What Is a Functional Alcoholic?

They often are very successful at their jobs, and many excel in high-powered career fields. If you’re ready to recover from alcoholism, Elevate Rehab’s alcohol rehab in California can provide you with the support you need. Our alcohol detox and treatment programs treat the whole person—not just their addiction. Relational issues – Alcoholism can cause a lot of damage to one’s relationships. Some functional alcoholics may get out of control while they’re intoxicated and treat their loved ones in regrettable ways. They may also become moody or irritable if they have to go for prolonged periods without alcohol.

It can be difficult to spot a high-functioning alcoholic but there are some signs to watch out for. Their spending habits change or they start experiencing financial issues. They are constantly finding excuses to drink such as a celebration, a bad day, a long work day, a weekend. It is hard to see the signs of functional alcoholism in those closest to you. Learning more about high-functioning alcoholism is the first step in understanding how to help you or your loved one.

How to Help a High Functioning Alcoholic

Drinking doesn’t just affect the individual; it affects the entire family unit. According to the National Institutes of Health, functional alcoholics are typically “middle-aged, well-educated, with stable jobs and families.” You can plan an intervention with the help of friends and family members or seek expert help from people who offer professional alcohol interventions. Unless the issues are addressed in a healthy manner, the relationship ultimately deteriorates into fights about alcohol abuse and there’s a risk of domestic violence.

Chronic severe alcoholism—a subcategory of AUD, for example—makes up around nine percent of those suffering from AUD, Psychology Today reports. Many are often surprised to learn that most people battling AUD are categorized as high-functioning alcoholics . Someone with high functioning alcoholism is able to hold down a job, socialize with friends, and maintain intimate personal relationships while demonstrating a pattern of dysfunctional drinking behavior. High functioning alcoholics still suffer from an addiction, but it’s harder to see evidence of the problem unless you’re looking very closely. The term high-functioning alcoholic refers to a pattern of alcohol abuse that has little interference with social, professional, or personal obligations.

What Would a High-Functioning Alcoholic’s Drinking Look Like?

We are accredited by the Joint Commission and employ a staff of medical professionals and licensed addiction treatment providers. If you or someone you love is ready to begin treatment for alcohol addiction,contact ustoday to learn more about programs that can work well for your needs. However, these individuals still have to deal with the effects of alcohol eco sober house cost abuse, including mental and physical health problems. High-functioning alcoholics are often able to carry on for a long time because they, like those around them, are in denial about the problem. Maintaining a job, paying for bills, having healthy relationships, and other successes are often used as a way to minimize the impact alcohol has on a person’s life.

Instead, voice your concerns, share how their drinking is affecting others, and suggest ways that you can help them talk to a doctor or join a support group. If you are concerned about your loved one’s drinking, it can be helpful to join a support group such as Al-Anon. Such groups can offer valuable support, encouragement, advice, and information.

Detoxing

The longer you live with AUD, the higher your risk of developing complications that can lead to death. According to 2020 data by the CDC, nearly 30,000 people died that year from alcoholic liver disease . This is why psychological counseling, such as talk therapy, is important if you’re recovering from AUD. This can help you learn new coping skills so you can turn to other behaviors instead of drinking in order to live a healthier life. In addition, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism , alcohol misuse like binge drinking and heavy drinking can increase your risk for developing alcohol use disorder . Examples include sweating, shaking, or feeling sick to your stomach.

So how and when does one know if they or a loved one has a problem with alcohol. The term alcoholic is by nature very degrading and stigmatizing. Although some individuals in recovery find value in admitting that they are an alcoholic, it is something that many find difficulty in coming to terms with. Suggesting that one is alcoholic is suggestive that one fits into a one-size-fits-all demographic, which stereotypically conjures up images of a low-functioning individual. The truth is that alcoholism is not a one-size-fits-all epidemic, and it looks different for every individual.

Yes, high-functioning alcoholics may be in denial about their addiction and may not seek help for their trouble. It is important to address the issue with them and encourage them to seek professional help. Seeking professional help, such as counseling or a rehabilitation program, can significantly increase the chances of successful recovery. A high-functioning alcoholic is a person who can maintain their professional and personal responsibilities while engaging in excessive drinking.

