Characteristics of High-Functioning Alcoholics
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. 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. There are no official diagnostic criteria for what it means to be high functioning.
Program Components/Target Population
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 high functioning alcoholic grow, and the condition will not get better on its own without treatment. Sarah Allen Benton, M.S., LMHC., LPC, is a licensed mental health counselor and author of Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic.
What Part Does Denial Play in Alcoholism?
- Finally, be willing to admit that you have a problem and firmly resolve to make a change in your life.
- Your doctor may order this test if your blood tests indicate abnormal liver functioning.
- Submit your number and receive a free call today from a treatment provider.
- By Sarah Bence, OTR/LBence is an occupational therapist with a range of work experience in mental healthcare settings.
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. Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive, and lifelong disease that needs to be treated, whether the alcoholic is a lawyer or a homeless person. 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. These are just a few of the stereotypes about alcoholics that are pervasive throughout society.
- When they examine themselves in the mirror, they may not recognize themselves.
- “Oh, I’m not that bad, I would never do something like that, I’ve never gotten a DUI, I have a job, and money and business and I take care of my family and I’ve never blacked out.”
- I had a full life and social life, I dressed great, people loved having me around, and there were plenty of people who had no idea how much I drank.
- Adolescents who received the intervention had reduced growth of alcohol consumption, compared with adolescents in the control group.
- Medication-assisted treatment is a proven technique for treating alcohol withdrawals.
- This practice consists of time-limited, low-dose therapeutic programs delivered in a school or educational setting that teach skills and encourage motivation to change or prevent substance use in youth participants.
How to Recognize a Functional Alcoholic
Because in that moment, I could no longer deny what was really going on. The first time I recognized something was off about my drinking, I was 24. Just because I didn’t fall into a campfire and I didn’t blackout and I didn’t drink in the morning and I didn’t burn my life to the ground, doesn’t mean I’m not an alcoholic. And that allows you to lie to yourself and not make recovery a priority. A high-bottom is the person who is over-drinking, who is uncomfortable with how much they are drinking or how much they look forward to drinking or think about drinking. But, for all intents and purposes, they are okay and have their life together.
Signs of a Functioning Alcoholic
Career and Work-Life Consequences
When Should You Seek Help?
