The early (first) stage of alcoholism

At this stage of the alcohol use disorder, such distinctive signs of dependence are formed:

  1. The increase of tolerance. When inebriety turns into alcohol addiction and the protective vomiting reflex disappears, the tolerance to alcohol grows at a rapid pace. And the transition from drinking low-alcohol beverages to stronger ones leads to a faster increase in tolerance.
  2. Psychological dependence is characterized by pathological craving for alcohol. A person - or, to be more precise, already a patient - can not overcome the obsessive desire to drink; moreover, constraining factors like the lack of money, the risk of losing job, negative reaction of the relatives stop to work. Drinking becomes the main interest in the patient's life. What is typical for this condition, the patient no longer wants to resist the craving for alcohol, and even if he was motivated, he would not have managed it himself, without the help of a professional.
  3. The lack of control over the amounts of alcohol is also a clear sign of alcohol dependence. After the first glass of alcohol the desire to continue drinking increases abruptly - and so the person does until the stage of deep intoxication comes. This means that a person loses the ability to drink "moderately", which happens for good. It should be remembered: even after a course of treatment and several years of sobriety, only one attempt to switch to "moderate" drinking mode will inevitably lead to a relapse of alcoholism.
  4. Another sign occurs as a result of the previous ones: the pattern of intoxication changes. The patient does not remember how the booze ended: the forgetfulness of the end of intoxication arises. The toxic dose of alcohol (0.5 liter of vodka and more) often provokes anger, aggression, pugnaciousness - but, after sobering up, the person does not remember a thing: how he got back home, who took the money and documents out from his pockets, with whom he fought ... He frankly does not believe he could behave as he is told, or even thinks he is being slandered.
    All these symptoms are characteristic of the initial, or subclinical stage of alcoholism. The term "preclinical" means that not all the signs are expressed pronouncedly and clearly. Unfortunately, at this stage the patients do not tend to seek professional help and do not want to undergo any treated as they do not consider themselves addicted.