Instead, voice your concerns, share how high functioning alcoholic their drinking is affecting others, and suggest ways that you can help them talk to a doctor or join a support group. Usually, it is only when their continued drinking becomes more painful than the prospect of going through the pain of alcohol withdrawal, will they finally reach out for help. Finally, there’s often confusion between social drinking and problem drinking. Family members may feel confused, frustrated, or helpless as they watch their loved one struggle. By breaking down these myths, we can create a more supportive environment — one that encourages those struggling to take that important first step toward recovery.

What is a High Functioning Alcoholic?

Over time, you may struggle to maintain social and familial obligations and relationships. It can lead to liver disease, pancreatitis, some forms of cancer, brain damage, serious memory loss, and high blood pressure. It also makes someone more likely to die in a car wreck or from murder or suicide.

• Residential treatment is usually the most intensive level of care and could be appropriate if someone needs to step away from their current environment and requires a lot of help to stop drinking.
• Our team at Advanced Addiction Center is dedicated to setting the bar for quality treatment right here in Medford, Massachusetts.
• More severe symptoms, such as hallucinations and seizures, may appear.
• People who are close to a person with AUD may need support to understand how to help their loved ones.
• They may meet deadlines, maintain relationships, and uphold societal norms, yet their reliance on alcohol is severe enough to impact their long-term health and well-being.
• Functional alcoholics may blur these lines, using social settings as an excuse to drink excessively.

What Are the Benefits of Not Drinking Alcohol?

• Family members may feel on edge and worried about their loved ones drinking.
• As their reliance on alcohol increases, you may begin to notice that your loved one downplays the role alcohol has in their lives and makes excuses for their actions, especially their drinking.
• This constant juggling act can be emotionally and mentally draining, not just for the individual but also for their loved ones.
• This makes it essential to observe consistent patterns over time rather than relying solely on isolated incidents.

These examples illustrate that even those who appear to function well can be grappling with serious alcohol dependency. Alcoholism can take a devastating toll on a person’s physical health, emotional well-being, personal relationships and professional life. However, many alcoholics manage to function effectively, holding down jobs and maintaining households. A high-functioning alcoholic may hide their alcohol abuse for years without suffering any major losses. Under the surface, this form of alcoholism can cause severe psychological and emotional damage to the alcoholic and also their loved ones.. For example, an alcoholic who is high functioning may never get fired for coming to work impaired.

What is a Functioning Alcoholic & What are the Risks?

• They don’t fit the stereotypical image of someone struggling with addiction, which makes their condition even harder to recognize.
• Recognizing the signs of this double life can help you understand if someone you care about might be dealing with high-functioning alcoholism.
• If you have a functional alcoholic in your life, there are recovery resources available.
• Unfortunately, even when functional alcoholics begin to recognize that they have a drinking problem, they still resist reaching out for help.

After all, they have managed to maintain https://ecosoberhouse.com/ the appearance of success despite their addiction. But most high-functioning alcoholics have friends or loved ones who help them cover up the consequences of their drinking. These individuals may unconsciously encourage or enable the alcoholic’s behavior by allowing the alcoholic to avoid the negative consequences of destructive drinking. Although you may still hear people talking about “alcoholism” or “alcohol abuse,” the official term is alcohol use disorder (AUD).

What Makes Dealing with High-Functioning Alcoholics so Challenging?

One of the biggest giveaways of functional alcoholism is a high tolerance for alcohol. Patterns of hidden alcoholism can make it difficult for loved ones or coworkers to recognize the problem. However, subtle signs — such as frequent excuses to drink, an unusual focus on alcohol, or unexplained absences — can indicate that something is wrong. Recognizing these patterns is the first step toward addressing the issue.

Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder

Psychological dependence is also a common trait of functional alcoholics. It’s when a substance (such as alcohol) becomes central to a person’s thoughts, emotions, and activities.4 Many functional alcoholics have a psychological need to drink because it allows them to function. In reality, a high-functioning alcoholic may be experiencing a great deal of stress while they maintain their drinking and all the dressings of a socially accepted lifestyle.

Depending on the severity of someone’s dependency on alcohol, they may also require inpatient or outpatient treatments. These treatments help high-functioning alcoholics better understand their alcohol dependency while providing a healthy environment for managing their withdrawals and cravings. Alcohol abuse is generally characterized by drinking too much or too alcoholism treatment frequently. However, there is not always a physical and mental dependency found in alcohol abuse as there is in alcoholism.