By Sparklle Rainne (They/Them)|Updated June 6, 2022
Content warning: This article contains an extensive discussion of topics such as alcohol, alcohol use, and alcohol use disorder. If you or someone you know lives with alcohol use disorder or might be, please contact SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-4357, available 24/7 in both English and Spanish.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a very common mental health condition. However, the stigma and misinformation surrounding alcohol use disorder, or what it looks like, can stop people from getting the help they need. In reality, anyone who needs help deserves it – no matter how their life appears from the outside looking in.
So, what does it mean to live with what some refer to as “functional alcoholism”? What are the signs that you might live with alcohol use disorder, and what can you do if you identify problems in your own relationship with alcohol? It’s time to break the stigma and talk about it.
What are the signs of functional alcoholism?
People with alcohol use disorder, or those who misuse alcohol, might be high functioning, but this doesn’t mean that they don’t have a problem. This may look like a person who maintains employment or otherwise maintains a life that is seen as socially acceptable despite alcohol misuse. The term “functional alcoholic” is one that is generally seen as outdated. What is still relevant to note is that someone can function despite living with alcohol use disorder or experiencing alcohol misuse, and it does not mean that they don’t have a problem, don’t need help, or won’t face eventual, and potentially devastating, consequences as a result of their drinking. Someone who functions in their daily life despite alcohol abuse or misuse may meet the full criteria for alcohol use disorder, or they may show some of the signs of it.
How can you identify the signs in yourself? Understanding the signs of alcohol use disorder and reflecting on your relationship with alcohol may be the first step. Over the course of the past year, have you:
· Drank more than you wanted to or drank for a longer duration of time than intended?
· Experienced a desire to stop drinking or cut back, but were unable to do so?
· Spent a great deal of time drinking, recovering from alcohol use, or obtaining alcohol?
· Experienced a desire to drink so strong that you couldn’t think about anything else?
· Found that drinking (or being ill as a result of drinking) interfered with personal obligations, such as work and education-related obligations or caring for yourself, your home, or your family?
· Continued to drink despite it causing problems in interpersonal relationships (including relationships with friends, family, or romantic partners)?
· Cut back or stopped engaging in activities that were important, interesting, or pleasurable to you due to time spent on drinking or alcohol?
· Experienced withdrawal symptoms (such as nausea, shaking, restlessness, racing heart, seizures, trouble sleeping, or sweating) when the effects of alcohol wore off or began wearing off?
· More than once entered situations during or after the consumption of alcohol that increased your risk of getting hurt? For example, driving, using heavy machinery, or having unsafe sex?
· Continued to drink despite mental or physical health concerns, such as memory blackouts, feelings of depression, and so on?
· Had to drink much more than you needed to in the past in order to get the effect you want, or found that the same amount of alcohol has less of an effect than it did before?
If you identify with two or more of the above symptoms, it may indicate alcohol use disorder. Experiencing two to three of the above symptoms may indicate mild alcohol use disorder, whereas four to five symptoms indicate moderate mild alcohol use disorder, and severe mild alcohol use disorder is marked by six or more symptoms.
It is important to speak with a medical or mental health professional or to seek treatment and support if you identify with the signs and symptoms above, regardless of whether or not you feel that your functioning and relationships are impacted. When possible, early detection can be beneficial in negating some of the long-term effects of alcohol use at times. An individual may say that they are fine or that they don’t need help with alcohol because they’re able to function at work, school, or other areas of life, but that does not negate the potential negative impacts of excessive alcohol consumption, nor does it mean that they don’t need help.
Impacts of excess alcohol consumption on mental health and wellbeing
In a world where alcohol misuse is so normalized on so many occasions, it can be tempting to push the potential impacts aside, but they are serious and must be acknowledged. Here is what we know about the effects of excess alcohol consumption:
· According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 3% of deaths every year are due to the harmful use of alcohol. Among those between 20 and 39 years of age, roughly 13.5% of total deaths are attributable to alcohol.
· The use of alcohol, and especially excessive use of alcohol, is a risk factor that increases the risk of a wide range of physical conditions. These include but are not limited to diabetes, GI problems, heart disease, stroke, and various types of cancer, such as breast cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, and throat cancer.
· The use of alcohol, and especially excessive use of alcohol, can increase the risk of or worsen mental health conditions and concerns, such as depression.
· Excessive alcohol use can affect memory and learning. It can even increase the risk of developing dementia.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the possible effects of alcohol. Other notable impacts can include but aren’t restricted to weakening of the immune system, problems in interpersonal relationships, and an increased risk of injury or accidents. People who face alcohol use disorder or engage in unhealthy drinking patterns aren’t alone, and it’s possible to move forward.
Healthy Ways To Move Forward
Healing from alcohol use disorder or an otherwise unhealthy relationship with alcohol is a process. Moving forward may include a number of steps, including thinking about what you want your life to look like moving forward and reflecting on how alcohol use has impacted or currently impacts your life. It is normal to experience a sense of grief during this time, and due to chemical changes in the brain as well as the process of healing, many find that they experience depression symptoms when they stop drinking. This is common, and it does not necessarily last forever. If you do live with another mental health condition or concern, such as anxiety or depression, a mental health professional can help. There’s a known connection between substance use disorders and other mental health conditions, and whether you do or do not attend inpatient treatment, these can be addressed accordingly with your care team.
Identifying and using tools and healthy outlets are an important part of moving forward from alcohol use disorder. Likely, you have been able to reflect on the role alcohol plays or has played in your life. Maybe, you used it in part to curb nervousness in social situations, overwhelm, or feelings of sadness and guilt. It is vital now to find healthy coping skills and outlets that can help you sit with and move through these feelings and life circumstances. Coping skills and outlets can include but aren’t limited to creative outlets, like journaling and art, talking to other people and turning to your support system, or engaging in physical activity. A therapist or counselor can help with self-compassion, self-talk, interpersonal relationships, goal setting, and establishing coping skills or outlets that are healthy for you as a unique individual.
Many individuals find that building a support system of mental health professionals, sponsors, peers, and other people in their life who can support them through this process is a crucial part of moving forward healthily. You may meet these individuals in or outside of treatment settings. Everyone will have a different path to healing, and depending on who you are, it can include a number of different pieces, such as support groups, outpatient individual and/or group therapy, inpatient treatment, and other forms of support. Family members and other loved ones of those who live with alcohol use disorder may also find support advantageous, whether that means seeking the support of a mental health professional such as a therapist, attending support groups, or both.
All in all, it is imperative to remember that it’s crucial, and very possible, to heal – and you don’t have to do it on your own.
Online Therapy
It can be challenging when someone in your life faces concerns related to alcohol use or alcohol use disorder. If someone in your life lives with alcohol use disorder, or if you would like to discuss something else that’s on your mind with a licensed mental health professional, online therapy is a convenient option to consider. Research shows that online therapy is effective in treating a wide range of concerns, and online therapy through BetterHelp is often more affordable than traditional, in-person services are without the application of health insurance. Financial aid may be available for those who need it.
Currently, over 20,000 licensed, independent therapists offer therapy through the BetterHelp platform. When you sign up for BetterHelp, you’ll complete a short questionnaire that’ll help us match you with a professional who meets your therapy needs. If you need to cancel your plan or switch therapists at any point in time, we make it easy to do so.
Ready to get started? Click here to join BetterHelp, or read the FAQs and therapist reviews on our website to learn more about the platform.**
