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Am I a High-Functioning Alcoholic? Know the Signs

In reality, this isn’t true, because after they consume their first alcoholic drink, they usually struggle to control their drinking. If someone close to you is a high-functioning alcoholic, it’s just as important to seek support for yourself as it is to get help for your loved one. You likely have questions about how to deal with an alcoholic, or how to help an alcoholic.

• Although an intervention can take many forms, many of these meetings open with each participant stating how the alcoholic’s behavior has harmed or disappointed them.
• It may be a source of enlightenment to him just how far-reaching his alcohol abuse has become.
• If your husband is an alcoholic, the more you know about the disease, the better prepared you will be to deal with it.
• When the pain or embarrassment gets bad enough, they can no longer deny that their drinking needs to be addressed.

The evaluation consists of 11 yes or no questions that are intended to be used as an informational tool to assess the severity and probability of an AUD. The test is free, confidential, and no personal information is needed to receive the result. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ Aftercare and alcohol relapse prevention can help increase the opportunity for continued sobriety and abstinence. This should be discussed and planned with your interventionist. Your spouse may not be willing to admit that they have a problem.

Getting Help As a Functional Alcoholic

Self-help organizations, church groups, and 12-step programs like Al-Anon and Alateen offer advice, hope and encouragement to people involved with functioning alcoholics. Alcoholics, including functioning alcoholics, often have a hard time managing stress. Due to this, they turn to alcohol to help them deal with their stressors. They often have an alcoholic in the family or a history of mental health problems. Being an HFA affects every aspect of that individual’s life—but they are often unable to see this truth until they get sober.

The kind of doting, wonderful daddy any kid would be lucky to have. The kind of man who tells you, with great sincerity, that you’re beautiful — and then lists the reasons why. So, when supporting your loved one, it can be beneficial to lead with love, compassion, and understanding.

Why Functional Alcoholics and Codependent Wives are Common

There, you can get the outlet you need to talk about what is going on at home and make connections with people who have experiences similar to yours. It can be a haven of acceptance and understanding for you, and give you the encouragement you need to work through your marriage. In addition to taking care of yourself, you can try to help your loved one find rehab for alcoholism. Most of the time, people convince a loved one with an addiction to seek treatment by showing them how the substance is negatively impacting their life.

People who are high functioning with a drinking problem “seem to have everything together,” says Matt Glowiak, PhD, LCPC, a certified advanced alcohol and drug counselor. They’re able to successfully manage tasks around their work, school, family, and finances, he says. There are empathetic, actionable ways to support someone with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) who may be stuck in denial.

What Makes Dealing with High-Functioning Alcoholics so Challenging?

To avoid enabling an alcoholic spouse, you may have to leave the home you share, which can seem like too brash of a decision. However, it sometimes takes a harsh reality to make an alcoholic see a situation for what it is. If parents and family members assist along with the roommates, this can provide a wider range of awareness to functional alcoholic husband the alcoholic. The alcoholic is more likely to see that nonfamily members are affected, too, as a result of the alcohol abuse. Family members may feel on edge and worried about their loved ones drinking. They may take steps to avoid the person while they are drinking, or they may experience feelings of guilt, shame, or self-blame.

• People who are in a codependent relationship with an alcoholic prioritize the needs of the alcoholic over their personal needs.
• From the outside, a functioning alcoholic may seem like anyone else.
• That sense of loneliness can be compounded if your high-functioning alcoholic husband withdraws emotionally or is overbearing and controlling—unable to communicate with your partner, you may start to feel hopeless.
• These discussions are planned, rehearsed, and personalized to the individual who is the focus of the intervention.
• In general, it may be smart to have other people present when confronting the alcoholic.

But maybe they drinka few glasses of wine each night to help them fall asleep. Or, they get bombed every weekend but don’t skip a beat at their demanding job. If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please contact at For any of these conditions, it is important to talk to a counselor, interventionist, or therapist about your worries and to practice consistently healthy habits when you can create a baseline for your health. To protect yourself from the alcoholic, it is suggested that setting boundaries and holding them accountable for their actions is often helpful for both you and them.

Because he is high functioning, most friends and relatives have no idea that he even has a problem. At first, it isn’t all that easy to identify codependent people. These are people who care about someone in their life who is down on their luck, and just want to help them.