You might hear the term ‘currently functioning’ used to emphasise that a person’s ability to function right now is unlikely to last. Alcohol addiction can have a devastating effect on someone’s life, but how long it takes someone’s drinking problem to affect their daily functioning will differ from person to person. Treatment providers are available 24/7 to answer your questions about rehab, whether it’s for you or a loved one.
The Power Of Denial: Why High-Functioning Alcoholics Resist Treatment
An experienced intervention specialist can help the participants prepare for these reactions so they can respond effectively. In addition to the health effects of having an alcohol use disorder, it can also take a toll on relationships. Drinking doesn’t just affect the individual; it affects the entire family unit. A functional alcoholic often consumes as much alcohol as someone with an alcohol use disorder. From a public health perspective, excessive alcohol use is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the United States. These impacts extend beyond the individual, affecting communities and society at large.
Warning Signs of Alcoholism
For many people struggling with addiction this is true, but for someone with functioning alcoholism this isn’t the case. Setting specific sobriety goals, as suggested by recovered.org, can provide focus and accountability, increasing the likelihood of successful recovery. Long-term recovery plans, such as 12-step programs and ongoing therapy, are crucial for maintaining sobriety and preventing relapse. The journey to recovery is a continuous process of recommitment and adaptation, with each individual’s experience offering valuable insights into the resilience and transformative power of sobriety. Personal narratives, such as those shared by Sarah A. Benton and others, highlight the importance of addressing underlying mental health issues to achieve emotional sobriety.
Understanding High-Functioning Alcoholism
The face of the alcoholic needs to be changed and the walls of denial must be broken down in order that alcoholics everywhere can receive proper diagnosis and treatment. Many are not viewed by society as being alcoholic, because they have functioned, succeeded and/or over-achieved throughout their lifetimes. These achievements often lead to an increase https://sober-home.org/alcohol-and-insomnia-possible-risks-and-more/ in personal denial as well as denial from colleagues and loved ones. People who live fully functional lives can still have AUD and can benefit from treatment and support. The condition causes changes in the brain that decrease the ability to quit on your own. This makes it important to seek medical treatment and peer support in your recovery process.
Signs of a Functioning Alcoholic
Alcohol use disorder can still have a significant impact on a person’s life, even if they appear to be coping from the outside. Recovered.org provides an anonymous online evaluation tool to check if drinking has become problematic and provides further resources for help and support. The NIAAA offers a range of assessment tools and strategies to help people understand their drinking patterns, reduce their drinking, or quit completely.
Navigating the Challenges of Treating High-Functioning Alcoholism
Often, this will involve issues that everyone deals with in their own way, so it’s not a big leap of logic to believe that someone might have a few drinks to take the edge off. Some common explanations for drinking might include too much stress at work, dealing with unruly kids, or even something https://sober-home.org/ like alcohol helping them fall asleep after a long day. If they can hold themselves to that limit, they rationalize away any alcohol addiction. What makes a functioning alcoholic different is that they believe their ability to maintain a normal life keeps them from being an alcoholic.
Many high-functioning alcoholics recognize their need for alcohol, but they keep the various areas of their lives separate. For example, they drink only after work, never during work-related functions or in the office. Some also take great steps to create a portrait of a healthy person.
Unfortunately, high-functioning alcoholism, as a secret or undiagnosed disorder, can be more dangerous than obvious, debilitating alcoholism. This is because high-functioning alcoholics are often in denial about their addiction, so they are less likely to seek treatment. Since they’re not stereotypical alcoholics, they do not know or they will not admit that they have a serious problem with alcohol.
One key way to link a functioning alcoholic to their addiction is by looking at the quantity of consumption. Men who consume 10 or more drinks per week and women who consume at least 7 alcoholic drinks per week are considered alcoholics, according to the U.S. What makes a functioning alcoholic different is their ability to not just drink but to still maintain what seems like sobriety.
They’re able to successfully manage tasks around their work, school, family, and finances, he says. Sarah Allen Benton, M.S., LMHC., LPC, is a licensed mental health counselor and author of Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic. If you’re ready to seek treatment for alcoholism or would like to know more about your treatment options, American Addiction Centers (AAC) can help. AAC is the parent company of Alcohol.org and is a nationwide provider of treatment facilities focused on providing hope and recovery for those in need. Your doctor may also conduct imaging tests if other laboratory studies come back abnormal. For example, a computed tomography (CT) scan tests for liver enlargement, which can occur after years of chronic drinking.
Yet, with that higher tolerance level, many men and women like this don’t recognize their condition as a true addiction. Other criteria include a pattern of drinking at inappropriate times or alone, and engaging in risky behaviors while under the influence, such as driving or operating machinery. High-functioning alcoholics may also drink to cope with stress, exhibit withdrawal symptoms, and have a preoccupation with alcohol that interferes with their obligations. Despite these patterns, they often maintain a semblance of normalcy in their job performance and social activities. High-functioning alcoholism, a subset of alcohol use disorder, often masks its long-term effects due to the individual’s ability to maintain seemingly normal life activities.
