The Commitment To Contentment
As we learn to care for our hygiene and cast off our previous rationalizations for our old way of life, we will start to find contentment in sobriety. We may continue group therapy, or may simply develop a strong and sober support network to benefit from the mutual help of those we care about.
We will experience an increase in tolerance, not for alcohol but rather for life without it. At the final stretch of the Jellinek Curve, an enlightened and interesting way of life opens up with the road ahead to higher levels than ever before.
Quite fittingly, the curve does not level out again. It simply keeps rising.
The Stages Of Alcoholism
The Man Behind the CurveThe Creation of the Jellinek Curve
The curve and its variations that we see today actually took shape over a period which spanned a dozen years. It is important to see the path of development in order to show how Jellinek modified and revised his initial addiction theory to its most identifiable iteration.
The Original 1946 Study
The origins of the Jellinek Curve can be traced back to a 1946 paper, Phases in the Drinking History of Alcoholics: Analysis of a Survey Conducted by the Official Organ of Alcoholics Anonymous. Published in the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Jellinek postulated a theory of the trajectory of alcoholism. He based this theory from answers that were part of a 36-question survey that was displayed on the front page of theGrapevine, which is the journal affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous.
From the data, he postulated a series of basic phases that an alcoholic experiences. Starting with the basic phase where a person first drinks and gets drunk and may start stealing drinks and drinking on the weekend, they move to an intermediate phase where they may start drinking mid-week, drink during the day or may engage in benders. This initial theory also included a terminal phase in which the alcoholic reaches their lowest point and experiences significant physical and personal loss as a result of their drinking.
The Phases of Alcoholthe 1952 Study
The Curve Takes Shape
History Of The Jellinek Curve
The Jellinek Curve was made by and named after Elvin Morton Jellinek in the 1950s. He was a physiologist at Yale University and one of the founders of modern addiction science.1
Jellineks research changed the way society views addiction.
After studying people who were addicted to alcohol, Jellinek found distinct patterns. He used this information to define four stages of addiction. These stages make up the left part of the Jellinek Curve.2
Jellineks research also showed that addiction is a disease, not a moral shortcoming. This perspective changed the way addiction is now treated.3
Later on, the Jellinek Curve was revised by a Berlin-born doctor named Max Glatt. Glatt noticed that patients in recovery have common patterns. He added recovery as the fifth stage, making up the right part of the Jellinek Curve.1
Glatt and Jellinek are both considered pioneers in the treatment of alcohol addiction because of their research and development of the Jellinek Curve.
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The Four Stages Of Alcoholism
In 1960, biostatistician and alcohol abuse researcher Elvin Morton Jellinek gained widespread attention when he first published The Disease Concept of Alcoholism, offering a new way to look at alcohol addiction.1
Jellinek viewed alcoholism as a chronic relapsing condition that needed to be treated by health professionals and developed a theory on the progression of alcoholism through various stages.
His model, now widely accepted, detailed his theoretical stages of alcohol addiction, each characterized by different changes in mental, physical, and social functioning.1
It is important to remember, not every person struggling with alcohol misuse will fit into these exact stages, but they can be a helpful guide to assess where they are now to potentially prevent future problems.1 Based on Jellineks theory, the 4 stages of alcohol addiction are:
Finding Detox And Treatment
There are many ways to get sober and no one “right” path. The first step is finding a reputable . You’ll want to find a rehab center that has medically-supervised detox capabilities so that you can comfortably and safely detox from alcohol. There are inpatient and outpatient options, but an addiction specialist should determine the best level of care for you based on your individual needs. Effective addiction treatment providers will have addiction counselors, but they should also have mental health services as many people with alcoholism have co-occurring mental health conditions.
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Do I Need Health Insurance To Receive This Service
The referral service is free of charge. If you have no insurance or are underinsured, we will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs. In addition, we can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you have health insurance, you are encouraged to contact your insurer for a list of participating health care providers and facilities.
The Stages Of Alcoholism According To Jellinek
31 December, 2020
Elvin Morton Jellinek was an American physiologist and biostatistician who most consider the father of scientific studies on alcoholism. In fact, his research has contributed to a better understanding of this disease. In this article, well talk about the stages of alcoholism.
Jellinek was born in New York in 1890. Between 1908 and 1910, he studied biostatistics and physiology at the Freie University of Berlin. For two years, he studied philosophy, anthropology, philology, and theology at the Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble. He also studied linguistics, cultural history, and various languages. In fact, Jellinek spoke nine languages.
In the 1930s, the physiologist worked at a hospital in Massachusetts, where he was commissioned by the Alcohol Research Council to study alcoholism. From this research, he wrote his first book in 1942, Alcohol Addiction and Chronic Alcoholism.
In 1941, he started working at Yale University and was editor-in-chief of the Quarterly Journal of studies on alcohol. Later, he was hired by the WHO as an alcoholism consultant in 1952 in Geneva. During this time, he made important contributions on alcoholism for the Expert Committee on Mental Health.
