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High-Functioning Alcoholics: Understanding the Hidden Struggles of AUD

The term “functioning alcoholic” is a commonly used label for an individual who seems to maintain a normal life while still struggling with alcohol abuse. The precise origins of the term are unclear. It became widespread around the time the print edition of Psychology Today magazine reached a circulation of a million copies in the early 1980s. The medical community refrains from using the term because it can be misconstrued to minimize and downplay alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, it can be extrapolated from pop psychology in the context of moderate to severe AUD. Keep reading as the dedicated professionals from Sober Lifestyle Coaching, the ones to turn to for compassionate help with addiction recovery in Encinitas, CA, explain what it means to be a functional alcoholic.

Understanding Functional AUD

In the United States, the National Institutes of Health quantifies heavy drinking as the consumption of four or more alcoholic beverages per day. This doesn’t automatically translate into AUD, because you could drink a beer every six hours without getting inebriated. Slamming four beers in less than two hours to catch a daily buzz, however, may range between mild and moderate AUD. Once daily inebriation becomes a difficult habit to break, or if it negatively disrupts your life, moderate AUD may worsen into a severe condition because of inherent ethanol tolerance, particularly if you feel cravings. Many AUD patients with mild to severe conditions can still function in daily life. They go to work, pay bills, attend school, manage households, and raise families. In other words, they’re functional despite their AUD.

Notable High-Functioning Alcoholics

Sir Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, and Elizabeth Taylor are often mentioned as functional alcoholics who achieved influential success in their respective careers. Nonetheless, their personal lives were marked by AUD struggles. In her final memoir, the late Betty Ford wrote about being drunk and high on prescription medications at the White House while serving as First Lady in the mid-1970s. She recovered in 1982 to establish the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse treatment in Southern California. Best-selling novelist Stephen King has spoken about dealing with AUD during his most prolific writing years.

High-Functioning AUD & Masking Underlying Issues

When liquor and other psychoactive substances can be consumed in moderation, their negative potential is curtailed, particularly if there’s a focus on safety and harm reduction. Substance abuse, on the other hand, always features negative effects. Most high-functioning alcoholics are aware of negative effects they resolve to ignore, hide, deny, or minimize. Sometimes their peers become enablers who congratulate them on managing their drinking well. All this can prevent people from seeking help and minimizing the impact of alcohol on their health.

Going from Functional AUD to Recovery

There’s a misconception about high-functioning alcoholics avoiding recovery because they feel they can continue to “handle their liquor” safely. The reality is many of them have gone through recovery and either relapsed or abandoned it. In 2017, Hollywood star Ben Affleck made tabloid headlines after attending an Oscars ceremony with a sober lifestyle coach. He later explained he was facing difficulties with moderate drinking after going through treatment and recovery. Affleck was a high-functioning alcoholic for many years. In 2012, he directed Argo while drinking on the set, and the film won the Oscar for Best Picture. When he realized moderate drinking would send him back to functional AUD, he retained a sober living coach to help him transition into abstinence.

If you’re concerned about a loved one’s level of drinking but don’t know where to turn, a good place to start is with an interventionist. Encinitas residents can trust the expertise and experience of the compassionate team at Sober Lifestyle Coaching. Our interventions are guided by love and compassion for the addict to ensure he or she doesn’t feel attacked or judged. In addition, our interventions are well structured and appropriate for coaxing a willingness to change in your loved one who may resist accepting help such as treatment, detox, or rehab. As part of our comprehensive intervention services, we also offer the support of a dedicated Sober Companion to accompany your loved one on the journey to recovery, providing the care and guidance he or she needs in daily life. To learn more about how we can help you or someone you love, call us today.