They may go to the gym, hang out with friends and even go to their children’s soccer games. As a result, being able to fulfill job duties adequately does little to discourage them from continued patterns of alcohol abuse. If someone close to you is a high-functioning alcoholic, it’s just as important to seek support for yourself as it is to get help for your loved one. You likely have questions about how to deal with an alcoholic, or how to help an alcoholic. Self-help organizations, church groups, and 12-step programs like Al-Anon and Alateen offer advice, hope and encouragement to people involved with functioning alcoholics.
They may be fantastic parents, great students or promising employees, but they still need alcohol to get through their daily routine. A typical alcoholic is less able to keep their problem with alcohol separate and hidden. It’s typical to believe an alcoholic is a person who stumbles around, barely gets through the day and can’t hold down a steady job. However, a high-functioning alcoholic can do all of this and much more. If you believe your loved one is relying on alcohol for any need, it may be time to take a closer look at whether or not they fall into the category of a functioning alcoholic.
- ‘High-functioning alcoholics’, or ‘functioning alcoholic’, are colloquial terms for someone who’s dependent on alcohol but is still able to function relatively effectively in their daily life.
- Treatment is tailored to individual needs, and a comprehensive plan may include a combination of therapy, medication, and support groups to address both the physical and psychological aspects of AUD.
- A high-functioning alcoholic may hide their alcohol abuse for years without suffering any major losses.
- For example, they drink only after work, never during work-related functions or in the office.
High-functioning alcoholics who drink for decades risks developing cirrhosis, cancer, and heart disease. Despite their seemingly controlled exterior, high-functioning alcoholics face an increased risk of long-term health complications, including hormonal imbalances, malnutrition, and sleep disorders. The term is somewhat controversial, as it implies a level of control or sustainability that may not exist, and it may contribute to denial and delayed treatment seeking. High-functioning alcoholism, while often less visible than other forms of addiction, carries significant consequences for an individual’s health, relationships, and overall quality of life. Despite maintaining an outward appearance of normalcy, high-functioning alcoholics experience a range of detrimental effects that can erode their well-being over time. Studies have shown that alcohol consumption correlates with depressive disorders, which in turn can impair health-related quality of life (HRQoL), even in individuals without clinically relevant depressive symptoms.
Just because you open up about this issue does not mean the HFA in your life will immediately get help. However, what you are doing is planting a seed that may increase the chances that this individual will get help in the future. If the HFA is open to your concerns and is willing to seek help, he or she should also receive an assessment by a therapist or physician about what level of care may be appropriate. You can also suggest finding a recovery program support group such as A.A., SMART Recovery, or Women for Sobriety, which have meetings online and in person throughout the country and internationally.
Get a free initial assessment with a therapist, to help you take the first step towards recovery. If they are open and willing, they might enter into an inpatient rehab and begin a new chapter in life. If they are in denial, you will have to hold fast to your boundaries. But your value is not dictated by your loved one and their addiction.
This particular holiday season may pose greater challenges than those in the past for individuals in early sobriety. Twenty years ago today, I woke up from a typical alcohol-induced blackout in an apartment I did not recognize in an unfamiliar Boston neighborhood. I stared at the ceiling with a pit in my stomach, a void in my soul, a dead cell phone battery, and an inner knowing that I would never let myself feel this way again. I gathered my few belongings from the night before and shamefully walked to the Boston “T” to get back home. When I arrived, reeking of booze from the evening before and makeup strewn down my face, I was confronted by two of my female roommates. Being able to carry out regular responsibilities with AUD is not the same as being free of the disease.
This can result in deception and mistrust within personal relationships, as personality changes due to alcohol use disorder (AUD) make individuals unrecognizable from their former selves. If you know a high-functioning alcoholic, you have the power to make a difference. The best way for someone to help a high-functioning alcoholic is to have a forthright conversation with them about their addiction. Your conversation should happen when the person you are trying to help is sober. Most importantly, while you should avoid being judgmental or accusatory, you should also be honest about how alcoholism is affecting you and the alcoholic.
Sometimes, this might be pointing to people they know who drink more or have more severe consequences after drinking. In other circumstances, they might explain away their addiction by stating that it’s not as bad as drug addiction or some other substance use issue. They might even rationalize their issues as only affecting themselves whereas murderers or other criminals hurt or kill others. Another way functioning alcoholics stand out from the rest is their ability to hide their larger, more high-risk problems. For example, you may not be able to contact a loved one for a period of time.
High-functioning alcoholism, a subset of alcohol use disorder (AUD), is characterized by individuals maintaining their professional and personal responsibilities while struggling with alcohol dependency. The prevalence of high-functioning alcoholism is not explicitly stated in most studies, as it often goes undetected due to the absence of apparent life dysfunction. However, examining general alcohol consumption patterns and behaviors can provide insights into its potential scope. It is crucial to recognize that high-functioning alcoholism is a serious condition that requires attention and treatment.