There are, and have been, many theories about alcoholism. The
most prevailing theory, and now most commonly accepted, is
called the Disease Model. Its basic tenets are that alcoholism
is a disease with recognizable symptoms, causes, and methods of
treatment. In addition, there are several stages of the disease
which are often described as early, middle, late, treatment and
relapse. While it is not essential to fully define these stages,
it is useful to understand them in terms of how the disease
presents itself. This series of articles describes the signs and
symptoms of each stage as well as exploring treatment options. -
Early or Adaptive Stage - Middle Stage - Late Stage - Treating
Alcoholism - Relapse to drinking 1 – The Early or Adaptive Stage
of Alcoholism The early or adaptive stage of alcoholism is
marked by increasing tolerance to alcohol and physical
adaptations in the body which are largely unseen. This increased
tolerance is marked by the alcoholic’s ability to consume
greater quantities of alcoho