Crossfitdad

No. I am not. Was I drinking too much in the past? You bet. Was I chemically dependent on alcohol? Yes. I know this because I Couldn't sleep without it.

I asked the question, not about myself, but because I saw an article about functioning alcoholics. I had always thought a functioning alcoholic meant the person was addicted and was an alcoholic but made willpower choices to not become full blown. But what I see now is that the person drinks just like a full blown alcoholic, but they can handle the day to day affairs...at least somewhat.

MelindaFlowers

That sums it up.

I had zero absences or tardies at work in the last three tears (and heaviest)
I was hungover every single one of those days at work.
I went through daily withdrawals.
I only drank after 5 pm.

I was not functioning though. I felt like I was dying every minute of every day.

MelindaFlowers

I was a functional alcoholic diagnosed with liver damage, one step away from liver scarring and liver failure.

How's about them apples?

I always thought it would be interesting to die of liver failure with a stellar work review. Or what about the people fired from jobs for showing up drunk, late, or not showing up at all yet never develop liver damage?

Functional alcoholics damage their health.

WritingFromLife

Crossfit-there is a book called Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic by Sarah Allen Benton. "professional views and personal insights" It is a good read--I find the HFA an interesting topic! (Maybe cuz I thought I was one)

These are some of the best answers to the question I have ever seen--on this SR thread, here.

DoubleDragons

The progression thing is so true. My upstanding, upper middle class, Type A achiever parents starting having cocktails and wine with dinner every night starting in their 40s. I never recall seeing my mother drunk in her 40s. In her 50s, I noticed that she would tend to drink to drunkenness when at family events, but that occurred only late at night. In her 60s is when she starting coming to family events already tipsy and I could detect the slur in her voice during some morning conversations. This past Christmas she was sickeningly drunk before anyone even arrived to her house in the early afternoon.

I am in my 40s and I saw a pattern in my drinking similar to hers that scared me enough to stop while I still had some semblance of control. I am grateful that something woke me up to addressing my problem before I passed the "high functioning" stage of alcoholism. The descent is not pretty and the further down the harder it is to climb out. I believe that even "high functioning" alcoholics who manage not to appear drunk will be called out by their bodies eventually.

Hawks

A pregnant woman can function for months until around the 7-8 month mark and normal stuff gets to be very hard work.

(my wife and I had 4 children, so I've seen this first hand)

Alcoholism is a similar progression.

Eventually the functioning gets to be very hard work.

Every down and out, jobless, family gone, drinking every moment they're awake alcoholic was a "functioning alcoholic " for a Time.

Bill Wilson was a classic example..... From 1930's millionaire (pretty much the equivalent of billionaire in 2015) to washed up bum, mooching off his long suffering wife.

Crossfitdad

I've read his book. I don't think he was ever really functioning. The guy was a complete wreck.

DoubleDragons

You know, I was thinking more about this thread. Is it possible that "high functioning" alcoholics are naturally high achievers, high energy, highly intelligent, etc. people? If this is the case, can you only imagine what they could be doing for the world, their families, and themselves without the noose of alcohol addiction around their necks??? I imagine the sky would be the limit for these people . . . . .

Hawks

Would you care to enlarge upon your judgement of that.

I've read a lot about him too. I'd say a wreck for a section of his life, but very high functioning prior to and very high functioning after as well.

Not a saint though.

JeffreyAK

He was kind of a wreck later in life too, without the alcohol. Though the same could be said of many people who never were addicts.

Crossfitdad

I don't consider a guy who goes into a bar at 9:00 a.m. and gets blasted, functioning. Now again, this comes back to my original question. What does "functioning" apply to? Does it apply to the person's life; that is, are they able to function and keep up a normal life? Or, by "functioning", do we mean, the person is a raging alcoholic, but able to use will power to keep themselves from going over the edge.

If we use criteria 1., I'd say the guy was functioning. He drank like he wanted to and was a successful investor for several years and kept his family intact. If we use criteria 2., I'd say "no". A normal person doesn't drink at 9:00 in the morning.

Dee74

Honestly, I only worried about things like this when I was drinking.

now - when I can see what 'functioning' really is - I wasn't 'functioning' for 90% of my drinking career, maybe more.

it's like the difference between me walking.... and Usain Bolt running the 100m.

D

markz

Just means that they fullfill their everyday requirements, but they are drunk!

StevenBills

I did this early on in my drinking. I started to actually drink everyday around 5- 6 years ago. I had a set of "Rules" to keep myself from falling into a problem -_-'

I would get really drunk every night, never drank before 8Pm (I would stay up until 3am drinking). I would wake up hung over, smoke a bowl, and goto work/school. I justified it by only drinking a handle every 5 days "sigh"

After about a year of that I moved up to either a fifth a night or an 18 case of beer per night. I still never drank during the day time. About a year and a half ago, I was killing a handle every two days and started day drinking because I was just hitting a REAALLLYYY stressful time in my life.
I used that as an excuse and said I wouldn't make a habit it of it. I finally got the word from my doc that I had stomach ulcers and an enlarged liver due to alcohol consumption.
As you described, I felt like I was going to die, but drinking made me not care.
I couldn't eat for around 2 months, I still worked and vomited blood daily. I FINALLY realized that if I didn't either tone it down or quit, I was going to die soon. I look back at everything, I remember when i used to drink and feel good.

for the past 2 years I don't think I actually drank to feel good, I think I was literally just doing it to completely numb my brain so i didn't have to think about anything. Alcohol is nasty stuff.

Bostonsportsfan

It's pretty obvious in my book, anyone who's clearly a drunk but can still work and function. My mother falls in this category. Depending how drunk she is and when you ask her, she will either admit she's an alcoholic or she will go in denial mode "I have a job, I'm not a drunk". She's a functioning alcoholic. She goes to work 4 days a week, makes dinner most nights, etc. That doesn't mean she's isn't an alcoholic though.

sugarbear1

I think they have a pulse

PurpleKnight

Both "functioning" and non functioning is still a problem and the solution is the same.

Functioning is simply one step away from non functioning, and believe me it is only one stage away on the inevitable journey to non functioning.

My drinking was progressing before my eyes, functioning was simply one stop back on the train line before the train crashed, and I was going at full speed, something had to give, either I quit or the inevitable was going to happen!!

Functioning is simply a stage, rather than a constant state that can be controlled!!

MIRecovery

I believe functional alcohol is an oxymoron. I had a job, wife, home, dogs, never been arrested and there was nothing functional about my life what so ever.

Boleo

Bill Wilson did achieve a lot, at least in his early days; He not only passed a intelligence test designed to identify geniuses, he was offed a job by Thomas Edison because he was one off the top scorers. He even earned a law degree, just never picked up his diploma.

It is best described on page 3 of the Big Book:

"For the next few years fortune threw money and applause my way. I had arrived. My judgment and ideas were followed by many to the tune of paper millions. The great boom of the late twenties was seething and swelling. Drink was taking an important and exhilarating part in my life. There was loud talk in the jazz places uptown. Everyone spent in thousands and chattered in millions. Scoffers could scoff and be damned. I made a host of fair-weather friends."

waynetheking

Stevenbills, you mentioned that you will drink again someday but will never go back to drinking every day...my question is how is this possible? We all know alcoholism is a progressive disease. If you continue to drink it only get worse. You can be a functional alcoholic for years. But eventually its going to get nasty. Its just a thought, why risk it? Dont give it another chance to kill you. Because thats exactly what it wants to do. It wont stop till you're dead. Just my 2 cents worth steven.