What Is Functional Alcoholism

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What Is Functional Alcoholism

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Functional alcoholism is drinking to levels that classify as problematic alcohol abuse, while maintaining function [1].

Functioning Alcoholic Meaning

Being a functional alcoholic means:

Outwardly appearing to drink without having an alcohol problem, but inwardly struggling with addiction
Prioritising work over drinking by scheduling drinking after responsibilities have been completed. This maintains the internal belief that alcohol use is not problematic
Using the stress of a successful career to excuse alcohol use [2]
Being enabled by others who do not believe, or do not want to believe, that they are seeing signs of problem drinking
Not experiencing severe negative consequences (job loss, homelessness, physical illnesses) of alcohol abuse [3]

Signs Of Functional Alcoholism

Denial

A functional alcohol addict will admit to drinking, but will use other excuses, not typically seen in non-functioning drinkers:

Having a successful career means drinking cannot be a problem
Believing that not showing alcoholic traits means there is no addiction occurring [4]
Rationalising drinking levels by comparing self to others in the same work and social situations who also drink excessively
Intending that drinking only expensive alcohol means drinking is non-problematic
Intending to slow down or stop drinking after stressful work situations, but never doing so [5]

Sense Of Control

A non-functioning drinker loses control when drinking, whereas a functioning drinker uses the ability to stop drinking to believe in their ongoing control over alcohol.

This ability to stop drinking reinforces the belief in the alcoholic that no drinking problem exists.

Responsibilities

A non-functioning drinker no longer cares about responsibilities. Whereas, a functioning drinker wants to keep up with responsibilities to prevent loss while drinking.

Methods used by functioning drinkers to ensure drinking does not cause negative ramifications include:

Not drinking until after the end of the working day and then bingeing alcohol to satisfy alcohol dependence until the next day
Only drinking small amounts of alcohol during the week, and then bingeing at weekends
Drinking small amounts during the day to avoid cravings and then bingeing at night

A non-functioning drinker will typically be up-front about drinking patterns.

Whereas, a functioning drinker will limit or hide alcohol use to maintain functioning.

Negative Consequences

Functional drinkers justify drinking by rationalising that there have been no negative ramifications from alcohol use.

In some cases, friends and family secretly assume responsibilities outside the functional drinker's knowledge, to allow both themselves and the drinker to continue denying problematic drinking behaviour.

The functional drinker will try to avoid negative consequences by drinking only enough to avoid withdrawal, and continue with work [6].

Secrecy

Those with functional alcohol use disorder are happy to drink in front of others.

This acts as a secondary mechanism to reinforce beliefs around their own self-restraint or sobriety.

Functioning drinkers will also actively try to hide drinking habits by:

Adding whisky to coffee or hiding alcohol in other soft drinks before a business meeting
Drinking alone before going home after work to hide true alcohol consumption
Having a full bottle of alcohol in a prominent place that is unopened - but hiding drinks elsewhere
Making notes detailing responsibilities for the next day before drinking - avoiding others suspecting alcohol misuse through mistakes at work
Disposing of bottles/cans elsewhere to avoid anyone finding empties in their bin

Prioritising Alcohol

Non-functioning drinkers prioritise alcohol over everything else in life and disregard the consequences that come from this.

Conversely, functional drinkers:

Are aware of the consequences of excessive drinking
Are concerned about their external appearance and the social acceptability of drinking habits
Prioritise maintaining their social status over drinking
Schedule drinking to be uninterrupted by obligations - sneaking short drinks, often, if necessary
Use maintaining and completing obligations as part of a self-reward system to obtain alcohol
Prioritise events that are centred around alcohol, but will rarely become drunk in public

Tolerance & Physical Dependence

Non-functioning drinkers typically have a high tolerance for alcohol and may not appear drunk.

Whereas, functional drinkers can still achieve euphoria and enjoyment from alcohol [7].

Non-functional alcohol users have a fear of withdrawal symptoms that causes constant drinking [8].

In contrast, functional drinkers have a lower level of physical dependence and are less likely to experience withdrawals.

Withdrawal

A high-functioning alcohol addict avoids withdrawal symptoms by drinking just enough alcohol to avoid symptoms whilst maintaining functioning.

