Functioning Alcoholic

It is a well known fact that most individual who are addicted to alcohol fail to seek treatment because they are in denial of their addiction. Many of these individuals also attempt to hide their drinking habits from friends, family, and colleagues.

Some of these people are very successful in this endeavor and are often times referred to as a "functioning alcoholic" because there behavior may go unnoticed as they are able hold down jobs including professional jobs such as college professors, lawyers, law enforcement, and those in the medical field.

Many alcoholic wives and mothers manage to take care of all their household duties including caring for their children and although they may have a serious drinking problem it still goes undetected by relatives and friends.

However, many functioning alcoholics while they appear to be well functioning members of society to friends and co-workers are quite dysfunctional in many areas of their personal lives when they are under the influence of alcohol which can include parents who neglect and abuse their children, spouses who abuse their partners, and illegal activities such as driving while intoxicated.

Many of these individuals go on for many years abusing alcohol without being detected by people outside of their immediate family until a crisis occurs such as being arrested for drunk driving or a domestic incident when a spouse has finally had enough of their abusive behavior. 

There are some studies which indicate that almost fifty percent of alcoholics are functioning alcoholics and many are often referred to as "high-functioning alcoholics" due to the fact that they have been so successful in essentially leading a double life. In some cases this type of alcohol abuser can go several days or maybe even weeks without having a drink; however this does not decrease the harmful effects that they have on themselves and others.