High Functioning Alcoholics and Denial (E56)
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Gill discusses high functioning drinkers/alcoholics. She explains the common characteristics of someone who is high functioning, how denial fits into this, and how a high functioning drinker can have a much more difficult time accepting that they need to stop drinking. You’ll learn about functional tolerance, which is a type of tolerance that high functioning drinkers develop that allows them to appear like they aren’t even drunk. Of course, neuroplasticity fits into all of this as well!
Key Takeaways
A high-functioning alcoholic is someone who drinks problematically while appearing to maintain professional and personal success. According to US surveys, about 20% of alcoholics in the US are high-functioning. People who are high-functioning deny having a problem and believe on some level that alcohol helps them either with being social, having success, or coping with stress.
A 2015 study looked at meth addicts who were in denial compared to meth addicts who were not in denial. They found that being in a state of denial reduces your ability for the parts of your brain that govern emotional response, self-awareness and error perception to communicate with the parts of the brain that process information and create problem solving actions. Having reduced neuroplasticity in these areas along with a lack of severe consequences makes it very hard for someone to accept they need to stop drinking.
High-functioning drinkers develop something called functional tolerance, which is when someone can drink a lot of alcohol but not appear to be drunk. They are even able to drink to very high blood alcohol concentrations which would cause other people to pass out or even die. This increases the risk for developing health consequences from our drinking.
Sources
Miller, L. What is a High Functioning Alcoholic? (Traits, Signs & Symptoms). American Addiction Centers. 2021.
Buddy, T. Denial Runs Deep With Functional Alcoholics. Verywell Mind. 2021.
Jeurgens, J. High-Functioning Alcoholics & Alcoholism. Addiction Center. 2021.
Alcohol and Tolerance - Alcohol Alert No. 28-1995. NIH. 2021.
Wilians, K. High Alcohol Tolerance (Causes & Risks). Alcohol Rehab Help. 2021.
Matson LM, Kasten CR, Boehm SL 2nd, Grahame NJ. Selectively bred crossed high-alcohol-preferring mice drink to intoxication and develop functional tolerance, but not locomotor sensitization during free-choice ethanol access. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2014;38(1):267-274.
Dean AC, Kohno M, Morales AM, et al. Denial in methamphetamine users: Associations with cognition and functional connectivity in brain. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015;151:84-91.
Cite this episode
Tietz, G. Episode 56: High Functioning Alcoholics and Denial. Sober Powered. 2021.
