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.
Increased Tolerance
A substance abuse counselor, family therapist or spiritual advisor may also attend to provide an objective presence and keep the agenda on track. Even though they may want to stop, many functioning alcoholics often won’t know where or how to begin the process. This is where family, friends and medical professionals can work together to create a plan to help end this cycle before they do more harm to themselves.
- You might picture someone who drinks all the time, rarely has a day without a hangover and often can’t recall what happened the night before.
- You may begin to notice that a couple of beers after work has turned into a six-pack or even a case.
- Although you might not hit all the criteria for the condition, and the impact on your life may appear minimal, AUD is a chronic and progressive condition.
- Some alcoholics truly believe this, as being intoxicated helps them feel more confident in their abilities, while others are intentionally using it as a cover for the amount they drink.
General Health
These signs can indicate that their body is physically dependent on alcohol, even if their daily routine seems normal. If someone is drinking large quantities of alcohol and seems unaffected by it, it’s worth considering whether their tolerance has become so high that they’re masking the full impact of their drinking. They might casually mention drinking a whole bottle of wine by themselves, but show no signs of being overly intoxicated. If you mention that they seem to be drinking more than usual, they might respond with, “I’m fine.
What Is Functional Tolerance?
If any combination of these signs arises repeatedly, it’s important to probe deeper into the possibility of an alcohol use disorder. A doctor can check a person’s drinking levels and recommend further treatment options. Your doctor can give you medication to help manage withdrawal symptoms and help you lessen alcohol cravings to reduce the risk of drinking again. It is not uncommon for individuals with AUD to experience conflict with family and friends, and have drinking negatively impact high functioning alcoholic their job, schooling, and overall safety. Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive, and lifelong disease that needs to be treated, whether the alcoholic is a lawyer or a homeless person.
Warning Signs of Alcoholism
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. Because high-functioning alcoholics can “manage” their everyday lives, the misconception is that they are somehow immune to alcohol’s negative effects.
Relating to other people with substance abuse issues may help someone break through denial and begin to recover. When you’re living with a high-functioning alcoholic, your own health is at stake as well as the welfare of your loved one. By getting help for your loved one, you may be able to avoid further consequences of alcoholism and build a healthier future for your family. The participants in an intervention could include the alcoholic’s spouse or partner, children, parents, friends, coworkers, employer, friends and other individuals who have been affected.
They may have a thriving career, a living family, and a vibrant social circle. On the surface, you would never imagine that they are quietly battling alcoholism. This is the hidden reality of high-functioning alcoholism, a condition where outward “success” masks the inner turmoil of alcohol abuse. There are a lot of shared traits between functional alcoholism and more severe problems with alcohol, so it’s important that you talk to a healthcare professional or encourage your loved one to do so. An alcohol use disorder, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or alcoholism treatment DSM-5, is a problematic pattern of behaviors related to alcohol use.