This is known as "topping up".

This contrasts with a non-functioning drinker, who will continue to drink more to avoid physical withdrawal.

External Appearance vs Private Life

A functional drinker contrasts with a non-functioning drinker in their external appearance in that:

Functional drinkers are conscious of how others view them - are aware that access to alcohol is maintained by maintaining the appropriate external appearance
Functional drinkers are aware of the need to maintain obligations to continue drinking
Functional drinkers want to appear successful in the workplace - problematic functional alcohol misuse increases with every year of postgraduate training [9]
Functional drinkers use alcohol as one of many mechanisms to cope - as opposed to using alcohol as the only mechanism to cope. Functional drinkers are earlier in the alcohol addiction cycle than non-functioning drinkers, who see alcohol as the only way to cope [10]
Functional drinkers will schedule to drink in their private life, whereas, a non-functioning drinker is no longer able to make the distinction, and is no longer invested in how others view them

The Functional Alcoholic At...

At Home

When at home, the functioning drinker can drink alcohol knowing that work and other commitments are not affected.

Unlike regular alcohol dependence, a functioning drinker will typically only get drunk at home when alone to avoid others finding out about their drinking habits [11].

At Work

Functioning alcohol addicts will prioritise being sober for work, as succeeding in a career justifies the social acceptability of drinking for themselves and others.

Functional drinkers can compartmentalise their lives, presenting a different personality at work than when drinking [11].

Conversely, non-functional drinkers have allowed alcohol to disrupt all areas of their lives and affect work performance (e.g. lateness, presenteeism, accidents with heavy machinery, etc).

In Their Personal Life

Functional drinkers may choose to have friendships and relationships with those who are also functioning drinkers, to reinforce drinking habits.

Functional drinkers are more likely to be enabled by family members if family members are reliant on the drinker financially.

Whereas, non-functional drinkers are typically unable to keep up with personal responsibilities and are not relied upon by others financially.

In Social Settings

Functioning drinkers will rarely appear to be drunk, and will be conscious about their appearance on social occasions.

This means functional drinkers will drink the same quantity as others around them, but use any occasion to drink [11].

Whereas, non-functional drinkers prioritise alcohol over their appearance regardless of social setting.

Functioning vs Non-Functioning Alcoholism

Header	Non-Functioning Alcoholic	Functioning Alcoholic
Meeting responsibilities	No	Yes
In denial about alcoholism	No	Yes
Outwardly in control of drinking habits	No	Yes
Scheduling drinking to avoid negative consequences	No	Yes
Friends, family and colleagues would describe individual as an alcoholic	Yes	No

High Functioning Alcoholism vs Functional Alcoholism

Differences between a high-functioning alcohol addict and a functioning alcohol addict are:

High-functioning alcohol users provide excuses centred around work-related stress
High-functioning alcoholics are able to maintain other healthy habits outside of drinking. Whereas, functional alcoholics begin to slip into bad habits such as not exercising or eating unhealthily
High-functioning alcoholics may be charged with drink driving or traffic offences, but functioning alcoholics may also be charged with violence or theft offences [11]
High-functioning alcohol users may drink due to stress of running large companies, being responsible for staff or working long hours. A functional alcohol user does not have the same level of work responsibility causing excessive alcohol usage

Functional Drinking Dependencies

To maintain the appearance of normalcy, functional drinkers depend on:

Controlling patterns and timings of drinking to maintain denial about addiction, convincing themselves and others there is no uncontrollable need to drink. However, it is impossible to maintain this level of control, as alcohol dependency progresses
Timing drinking to ensure that responsibilities are complete
Others limiting their own drinking and assuming the drinkers' responsibilities if needed - allowing the functional drinker to keep drinking without repercussions

If the dependencies that the functioning alcohol abuse sufferer has put in place are taken away, the user's drinking is likely to escalate into non-functioning drinking [12].

How Does The Functional Alcoholic Deal With Alcoholism Emotionally?

Functional drinkers avoid the internal guilt and shame of drinking itself by successfully convincing others there is no alcohol dependence occurring, therefore convincing themselves.

However, functional drinkers suffer from paranoia about drinking no longer being seen as acceptable; and having to confront underlying issues causing alcohol dependence.