While the consequences of their alcohol use may not be so apparent at the time, there is bound to be some area of their life that is indeed being impacted now or that will be impacted in the future. For example, interior physical damage caused by alcohol to the liver, pancreas, heart, and brain are often left unnoticed until it may be too late. Or in some way the individual’s relationships with their loved ones may slowly deteriorate over time as they spend more time drinking and less time being present and connecting with others.

What is a High Functioning Alcoholic?

Ask A Professional – And last but not least, questioning individuals can get in contact with an actual addiction expert to get their professional opinion on whether or not they’re really an alcoholic. The National Institute on Drug Abuse provides the DSM-V’s criteria for diagnosing a substance use disorder. These criteria involve eleven specific questions to ask when it comes to examining alcohol addiction. While the clinical criteria for alcoholism is a great starting point, sometimes it’s more helpful to recognize certain behaviors instead of just the broad categories talked about above. And when it’s been a long time since the last drink, someone dependent on alcohol can experience what are known as withdrawals.

In fact, it is a sign of tolerance to alcohol, which is a red flag for addiction. He is so easy to recognize because he makes no effort to hide his drunken condition. This caricature of an alcoholic might work well in movies and TV, but is it accurate? People who suffer from addiction can be of any age, gender, race, and socioeconomic class. Many go to great lengths to hide their alcoholism and never appear drunk.

High-Functioning People with Alcohol Use Disorder: Tolerance Levels

Short Online Quiz – Someone questioning whether or not they have an addiction to alcohol can get a better idea of their addiction level by taking a short and sweet online alcoholism quiz. This true-false questionnaire doesn’t take more than a few minutes to complete and can be a vital first step towards truly recognizing if a problem really does exist. Either way, sticking with drinking even after identifying that it is having a real negative impact on life is a sure sign of a serious problem.

Pointing this out often results in either outright denial or an indignant and angry reaction. If you need help now, please call The District today, we can offer help with ourOrange County rehabpartnerships and oursober living homesthat can help keep you or your loved one committed to your sobriety. Recovered.org provides an anonymous online evaluation tool to check if drinking has become problematic and provides further resources for help https://soberhome.net/ and support. Due to some people’s ability to mask their AUD, it is difficult to find research on those that are high functioning. While some people end up on the streets or incarcerated as a consequence of their addiction, many others continue to lead outwardly successful lives while struggling with their inner demons. We help our clients and their families recognize and accept the extent of the effect of addiction in their lives.

Functioning alcoholics are also very good at hiding their drinking and often in denial that they even have a problem with alcohol. On the surface, they appear to be living a normal sober life, yet they struggle with their addiction the same as a stereotypical alcoholic, often experiencing constant strong cravings and drinking heavily. A functioning alcoholic has developed a physical tolerance for and a dependence on alcohol. A functioning alcoholic, also called a high-functioning alcoholic, appears to live a normal life. They generally have healthy relationships with their family and friends, complete their education, and are active in their communities.

• A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nine out of ten excessive drinkers are not alcohol dependent.
• And any alcohol abuse raises the odds of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, andfetal alcohol syndrome.
• Someone who is a functioning alcoholic may benefit from an outpatient program, so they can still go to work and participate in treatment such as therapy at the same time.
• When a person’s dating a functional alcoholic, they might not be drunk, but they can’t go a day without alcohol.
• However, the tradeoff here is that inpatient programs usually require complete isolation from outside obligations for the length of the program .
• However, they can generally carry out their daily responsibilities without alcohol hindering success.

While being a high-functioning alcoholic might not seem like a big issue because it doesn’t yet impact your daily life, when left untreated, it can eventually catch up with you. Psychotherapy, or “talk therapy,” is a popular treatment method for alcohol addiction. Whatever you choose to do, don’t diminish your concern about their drinking out of fear of damaging a relationship choices sober living or hurting feelings. At their core, they’re still alcoholics, and eventually the disease will overcome all of their well-kempt outward appearances, and their lives will begin to fray around the edges. Unfortunately, alcohol is also among the most commonly abused substances. Even worse, alcohol is the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

Many assume that a person cannot be successful and struggle with addiction at the same time. Societal stereotypes about what constitutes an alcoholic makes it easy for high-functioning alcoholics to justify their behaviors. Many people think of an alcoholic as someone who always drinks too much, looks disheveled, has difficulty holding a job, and is struggling financially. They may picture a person who has difficulty in their relationships, or is incarcerated, homeless, or hitting rock bottom.