In the late 1950s, he retired from the WHO and returned to the United States. There, he worked at the Universities of Toronto, Alberta, and Stanford. In 1952, Jellinek stated that alcoholism was an illness that evolved in phases and that we could identify them with some ease.
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Strategies For Dealing With Alcohol Use Disorder: What To Say And Do
Attempting to help a loved one or friend who is struggling with an alcohol use disorder can be an emotional roller coaster. When an alcoholic is in active addiction, they can be defensive. Don’t confront the behaviors while they’re intoxicated. Find a time when they’re sober and talk honestly about your concerns. Practice what you’re going to say. Don’t guilt-trip or assign blame this is a disease. Offer support and use statements starting with “I” such as:
Getting Help For Alcoholism
If you or someone you care about has a problem with alcohol addiction, it may be time to seek professional help. Research has shown that rehabilitation treatment can be very effective in helping individuals maintain a life of sobriety.4
According to NIAAA, about a third of people who successfully complete a rehabilitation program show no further symptoms 1 year later and have fewer alcohol-related problems.4
- Resources about addiction and recovery
- Information about our treatment process
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What Is The Jellinek Curve
The Jellinek Curve was created by E. Morton Jellinek, and later revised by Max Glatt. E.M. Jellinek was among the first to take a scientific approach to understanding alcoholism and addiction, and is also credited with being one of the first to support a disease model for displaying the trajectory of addiction.
The Jellinek Curve is a model of addiction that attempts to identify the progressive stages of alcoholism , detailing very specific events and circumstances that come as a result of addiction throughout each phase. This concept by E.M. Jellinek, first introduced in the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, marked a shift in the concept of alcoholism as a journey through addiction in distinct phases of alcoholism, rather than a moral failing.
It can also be used as a tool to track progress within the context of Alcoholics Anonymous, but really, it can complement any modality of treatment. One can use it to not only track those progressive phases of alcohol addiction, but most any substance that may induce a mental or physical dependence.
Examples Of Typologies Developed In The Post
Beginning in the 1970s, typological theorists began to incorporate greater complexity into their models, not only by postulating subtypes that encompass multiple defining characteristics but also by deriving the typological characteristics from empirical data. Examples of these newer, multidimensional typologies include Morey and Skinners hybrid model, Cloningers neurobiological learning model, Zuckers developmental model, and Babor and colleagues vulnerability and severity theory, all of which are summarized below.
Morey and Skinner administered a battery of psychological tests to 725 subjects seeking treatment for alcohol abuse. Using a complicated statistical technique called cluster analysis, which searches for groups of people with similar characteristics, the researchers identified three types of drinkers: early stage problem drinkers, affiliative drinkers, and schizoid drinkers. The first type, early stage problem drinkers, includes people with alcohol-related health and social problems who have not developed major symptoms of alcohol dependence. The second type, affiliative drinkers, are more socially oriented, tend to drink on a daily basis, and demonstrate moderate alcohol dependence. In contrast, schizoid drinkers are socially isolated, drink in binges, and exhibit the most severe dependence symptoms.
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The Crucial Phase Of The Jellinek Curve
Once a persons drinking accelerates from what Jellinek termed occasional relief drinking, their alcohol use will likely begin to cause physical, psychological, and social problems. This can also hold true with other forms of drug use. As drinking or drug use becomes more frequent, a person may become dependent. This means that their body cannot function normally without the substance. Once this occurs, a person may drink or use drugs on a regular basis to relieve negative feelings, cravings, or withdrawal symptoms. A person may also start drinking or taking drugs shortly after they wake and find they have a hard time stopping once they start. During the Crucial Phase, an individuals physical and mental health may begin to suffer at the hand of substance use. A person will likely begin to lose increasing amounts of time to finding and using the drug. People who drink may begin to have more memory blackouts. Relationships can become strained as a person begins to avoid their loved ones in favor of drinking, taking drugs, or hanging out with people who do. As substance use gains momentum and becomes more compulsive, a person is pushed closer to the Chronic Phase.
Origins Of The Jellinek Curve
The Jellinek Curve as we know it today is largely based on the work and findings of Elvin Morton Jellinek, a Yale University physiologist and one of the founders of the field of addiction science.
Throughout the 1940s, Jellinek headed up the Yale Summer School of Alcohol Studies. As part of his work, he surveyed thousands of people addicted to alcohol about their personal experiences. When he analyzed the results, he spotted a number of trends and patterns including progressive changes that resulted in distinct behavioral patterns.
He used this information to delineate four phases of alcohol addiction. These phases and the ever-worsening various physical and mental characteristics that accompany them comprise the left, downward part of the U-shaped Jellinek Curve.
They also convinced Jellinek that alcoholism was a disease, not a moral shortcoming, and helped revolutionize the way alcoholism was approached and treated.
Several years later, Max Glatt, another pioneer in the field of alcoholism treatment, noticed that patients in recovery also had common experiences as they progressed through their recovery. He added his findings to Jellineks, creating the right, uphill slope of the U-shaped chart.
