. The alcoholic's immunity levels decrease |
| time, comes across as normal during this stage, and | | | | along with his desire for food, and so he becomes |
| indeed may come across as more confident and | | | | increasingly vulnerable to a variety of regular diseases. |
| stable. | | | | Moreover, specific conditions caused directly by the |
| If challenged about his level of alcohol consumption, | | | | alcohol consumption continue to to develop - liver |
| the early-stage addict tends to rationalise his drinking | | | | disease, cancers, brain damage, etc. |
| in a way that can be totally convincing to those | | | | The one consoling factor for the friends and family |
| nearest to him, at least for the short term. Over | | | | of someone in the final stage of alcohol dependency |
| time though, the loss of control of the tongue and | | | | is the traditional understanding is that healing only |
| posture indicate unambiguously that he has a drinking | | | | comes after the alcoholic has hit 'rock bottom', and |
| problem, and indeed that he is entering middle stage | | | | so the further the alcoholic degenerates, the closer |
| alcohol dependency. | | | | (we hope) he is getting to rock bottom. Having said |
| The middle stage of alcoholism is where the patient | | | | that, according to the same wisdom, only the |
| develops a full blown physical dependency on the | | | | alcoholic himself can clarify where that 'rock bottom' |
| drug. The longing to put away alcohol with time | | | | point is set, and some people just never seem to |
| increases, and if the individual had endevoured to | | | | reach it. |