Non-functioning drinkers utilise alcohol to escape emotions altogether.

Whereas, functioning drinkers utilise alcohol to switch off and sleep without worry, then deal with the causes of emotions the next day [13].

Where Does Functional Drinking Appear Most?

Scenarios and circumstances where functional alcohol dependence may appear more obvious than normal include:

The threat of redundancy, illness in self or others, or marital problems, increasing drinking and reducing the ability to both hide drinking and be functional while drinking
In social events with other heavy drinkers or functional problem drinkers - feeling comfortable and not judged can lead to inadvertently revealing the truth about alcohol dependence
At social events where others who have drunk the same amount, appear more intoxicated by comparison
Functional drinkers will make excuses when trying and failing to quit/reduce drinking - blaming drinking on work or stress instead of alcohol dependence

How Functional Drinking Is Enabled

Allowances that must be put in place by the alcoholic themselves, or those around them, to enable functional drinking to continue include:

Excusing alcohol abuse as a form of relaxation - others also encourage drinking alcohol believing it assists in the reduction of stress
Believing that not showing alcoholic traits means a drinking problem cannot occur
Others secretly taking on responsibilities to allow the problem drinker to continue the belief of function [14]
Partners or family members encouraging alcohol abuse to avoid arguments or aggressive behaviour when the drinker is the main earner in the family

How Functional Drinking Is Assessed

Psychological Evaluation And Joint Assessment

Psychological evaluations (e.g. Personality Research Form, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, etc) reveal the denial, rationalisation, and reliance on alcohol as a mechanism to cope that the drinker uses to function [15].

Questions typically asked during a joint assessment, that are adapted when dealing with a problem drinker, include:

Have you ever felt guilty about drinking? For a functional drinker, guilt is suppressed due to denial about drinking behaviours. Questions instead must focus on the inner conflict or remorse felt after drinking
What are your recovery goals? Functional drinkers may have different recovery goals to non functioning drinkers due to being earlier on in the problem drinker timeline
How important is recovery to you? Functional drinkers are more resistant to recovery due to denial, so focusing on making changes rather than recovery as a whole is a more reliable approach
Are you suffering from depression, self-harm, or suicidal thoughts? Functional problem drinkers are less likely to reveal mental illness, meaning practitioners need to pay attention to nonverbal cues as well as what the functional drinker is saying
What is your employment and housing status? This question would be asked with a focus on the value that the functional drinker places on their job, and the stress caused by responsibilities leading to drinking
What negative consequences have you experienced as a result of drinking? This question would be asked with a focus on potential and hypothetical consequences, even if the functional drinker successfully avoided them [16]

Discussions With Family Members

In our practical knowledge at Abbeycare, family members are aware of drinking patterns and are more likely to be truthful to clinical staff in some cases.

This is especially true in functioning problem drinkers, who do not see behaviours as an issue and believe that they are still functional.

Functional Drinker Screening Tests

Screening tests differentiate between functional and non-functional drinking by asking questions such as:

Do you believe you are in control of your drinking?
Could you stop drinking whenever you choose to?
Do you drink in secret to avoid others finding out alcohol intake?
Do you joke about alcohol dependence with others?
Do you believe having a good job means you cannot be a problem drinker? [17]

When Functional Becomes Non-Functional

Functioning alcohol dependence becomes non-functioning when:

Physical withdrawal symptoms appear for the first time, or become more frequent
The drinker begins to prioritise drinking over maintaining the appearance of sobriety
Conversational responses about drinking alcohol become disproportionately more aggressive - as a means to protect alcohol as their only avoidance technique
Less secrecy and more drinking openly - excuses for drinking become less plausible
The drinker begins to experience more severe consequences of alcohol dependence - job loss or disciplinary action, drunk driving charges or divorce [6]

What Functional Drinking Is NOT

Conditions or circumstances that are often confused for functional alcohol dependence are:

Consistently making plans to drink after work and always being the last one to leave - could indicate marital or home-life issues and not a drinking problem
Depression - signs of depression, such as suddenly isolating from loved ones and no longer caring about appearance, are not typically seen in functional drinkers
Chronic pain - creates a vicious circle where alcohol may be used as either a coping mechanism or a way to reduce pain. However, chronic pain does not classify as functional alcohol dependence [18]

