Live Sober: Find the alcoholism stages

You may wonder whether you might be able to head off a loved one’s developing alcoholism by responding to the person’s needs early. It’s possible that you have seen early warning signs. These might include very occasional failures of responsibility because the individual was intoxicated with liquor and/or drugs (or because of a subsequent hangover).

Failures like these are a major sign and an increasingly disastrous consequence of alcoholism: failure to get to work on time or to go to work at all; failure to make important business meetings, such as job interviews, sales appointments, conference with the boss or supervisor; failure to go to class in school or college; failure to show up for exams; failure to do important things for one’s child (such as attend scheduled teacher’s conferences, plays, sports events, or even birthday parties and graduations). Eventually, the addict may even fail to get washed, shower, dress or even feed themselves

Try to Stop the Addition Early

Suppose a person in your life drinks or takes drugs rather often and sometimes heavily. Suppose, too, that the person has no history of ignoring his or her responsibilities. But you’ve noticed in recent months or weeks that the person isn’t meeting his or her obligations, as result of drinking. Your family member or friend could be head for full-blown addiction.
On the change that he or she actually is on that path, you could try to help. Set aside a time to talk to her or him privately and without interruption. Tell the person very seriously how concerned you are about where he or she may be heading. Suggest trying to stop completely. You might suggest that the person could be casual about his change with friends and associates and need only to say that the drinking has caused stomach upsets, so stopping seem worth a try.
You’d be lucky if this works.

Early Intervention May Not Head Off the Addiction

You need to know certain basic facts about the alcoholism in order to under what your chances of success are with and intercession.

First, some people have an inherent physical potential to become alcoholics or addicts. To a large extent, this potential has been found to be inherited. For example, studies have shown that the children of alcoholic parents are about four times more likely to become alcoholic than the children of non alcoholic parents.

Many people who lack this natural potential can drink alcohol for year-in some cases, even heavily- and never become an alcoholics. Such people can and do quit drinking if they really need to – for reason as varied as stopping serious liver damage caused by alcohol, holding on t their job, or keeping a lover or a spouse.

Quite a few people have this inborn predisposition to alcoholism. But in order for them to become alcoholic, they must activate their potential by drinking substantially for some time-often, for a few years.

Possible Success

Now, let’s apply these facts to a possible attempt to head off alcoholism early in someone close to you. Consider first the cases in which you might be successful. Assume that the person could be merely a careless heavy drinker who does not have the physical potential for alcoholism. People like this should stop without much difficulty if convinced that heir drinking seriously interferes with their well-being.

Then, too, you could be far more successful if the person does have the inborn tendencies-but has not been drinking long enough to activate that potential for alcoholism. Should this be the case, the person would still have the ability to stop if you and the circumstances were convincing enough.

Your Worst Case

Your worst case, on the other hand, would be that the person whom you want to help has the inherited addictive potential hand has gone on drinking long enough to activated irreversible alcoholism. Your attempt with such a person would come too late. It’s possible that you might at first think you had succeeded-if the person initially misled you, as well herself or him self. The person might even stop drinking for some weeks or months to prove there’s no problem.

But sooner or later, people with alcoholism revert to frequent or constant intoxication that makes them unable to carry out even the simplest function of living. In time, the alcoholic has absolutely no ability to stop using-unless he or she enters recovery.

However, it can take a long time before those around the alcoholic recognized the addition. You should know the telltale signs of addiction before the person’s life has become a complete disaster.

Comments are closed.