Author: Alex Thompson

How to Recognize a Functional Alcoholic

Intervening in the addictive behavior may be seen as a threat to the family’s financial security — even if the family must put up with emotional neglect or physical abuse. Bureau of Justice Statisticsnoted that nearly 60% of violent incidents against a domestic partner or family member were committed under the influence of alcohol. Although you may still hear people talking about “alcoholism” or “alcohol abuse,” the official term is alcohol use disorder (AUD). And it’s all still problem drinking, even if you think it’s “mild.” If AUD goes unrecognized and untreated, it’s linked to risks in many aspects of your health and life. Certain factors may increase your risk of developing an alcohol problem. Binge drinking, social pressures, family history, mental health issues, and excess alcohol use can all increase your risk of developing an alcohol use disorder.

Lifestyle Quizzes

  1. Instead, all of your energy and focus can be spent where it’s really needed, which is on overcoming addiction.
  2. And if addiction treatment and drug rehab are not begun early enough, they are at high risk of physical and psychological harm.
  3. This means the negative impact on your life will likely grow, and the condition will not get better on its own without treatment.
  4. Although a person with high-functioning alcoholism may appear fine, they are not.
  5. Today, healthcare professionals would say that a person has an alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Liver damage is the most talked about physical consequence and that is a concern almost immediately. Alcoholics can go on to develop heart, respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders. There can also be declines in their mental and overall health, especially if they’re not eating healthy diets or engaging in physical activity. Managing AUD is a lifelong process, so the earlier you or your loved one seeks help, the more likely you are to succeed in overcoming the disorder and limiting recurrence. If you have AUD but are not connected with treatment, the risk of progressing to more severe AUD is much greater. People who are close to a person with AUD may need support to understand how to help their loved ones.

Signs You’re a High-Functioning Addict

High-functioning addicts have countless treatment options when it comes to fighting addiction as a whole. Addiction treatment centers guide patients through overcoming physical dependence on drugs and alcohol, and offer a range of therapies that treat the psychological causes behind one’s addiction. High-functioning addicts who also manage jobs, school, and family can benefit from knowing that most addiction treatment centers will customize treatment plans in ways that best align with their patients’ lives. A functioning addict is a person who is struggling with substance abuse but can outwardly project normalcy.

Mixing Weed and Alcohol: Effects and Risks

By the time they admit the problem, their withdrawal symptoms—which can begin within a few hours after their last drink—can become more and more severe. You may be a high-functioning addict if you’re frequently using drugs and alcohol to reward yourself for various reasons. High-functioning addicts will often look for valid ways to explain their uncharacteristic behaviors. They may blame the effects of opioids and benzodiazepines on simply being overly tired and fatigued, or they may blame the aggression triggered by cocaine on being angry and upset about something that happened at work. If you find yourself lying about how drugs are not the root cause of your uncharacteristic behavior, you may be a high-functioning drug addict.

These people have jobs, active social lives, or happy families at home. My understanding of HFAs is also from a personal perspective—I have been in recovery from alcoholism for almost five years. I, too, struggled to see that I could be accomplished academically and then professionally while drinking alcoholically. My image of the alcoholic was always an individual who could not hold his or her life together, and I certainly did not fit that description.

Organizations such as the American Society of Addiction Medicine can guide you to help, too. For people with functioning AUD, seeking treatment as an outpatient may help them reduce disruptions to their work or family life. 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. Your doctor may order this test if your blood tests indicate abnormal liver functioning. A doctor may also diagnose AUD by asking about your health history and drinking patterns.

How Alcohol Addiction Is Like an Abusive Relationship

It is not uncommon for individuals with AUD to experience conflict with family and friends, and have drinking negatively impact their job, schooling, and overall safety. For this reason, these factors are a part of the diagnostic criteria. Your doctor or another medical or mental health professional can provide you with more information and guidance about alcoholism and suggest how to speak to your loved one. A functional alcoholic often consumes as much alcohol as someone with an alcohol use disorder.

Individual therapy, combined with marriage or family counseling, can strengthen your self-esteem and help you build a healthy, sober relationship. It’s increasingly common for someone to be diagnosed with a condition such as ADHD or autism as an adult. A diagnosis often brings relief, but it can also come with as many questions as answers. In addition, since the impact of AUD may not be as obvious, the person may be unable to recognize the severity of their condition in these early stages.

Conditions

HFAs have the same disease as the stereotypical “skid-row” alcoholic, but it manifests or progresses differently. 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. And any alcohol abuse raises the odds of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and fetal alcohol syndrome. 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.

However, a doctor should recommend the best type of treatment for each person since the severity and presentation can vary from person to person. Since you only need to fulfill 2 or more of the DSM-5 criteria within the last year to be diagnosed with AUD, you might still be fully contributing to your home life, job, and other areas of your life. However, there are individuals that meet the criteria for AUD but do not experience these impacts. You could have AUD even if you are able to keep a relatively normal life if you fulfill at least two of the DSM-5 criteria for the condition. American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information.

Your provider can also perform tests to see if you have developed any medical concerns from alcohol misuse and recommend counseling, rehabilitation, and support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or SMART Recovery. They may try to quit independently, but the withdrawals are too unpleasant or severe. Therefore, they continue to drink to keep the withdrawals at bay, and the cycle continues.