Recovery Outcomes

Functional alcohol addicts have higher levels of improvement in recovery than non-functioning alcohol addicts 3 years after treatment, including:

15% of functional drinkers still drinking vs. 84% of non-functioning drinkers [19]
8% of functional drinkers suffer from depression vs 30% of non-functioning drinkers [20]

References

[1] Tartakovsky, Margarita. “How to Help a High-Functioning Person with Alcohol Use Disorder.” Psych Central, 3 July 2014. Accessed 19 June 2025. “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. 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.”
[2] Moss, Howard B., et al. “Subtypes of Alcohol Dependence in a Nationally Representative Sample.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 91, no. 2-3, Dec. 2007, pp. 149–58. Accessed 13 Feb. 2020. “Nearly 50% of Cluster 2 individuals are married, 62% work full-time, and only 3.6% are in school full-time. Nearly 26% have a college degree or higher. This cluster has the highest proportion of retired individuals (~5%). Cluster 2 mean total family income ($59,576) is the highest among the AD clusters. Cluster 2 individuals tend to drink alcohol every other day (~181 drinking days in last year), and they consume 5+ drinks on an average of almost 98 (54%) of these drinking days.”
[3] Rogers, S. M., et al. “‘I Don’t Feel like I Have a Problem Because I Can Still Go to Work and Function’: Problem Recognition among Persons with Substance Use Disorders.” Substance Use & Misuse, vol. 54, no. 13, June 2019, pp. 2108–16. “Modifying substance use behaviors to avoid adverse consequences and stigma (i.e., ‘othering’). Participants who (1) reported adjusting their alcohol and drug use in ways that would not interfere with important life responsibilities, especially work-responsibilities; (2) described those with alcohol and drug problems negatively.”
[4] Kelly, Kieran. “Diary of a Functioning Alcoholic.” The Telegraph, 17 Feb. 2008. Accessed 19 June 2025.
[5] Tartakovsky, Margarita. “How to Help a High-Functioning Person with Alcohol Use Disorder.” Psych Central, 3 July 2014. Accessed 19 June 2025. “According to Kennedy, when someone doesn’t realize they have a drinking problem, they may: Minimize the impact: ‘Everybody has to call in sick because of a hangover sometimes,’ or, ‘It’s not like I ever drive home drunk; I always call an Uber.’ Shift the blame: ‘If my boss wasn’t such a jerk, I wouldn’t need to drink to unwind,’ ‘My daughter’s behavior problems are so stressful that I don’t know how else to relax,’ or ‘I need a drink to deal with my family!’ Make comparisons: ‘I’m nothing like Uncle Larry, he’s had a DUI and I’ve never seen him without a drink in his hand.’ Skip meals: This way, alcohol hits them harder. Try unsuccessfully to cut back: One glass inevitably turns into more. People in denial might also point out their past and current accomplishments as signs that they’re perfectly OK, says Glowiak: ‘How can I possibly get my kids to school and successfully run my business if I have a drinking problem?’ To save face, Glowiak says, people with an AUD might: drink in private; hide empty containers; make attempts to cover their breath; pace their drinking so they’re buzzed but not ‘drunk’.”
[6] Stabilis Treatment Centre. "What Is A Functional Alcoholic: PDF Resource." 2022. "Drinking rarely causes them to miss work and other obligations (although it does happen occasionally). They are usually able to manage areas of life including jobs, homes, and families."
[7] Stimson, Gerry V. "Drinking In Context: A Collective Responsibility." Nov. 2006, International Center For Alcohol Policies.
[8] Becker, Howard C. “Alcohol Dependence, Withdrawal, and Relapse.” Alcohol Research & Health, vol. 31, no. 4, 2017, p. 348. “For some dependent individuals, the fear that withdrawal symptoms might emerge if they attempt to stop or significantly curtail drinking may prominently contribute to the perpetuation of alcohol use and abuse.”
[9] Allen, Hannah K., et al. “Graduate Degree Completion: Associations with Alcohol and Marijuana Use before and after Enrollment.” Addictive Behaviors Reports, vol. 9, June 2019, p. 100156. “Alcohol use was associated with increased odds of completing a graduate degree.”
