Building up a support network around you — along with reading advice on how to cope — can help you get through the most challenging times. You can also dispel some of the myths and stereotypes about alcoholics that I have written about in other blog posts on this site and in my book Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic. You can help to slowly chip away at his or her denial, but it is also important to come from a place of compassion and not from a position of judgment. By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism.
What Makes Dealing with High-Functioning Alcoholics so Challenging?
Even if a high-functioning alcoholic never suffers any legal or professional consequences from alcohol abuse, their body will still suffer. Long-term, chronic drinking damages a person’s brain, heart, liver, and other vital organs. High-functioning alcoholics who drink for decades risks developing cirrhosis, cancer, and heart disease. There is a myth surrounding functioning alcoholics, that they carry the “illusion of control” when it comes to their drinking habits.
Get Help for High-Functioning Alcoholism
Getting help early on can reduce the risk of developing alcohol addiction. Regardless of whether the person can function in some aspects of life, alcoholism is a serious disease. High-functioning alcoholics need treatment just like other alcoholics do.
What it’s like to live with someone with alcohol use disorder
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 high functioning alcoholic 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.
- In many cases, their addiction is taking a gradual toll, but because they have good jobs, perform the expected tasks of daily life, and avoid legal problems, the problematic effects are not yet observable.
- Ongoing alcohol abuse is like a riptide that eventually captures and controls anyone who gets swept up in it.
- They are usually able to manage areas of life including jobs, homes, and families.
- Without follow-through, addressing the problem is manipulation and false hope.
- According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,about 14.5 million people have an AUD, and yet only 7% received treatment that year.
Another major sign that someone is a high-functioning alcoholic is the fact that alcohol is an important part of their life. The more an alcoholic can see their part in the problem, the more likely they are to surrender to alcohol addiction treatment. Blaming others allows the alcoholic to be a victim, and their focus is to make everyone else see what they did wrong and not themselves. This delusional thinking on the alcoholic’s part can prevent them from seeing the need to seek help for themselves. The more they think everyone else is the problem, the less of a problem they have or need to address. Informed by her personal journey to recovery and support of loved ones in sobriety, Jessica’s empathetic and authentic approach resonates deeply with the Addiction Help community.
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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. 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. Chronic heavy drinkers can display a functional tolerance to the point they show few obvious signs of intoxication even at high blood alcohol concentrations, which in others would be incapacitating. Recovery from substance use disorders (SUDs) is an ongoing process and those fortunate to have long-term recovery share one thing in common—an ability to recommit.
In addition to supporting your own mental health, this serves as a role model to your loved one. If your loved one is in denial or doesn’t want to seek treatment, they’re not alone. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,about 14.5 million people have an AUD, and yet only 7% received treatment that year.
If you give permission, they may speak to your family or loved ones regarding how much you drink. 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. This means the negative impact on your life will likely grow, and the condition will not get better on its own without treatment. There is research showing that about 19.5 percent of people with AUD are middle-aged, well-educated, and have stable jobs, homes, and families. This could include people with high-functioning AUD, but these criteria are not definitive characteristics.
In some cases, high-functioning alcoholics will experience alcohol withdrawals once they quit drinking. However, alcohol withdrawal is potentially life-threatening, so your doctor or healthcare provider may recommend starting with a medical detox program. Loved ones and friends of HFAs can also seek support for themselves in order to learn how best to navigate their relationship with the alcoholic in their life, to detach emotionally and to heal.
- As a result, their follow-through on responsibilities and commitments becomes less reliable.
- The alcoholic is then presented with a plan of care, including a proposal of consequences if they decide to refuse.
- Sometimes husbands and wives of high-functioning alcoholics are the only ones who know their spouse has alcohol problems.
- Whether you have an alcoholic spouse, partner or other loved one, you may be wondering how to help.
- According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the typical high-functioning alcoholic is a middle-aged, well-educated person with a stable job and a family.