The main signs of this phase are:

Loss of control

The loss of control on the consumed quantity of alcohol can be discharged by an inoffensive quantity of alcohol, ***ba chiar numai de impresia de a-l fi consumat.
Once a small amount of alcohol come into the body appear a strongly desire to consume more. This desire has a determination predominantly psychical.
The imperative desire persists until the drinker is either too drunk to consume more or too ill to bear the alcohol. After awakening, the next excess doesn't take place because of a strongly physical or psychical desire, normally being an ordinary occasion that induce the next consume.
The loss of control is manifested only after the drinker has started to drink alcohol, but he still has the liberty to decide if with a specific occasion begins to drink or not; in this way is able to enjoin himself abstinence episodes.

Attempts to justify the consume of alcohol

This is the start of a whole "explanations system" that concludes gradual more and more plans of being. The system helps the drinker to resist to the tensioned occurred as a consequence of the control's loss. From now on the abusive consumption of alcohol cannot be excusable. The parents, wife, friends and superiors start to admonish and alarm him. The dependent avoid them as possible as he can, he drinks more often at home or in places where is not recognized.

An exaggerate self-confidence

Despite of all "explanations" it occurs an important loss of self-respect. Trying to compensate, the alcohol dependent try to post an exaggerate self-confidence. Through some extravagant expenses and megalomaniac affirmations he wants to convince himself that he is not in such a desperate situation.

Aggressive behavior

The explanations found, normally, lead to the belief that the fault is not of the drinker, but of someone's. This will produce a progressive social auto-isolation. The first sign of the attitude is an egregious aggressive behavior.

Permanent penitence

As a result of the described behavior appear guilty feelings. Now the penitence becomes a permanent companion. Through the tensioned state appear new reasons to find the release in drink, entering in a vicious circle.

Abstinence episodes

Because of the pressures made by the social environment, the alcohol dependent enjoins him short or long periods of total abstinence. The often he pass up the more desperate he becomes, couldn't realize where he fails.

Changeover of the way to drink alcohol

Failures that end the abstinence episodes determine the alcoholic to find other methods to control alcohol's consumption. Believing that his difficulties draw from the way of drink, he fixes some rules: to not drink before a specific hour, to drink only in specific places and neighborhoods, to drink only specific types and specific amount of alcohol well-stated. But he can't follow these rules for a long time.

Hostile behavior and isolation

Many times the others contribute subconsciously to relapses, believing the "just one glass can harm". Feeling their ignorance, the dependent become more hostile, he abandon the old friends and isolate himself social.

Job abandonment

Some friends start to avoid the alcoholic, he loose his job because of the problems related to the abuse of alcohol, but often the dependent took the initiative and quit "preventive" his job.

Loss of interest - pronounced self-compassion

Isolation grows to be bigger, all preoccupations being concentrate on alcohol. The drinker is thinking more regarding how an activity could affect the consumption of alcohol than to think how the alcohol consumption could affect his work. It is followed by the loss of interest for a lot of things. At the same time appear strong feelings of self-compassion.

Real or imaginary escape

The dependent cannot run from him, getting often to dream with opened eyes or even to change the environment - "the geographic escape".

Family relation's alteration

Sometimes, wife, children or other family members draw back from social life; other times, per contra, they involve in different activities with the purpose to get off the familial surrounding. Often arise divorces, disinheritance, denials interpreted by the person in case as cattiness from the others.

Alcohol provisions

The preoccupation being concentrated on alcohol, the dependent take care of the sufficient provision of alcohol, a hidden small deposit of alcohol.

Feed neglect

The abusive consumption of alcohol - which has an enlarged content of calories - lead to neglect of the adequate feed that has as a consequence a stronger effect of the alcohol on the body.

Hospitalization

The affectation of different organs - brain peripheral nerves, liver, stomach, and cardio-vascular system - through toxic effect of alcohol produces pains that necessitate a specialty treatment. The hospitalization is often required for various secondary affections and not for the alcohol dependence, which generated them.

Loss of appetency

One of the most frequent psychical and organical consequences of the alcohol abuse is the loss of appetency. At the same time grows the hostility vis-à-vis of wife, which refuses often the advance made by the drunk partner; in this cases she is suspected by infidelity. Appears an excessive jealousy, the well-known alcoholic jealousy.

Morning alcohol consumption

In this period the compunction, discontentment, confrontation between the duties and desire to consume alcohol, loss of self-respect, incertitude and bad attitudes of the surrounding lead the alcohol dependent to such a state that he can't start the day without "calming" right after the getting up - or even before - with alcohol. If in the past the morning consumption of alcohol was an occasional phenomenon, now becomes normal.