Though the research that contributed to the Jellinek chart originally applied just to alcoholism, today, its applied more broadly to addiction in general.
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Stage Four: Late Alcoholic
When an individual reaches this stage of the cycle, alcohol becomes their sole focus. Everything in their life revolves around drinking at the expense of their health, relationships, and jobs. If the person cuts back or stops drinking during this stage, they can experience side effects such as tremors and hallucinations. Help via therapy and detox can help the individual navigate these symptoms safely to begin to live without alcohol.
How The Jellinek Curve Offers Hope For Recovery
The Jellinek Curve is a helpful educational tool no matter what stage of addiction, for both addicts and their families, in understanding forms of addiction and for talking about the need for treatment and recovery. It allows a person to better remember and understand the timeline of addiction and recovery. In particular, it helps people struggling with active addiction to more clearly see their own progression through addictionboth what they have already lost, and the risks that lie ahead if they continue using.
The real power of the chart, however, is that it shows what is possible with the right recovery support. Even those who feel trapped at the bottom of the curve have the potential for rehabilitation, as long as they can bring themselves to take that first step and ask for help in breaking free of the cycle. Seeing the many benefits of treatment and recovery listed out can also provide motivation, something to hold onto when the road to recovery begins to feel rocky.
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Grapevine Aa Magazine Survey
In this study, Jellinek looked at the answers to a survey published in the AA magazine Grapevine and determined that alcoholism might actually evolve over the course of a lengthy trajectory. At this point, the phases were still rudimentary, evolving from basic relief drinking to occasional benders and ending with the lowest point of addiction.
Jellineks 1946 study was not held in high regard. He used a sample size of fewer than 100 people, none of whom were women . Despite these limitations, however, Jellineks work was highly original.
Its hard to imagine given the wide array of addiction demographics and statistics available to us today, but most researchers in the 1940s had not approached the subject of alcoholism through the lens of statistical analysis. Jellinek saw value in this approach, and he would keep working on his theories for many years to come.
Still pursuing the belief of addiction as a trajectory, Jellinek wrote an article called Phases of Alcohol Addiction in 1952. This time, he used a much larger samplemore than 2,000 alcoholics, though still no femalesand administered a much more detailed survey. This time, his trajectory was much less rudimentary.
What Are The Stages Of Alcoholism
A stage model is a model of the development of some condition or capacity that assumes the following:
- The stages are mutually exclusive. The development of the capacity or condition occurs in a discontinuous manner, such that the stages are discrete and separate from one another.
- People progress through the stages in a specific order, and the order is the same for everyone. In some cases, theorists may recognize that certain groups of individuals may progress through the stages in a different fashion than others however, the progression is the same for that particular group.
- These particular stages are identifiable by specific indicators.
Stage models of development are often preferred by sources like the media and lay sources, because they are relatively uncomplicated and present a concrete picture of a particular type of disorder, human development, the development of personality, etc. however, in actuality, these models often are hotly contested, and there is often little empirical validation for them. Nonetheless, these models remain popular, and several different stage models exist that attempt to define the progression of substance use disorders, particularly the progression of alcohol use disorders. There are several popular stage models of the progression of alcohol use disorders .
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The Past As Prologue: Whither Typology Theory
As this review has outlined, throughout the past 150 years, researchers and clinicians have developed numerous typological classifications of alcoholism. These classifications have distinguished alcoholism subtypes based on a multitude of defining characteristics, including drinking patterns, consequences of drinking, personality characteristics, and coexisting psychiatric disorders. Despite the variety of determining factors and manifestations of alcoholism and despite the inconsistencies in nomenclature, however, both clinical observation and empirical research indicate that the heterogeneity among alcoholics is not random. As shown in table 2, similar alcoholic subtypes can be categorized within two broad groups, called the Apollonian and Dionysian types, based on recurrent characteristics of the drinkers. This means that, for example, type A alcoholics are basically the same as milieu-limited or delta alcoholics, with some differences between these types resulting from the different methods and defining criteria used to establish the typologies.
The Jellinek Curve As A Symbol
More than anything, the Jellinek Curve should act as a symbol for why we should wish to remain sober. Some may disagree with the shape of the curve, the fact that it continues rising upward forever and ever. It certainly seems implausible no one goes through the entirety of their life in such an elevated state.
But while we may take a step back in our recovery from time to time, and while we may face many challenges and hardships that will test our fortitude to its very limits, relapse is not the answer to these struggles. If we continue to do the right thing and to foster a mindset based on realistic thinking and real moral values, we can overcome these hardships. And in doing so, we will strengthen our belief in the value of our sobriety so that our spiritual journey may continue unimpeded.
Some may not see this sort of deeper meaning in the Jellinek Curve. To some, it is just a basic depiction of the manner in which some addicts and alcoholics experience addiction and recovery. But if you choose to use it for a greater purpose, it can be a highly useful tool. The choice is up to you.
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