starflier

Oh, you are so correct! Sometimes it just baffles me how some of the young guys I've worked with manage to keep their jobs from day to day. I've worked in software companies for many years, and this new company I'm working at now is the first one that doesn't have a Friday tradition of working half a day and then providing beer in the afternoon. Here, it only happens once a month, and it's much more subdued than I've seen in other companies.

Many of the young software developers (at previous companies) had empty beer bottles stacked against the walls of their offices, as some kind of status symbol to show how much beer they can consume and still get their jobs done. Team events often really illuminated the drinking habits of my co-workers. I'm not sure if it's a continuation of college habits, as most of these guys are quite young, but it's amazing and sad.

steve11694

Since alcoholism has a starting point and progresses over time, it seems logical the functional ability would be present initially but deteriorate as well over time.
from living with an aw what i have observed is that she proclaims that because she manages to work etc etc, she cannot be an alcoholic. Part of denial. I honestly think she believes it or at least believed it initially.
Function is also a relative term. She actually organized her worl schedule based on drinking. was able to not drink until the binge days arrived(no work the next day)

LosingmyMisery

I was functional until one day I wasn't. I don't remember how it happened. I had crossed that line and didn't know how I had gotten there. From that day forward, I could no longer function. It would be interesting to see how many functioning alcoholics are still doing so a few years from now. The progression of the disease is astonishing.