What is High Functioning Alcoholism?

There are lots of different things people can become addicted to, but in general alcoholism is one of the addictions people who are not sufferers tend to think they understand. Drinking alcohol, is, after all, a thing most people do at certain times, as opposed to using illegal or prescription drugs. However, the way alcohol addiction tends to be seen involves severe situations in which people’s lives are very badly affected. This ignores the fact that there are a lot of what are known as ‘high functioning’ or ‘functional’ alcoholics out there, whose physical addiction can be just as severe as the alcoholic stereotype, but whose issues may be harder to spot. So what is a high functioning alcoholic?

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When people tend to talk about alcoholic behavior, and the treatments for alcoholism, there is usually some discussion of how drinking has badly affected their lives. It may have cost them their job, or caused them to lose friends, or to behave in an unacceptable way to their families. In the case of a high functioning alcoholic, this is not the situation. They may have successful careers, active social lives, and good relationships with friends and partners. However, they may actually have a physical dependence to alcohol that is jeopardizing their health. They still may need help from professionals in addiction therapy like beachway.com, but their problems with drinking are not so obvious.

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How Does Functional Alcoholism Develop?

High functioning alcoholism generally starts out as normal, manageable recreational drinking. The user may be seen as something of a ‘party animal’, or perhaps a social binge drinker, but this is not to their detriment. They begin to associate performing well socially or attracting people as something that happens when drink is involved. They may start using alcohol as a way to bust stress or deal with anxiety as they progress through their careers or encounter family or relationship problems. In some cases, high functioning alcoholics develop a dependence purely because they have social engagements where drinking is always around or encouraged, and they begin to worry that they aren’t any fun when they are sober. Often, high functioning alcoholics are friends with other similar people and they enable each other.

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Why Do Functional Alcoholics Need Help?

You may ask why, given that their lives are not out of control and they are not hurting anyone, functional alcoholics need help. The problem is that there is only so long a person can maintain that kind of life style before it begins to turn into something less fun, like a serious alcohol problem, complete with withdrawal, blackouts, and risky behavior. Of course, there is also the negative effect on the health of the drinker – liver and heart problems may arise even if someone has their drinking in check from a social perspective.

Functional alcoholics are not an uncommon thing in today’s high stress world, but if you or somebody you know may have crossed the line from a casual, social drinker to someone with a dependency, it is well worth seeking alcoholism treatment and addressing things before a significant alcoholic problem develops.