What Is a Functioning Addict?

When you think of someone struggling with addiction, you most likely picture a person who can barely stand on their own. Their speech is slurred, and their clothes are in disrepair. Maybe they even live on the streets because they can’t maintain a job or healthy relationships with others.

But what if addiction actually looks very different from this? What if high-functioning addicts hide in plain sight all the time? It is a common misconception that addiction causes a person’s life to fall apart. In fact, you might know a functioning addict in your everyday life.

Many high-functioning addicts have a regular workout routine. They have great relationships with their family and friends. They are highly successful at their job. But then they also cannot function in their daily routine without a regular binge or hit of their preferred substance.

If you are concerned about your own or your loved one’s relationship with drug and alcohol use, it might be time to seek professional help. Addiction takes a lot of forms in people’s lives, but it’s never too late to end your struggle and choose recovery.

Read on to learn about how to spot the signs of a functioning addict—and how your family can begin the road to long-term recovery today.

What Does Addiction Look Like?

Addiction doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all appearance, contrary to what we might have been told in the past. Recent research has proven that substance use disorders are chronic mental health disorders, which means there are both physical and psychological impacts to drug abuse. Based on the parameters of addiction, alcohol also functions as an illicit drug in a person’s system.

These factors are also what make it so crucial for addiction treatment to be individualized for each case of substance abuse. A person’s brain chemistry is altered when they become addicted to drugs so that they can no longer perform basic tasks without regular substance use. But again, this dependency can be hidden by recreational substance use with friends or a basic denial that they don’t have a problem.

If you regularly experience blackouts or withdrawal symptoms between substance use sessions, it might be time to consider an addiction treatment program. No one should have to worry about what might happen if their regular coping skills are brought into the light.

Signs of a High-Functioning Addiction

Even though addiction isn’t picky about its victims, some individuals can act like they don’t have any problem with addiction to drugs and alcohol at all. Usually, addiction is most visible when a person leads with excuses and isolation to make room for their substance abuse problem. But many highly functioning addicts can still manage a career and personal relationships while also dealing with addiction.

A functioning addict will go to great lengths to hide their battle with substance use, but there are still some signs you can keep an eye out for. Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you know someone with high-functioning addiction in your life:

• Do they drink or use substances more than others in social settings?
• Do they regularly make plans for the next time they can use a substance?
• Do they seek out other people who will also binge or use drugs with them?
• Do they experience cravings when they haven’t had a specific substance in a while?
• Do they have a history of trying to stop substance use without any success?
• Do they appear out of control of their emotions when using a substance?
• Do they deny any possibility of a problem with addiction?

If you answered “yes” to even one of these questions, it might be time to reach out to an addiction specialist for guidance. Addiction treatment centers are designed to help everyone in your life reclaim their control and move forward into a future without substance abuse.

Highly Functioning Addicts and Employment

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, almost 20 percent of individuals struggling with alcoholism are successful with good-paying jobs. There are a few reasons why this might be true. First, a good job guarantees good money to pay for a person’s regular substance abuse. Second, many ladder-climbing careers are naturally isolating, which can leave a person with a lot of alone time to sit with their stress and anxiety—two of the leading mental health struggles that can lead to addiction.

But interestingly, some high-stress careers put people at a higher risk for addiction than others, especially if they are driven toward upward mobility and achievement. Here are three of the top work environments that have proven to lead to substance abuse and addiction, especially for highly functioning drug addicts:

Law Enforcement

When a person chooses a career as a police officer or a lawyer, they are guaranteed to enter an environment that is fast-paced and requires on-your-feet thinking. These jobs are also full of opportunities to see people at their worst, which has led to 1 in 4 lawyers and police officers to struggle with anxiety, depression, and often co-occurring substance abuse problems.

Military

Those who have served in active military are highly susceptible to substance abuse. Especially because of the trauma experienced by military veterans, over 6 percent of those who serve in the military will struggle with alcoholism and drug dependence. This can look like traumatic images while in active combat or a life-altering injury experienced by someone who has served in active duty.

Healthcare

Healthcare employees work long hours in high-stress spaces. When you constantly hold a person’s life or death in your hands, it can eventually affect your ability to healthily cope with the pressure. And unfortunately, this workspace also offers easy access to highly addictive prescription drugs. 1 in 5 nurses has admitted to turning to illicit substance use to manage stress, and 1 in 3 nurses struggles with an active substance use disorder as a result of their work-induced anxiety.

Help from Treatment Programs

But what exactly does drug rehab look like for high-functioning, driven individuals? If you are in a high-stress, high-demand career, it isn’t exactly easy to take time off work for in-person addiction treatment.

The first step in helping a functioning addict understand they need help could begin with the support of a professional interventionist. This will help every family member express their concerns for their loved one, and it can assist the person struggling with addiction to better understand how their substance abuse problem is affecting their friends and family.

Both inpatient treatment and outpatient addiction treatment programs begin the road toward recovery with a medical detox. Professional addiction specialists will clear your body of all harmful chemicals, which is a crucial step in breaking your cycle of substance dependence. A successful detox has also been proven to prevent relapse, and it helps give you back the time and energy you need to focus on long-term sobriety.

The final and most important step of substance abuse treatment is mental health services. Through individual therapy and group therapy options, a person is given the space to privately understand the main cause of their addiction. Then group therapy sessions are designed for individuals to practice interpersonal skills and relationship-building techniques that will help them find long-term support outside of addiction treatment in the future.

No matter what, it’s important to remember that sobriety is a lifelong commitment. High-functioning addicts have gotten used to keeping parts of their life in the dark from others, sometimes for years at a time. You have to be ready to dedicate yourself to the work and choose to be open and honest about every part of your life moving forward, especially on the days when you’re struggling and feel alone.

The Skypoint Recovery Difference

At Skypoint Recovery Ohio, we will help you escape the noise and chaos of your daily life so you can focus on your individual mental and physical needs. Our main goal of Skypoint Recovery substance abuse treatment is to help you experience all the benefits of sobriety and develop daily practices to help you choose a drug-free life. We guarantee you get the individualized treatment you need to reclaim your desired healthy life.

Contact Skypoint Recovery today to learn how we can best help support you on your journey toward rehabilitation.