How can one truly tell if another is an alcoholic? What is a functioning alcoholic?

Question

I'm looking for answers beside the obvious if someone is getting drunk all the time to the point of dependence.

Answer 1

i would say that i'm the definition of a function alcoholic.  i'm in college and i drink just about every day.  i still keep around a 3.5 GPA and spend time with my friends even when we aren't drinking.  it involves drinking more than you should, but still getting everything done that you need to.  an alcoholic "needs" alcohol, but lets it dominate life.  the person who can't has to be drunk all the time.  i always say i'm not an alcoholic, alcoholics go to meetings.

Answer 2

First of all, I think that far too much is made of the label "alcoholic".  This is not a medical term at all; the DSM IV does not use the word (it contains definitions of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, however-you might want to look at those).

The fact is that drinking problems occur along a continuum, everything from the young person who drinks way too much at college parties, to the housewife who numbs her boredom all day, to the homeless person who is completely incapable of functioning.   There is no magic line where one person is really okay and the next needs to be shunted to a church basement every night to talk about his powerlessness over alcohol.

So, to answer your question, drinking is a problem...when it is a problem.  A person can hold down a job, be married, have kids, and be completely functional in that way.  He might never drink in the morning or during the day, but be unable to spend an evening at home with his family without drinking.  He might hide alcohol in his house or car.  He might not be able to take a vacation in certain places where alcohol isn't available.  He might have blackouts each night and remember nothing, but still be able to get up and go to work the next day.  Each of these situations presents a problem, even the first, where the person can't hang around his own home at night without drinking...regardless of the label.

Answer 3

"The functioning alcoholic is the alcoholic who can hold down a job, pursue a career or care for children while continuing his or her alcoholism. Some can do these things successfully, but how well do they handle the other functions in living? How do they function in the role of spouse, parent, driver, financial manager and community volunteer?  His job or profession isn't his only function in life."

If they are always drinking as soon as they get home, and it is more than social drinking, they are an alcoholic.  A functioning alcoholic is just someone who can function in life and still be an alcoholic.  It isn't a matter of getting drunk all the time, it is a matter of always drinking.  Of relying on the drink to unwind from the day, or to deal with a problem, or just to get through the day.  Drinking is supposed to be a social thing, once it goes beyond social and they are drinking alone, there is a problem.