What Are the 4 Stages of Alcoholism?

However, it is crucial to make a referral to the EAP in the case of an employee with a known alcohol problem. Although you are not diagnosing the problem, you are dealing with employee performance and conduct and, possibly, alcohol-related misconduct such as using, possessing, or being under the influence of alcohol at work. The role of the Human Resources, or Employee Relations office in dealing with cases of substance abuse is to advise management of appropriate adverse, disciplinary, or other administrative actions which may be taken.

Nor does the absence of family drinking problems necessarily protect children from developing these problems. Even though alcohol has become a significant part of everyday life, early-stage alcoholics often deny that they have a problem and may be defensive about their drinking. They may also rationalize, or make excuses, for their behavior and insist they can stop drinking whenever they feel like it. As alcohol consumption increases, the liver adapts to break down alcohol more quickly. Over time, repeated alcohol exposure also alters a person’s brain chemistry. To counteract the sedating effects of alcohol, for example, the brain increases the activity of excitatory neurotransmitters, which speed up brain activity.

Cancer

If you don’t drink alcohol during pregnancy, your baby can’t have FASDs or any other health problems caused by alcohol. If you’re pregnant or even thinking about getting pregnant, don’t drink alcohol. Alcohol can cause problems for your baby any time during pregnancy, even before you know that you’re pregnant.

When the liver can no longer metabolize the alcohol quickly enough, it will send it back into the bloodstream. The 12 steps begin by asking people with alcohol use disorder to admit that they are powerless over their alcohol dependence, and that their lives are out of control as a result. The alcoholic does not initially have to want to get help to go into treatment.

Stage 2: The Middle Stage

Binge drinking can also lead to alcohol poisoning, a serious and sometimes deadly condition. Alcohol-related liver disease, or cirrhosis, is caused when a person drinks too much alcohol for a long time. The prognosis for someone diagnosed with cirrhosis depends on whether and how much fibrosis and inflammation are present.

People who drink heavily are also more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, that can lead to unwanted pregnancies or infection with sexually transmitted diseases. People who consume alcohol to excess also face increased risk of being a perpetrator or victim of violence. They are at higher risk of committing homicides or being victims of homicides, committing or falling victim to sexual assault, and being sober house involved in intimate partner violence (also known as domestic abuse). People who consume alcohol to excess face increased risk of injury in car accidents if they drive while intoxicated. They are also at higher risk of falling due to their impaired balance, drowning, and being severely burned. Drinking heavily, even once, places a person at risk of a number of negative health outcomes in the short term.