[10] Merrill, Jennifer E., and Suzanne E. Thomas. “Interactions between Adaptive Coping and Drinking to Cope in Predicting Naturalistic Drinking and Drinking Following a Lab-Based Psychosocial Stressor.” Addictive Behaviors, vol. 38, no. 3, Mar. 2013, pp. 1672–78. “Using alcohol to cope (i.e., coping motivation) and general coping style both are theorized and demonstrated empirically to lead to problematic drinking.”
[11] Dubey, Michelle. "15 Signs Of A High-Functioning Alcoholic." Jan. 2022, The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. "People who appear to be in control socially may tend to spend time alone in a bar or at home going through bottles of wine, whiskey, or beer. High-functioning alcoholics may also prevent people from coming to their home out of fear their drinking habits become apparent."
[12] National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “The Cycle of Alcohol Addiction.” NIAAA NIH Gov, 2021. “As individuals continue to drink alcohol over time, progressive changes may occur in the structure and function of their brains. These changes can compromise brain function and drive the transition from controlled, occasional use to chronic misuse, which can be difficult to control. The changes can endure long after a person stops consuming alcohol, and can contribute to relapse in drinking.”
[13] Wilson, Janet, et al. "Characterization of Problematic Alcohol Use Among Physicians: A Systematic Review." 2022, JAMA Network. " Physicians with problematic alcohol use may be high functioning, making the identification of potential impairment challenging.17 Furthermore, societal stigma and fear of reprisal from professional colleges for reporting or seeking care for problematic alcohol use may encourage physicians with problematic alcohol use to keep their problems hidden."
[14] Caterpillar Total Health. "Wobbly, But Still Standing: Recognizing, Understanding, and Helping the High-Functioning Alcoholic." Caterpillar Total Health. Accessed 19 June 2025. "Cover Ups: Enlist friends and/or family to help maintain a healthy function façade, eg shift responsibilities to others."
[15] Allen, John P. “Subtypes of Alcoholics Based on Psychometric Measures.” Alcohol Health and Research World, vol. 20, no. 1, 2025, p. 24. Accessed 19 June 2025. “One approach to subtyping alcoholics is the use of psychometric tests that quantify a person’s personality characteristics, psychological characteristics, and intelligence. For example, researchers have used the Personality Research Form, which measures basic personality traits, to establish alcoholism typologies.”
[16] Department of Health. "Drug Misuse and Dependence UK Guidelines on Clinical Management." GOV UK, 2017. "If a patient has a serious drug misuse problem or unmet needs in a range of domains, one clinician will rarely be able to meet all the patient’s needs. A patient may need prescribing interventions plus psychosocial interventions and help with housing or benefits. The assessment needs to collect sufficient information to identify these needs and to facilitate input from, or referral to, a range of other professionals and services."
[17] GOV UK. "Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)." GOV UK, 2023. “Alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT).”
[18] Abdallah, Chadi G., and Paul Geha. “Chronic Pain and Chronic Stress: Two Sides of the Same Coin?” Chronic Stress, vol. 1, Jan. 2017. “Stress and pain can be two nodes in a vicious circle of maladaptive responses to environmental challenges leading to compromised well-being.”
[19] Le, Thanh C., et al. “Heteroarotinoids with Anti-Cancer Activity against Ovarian Cancer Cells.” The Open Medicinal Chemistry Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, Bentham Science Publishers, Oct. 2007, pp. 11–23. “Table 1.”
[20] Le, Thanh C., et al. “Heteroarotinoids with Anti-Cancer Activity against Ovarian Cancer Cells.” The Open Medicinal Chemistry Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, Bentham Science Publishers, Oct. 2007, pp. 11–23. “PFI Social Behavior Subscale Score: Chart.”

About the author

Harriet Garfoot

Harriet Garfoot BA, MA has an Undergraduate degree in Education Studies and English, and a Master's degree in English Literature, from Bishop Grosseteste University. Harriet writes on stress & mental health, and is a member of the Burney Society. Content reviewed by Laura Morris (Clinical Lead).

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Last Updated: October 30, 2025