Very interesting topic Sarah. I am looking forward to reading more.

I will refer many people in my clinic to your blog and your book, for that matter. What a great way to educate people about their journey of alcoholism. They can absolutely succeed (as you did).--
Thank you!

i am a high functioning alcoholic. i dont go to treatment for it i am 18 i have been drinking since 6th grade. i go to school i play sports i get all As in school. i have a total of fifteen shots of vodka eveyday.

I consider myself a fuctioning alcoholic, but a very unhappy one. I'm sending this reply to see if I get a response and hopefully some good discussion. I soooooooo want to quit drinking.

The fact that you are able to realize and admit that you are a functioning alcoholic is so important. Part of the issue that HFAs have is that they are not able to believe that they are alcoholic.

It sounds like you are in a place where you are wanting to get sober and that too is in your favor. It is so important to be "sick and tired of being sick and tired" of your drinking. Motivation to quit drinking can often be a small window of time, so I would suggest that you take action as soon as possible.

I am not sure if you have tried to stop drinking before, but if you have on your own and not succeeded then that is an indication that you should get help in this process. I would first suggest telling your primary care doctor, therapist or other health care professional about your desire to stop drinking and they should be able to help point you in right direction. If you are physically addicted to alcohol, then you may need medical assistance.

You can always go online and look for local recovery program meetings for Alcoholics Anonymous or SMART Recovery- depending on what type of program you would be willing to attend. These recovery programs are full of others like you who can help you and allow you to see that you are not alone.

The key is to take action while you are in a motivated state of mind and realize that getting sober is the beginning of living a joyful life.

www.highfunctioningalcoholic.com

SMART Recovery is a recovery program for all addictions that is based in a scientific approach as opposed to a spiritual one. It offers a cognitive-behavioral perspective for recovery from alcoholism and other addictions. For more information you can visit their Website www.smartrecovery.org.

You may want to consider a more interactive format for assistance in getting sober. You could try Alcoholics Anonymous online groups at http://aa-intergroup.org/directories/chat.html or SMART recovery online meetings at http://www.smartrecovery.org/meetings/olschedule.htm

In general it is recommended to attend face-to-face meetings as well, but these online forums listed above may help you right now.

This book is me.

I can't believe someone has put a name to my problem.

I'm getting the book and sharing it with my family.

After nearly 30 years of serious, very serious, drinking I came across this site today as I celebrate one-year of sobriety. Interesting Topic. I also had a six figure job, a military and athletic background, great home and family, and just figured I would always survive/get away with my alcoholism. And like so many before me, I crashed and burned. We have to find our bottom or, die...and many of us do just that. I was once arrested a couple years ago functioning, somewhat, at a .43 BAC. Bruising from the inside out, back and forth from jail, I found my bottom. I did not wake up one day intending to destroy my career and hurt the people I love so very much, but there I was. I'm not sure that anybody but another alcoholic/addict and God truly understands that level of hell on earth. Today is a good day, however, a very good day! I'll have to take a look at your book Sarah. Thanks.

I grew up in an alcoholic home - the "old" stereotype was alive and well and used to explain why my parent was NOT an alcoholic - after all he had a job, a family, a house, etc etc. It’s no surprise that I started drinking in high school and probably experienced my first blackout when I was a junior. Since drinking was "normal" in my parent's home, I thought the only thing wrong with it was that I was not of legal age to have alcohol. I went to college on a full scholarship and dropped out because my parents were "trying to control me". I got married and had 2 children. I got a job as a computer programmer and life was good. I loved my work - there are LOTS of HFAs in the IT field so I felt right at home. I used to kid around about how we designed our best programs on cocktail napkins during happy hour after business hours. I still didn’t think I had a problem because I didn’t drink every day ... but when I *did* drink ... I couldn’t predict how long I would stay at the bar or how many drinks I would consume. I would have every intention of stopping off for ONE drink and not get home until the bar closed. Needless to say the marriage suffered. My escapades were starting to catch up with me and my husband wanted to move closer to his parents ... GREAT IDEA!! THAT will be the solution! I will move to a new city and start OVER ... no more drinking like this. Well ... the geographic "cure" as we call it DIDNT work. I got a new programming job complete with new drinking colleagues. The cycle began to repeat - only worse this time. My kids were 3 & 5 about this time and fortunate for me that their father was not an alcoholic so he was home and dependable. My job duties included being oncall - so I could use that as an "excuse" to stay out of the house (how sad looking back on it). I led a double life! I even had my husband fooled except he was starting to wonder why I was sick for at least 1 day every weekend (hung over). Luckily I decided to stop lying to the therapists and doctors I saw for my "depression" and actually admitted to my drinking behavior. I was admitted into treatment and stayed sober for 5 years. Never lost my job - they were great. I attended AA meetings every week and had a sponsor but I never completed my step work after treatment. At 5 years sober I relapsed for a short time. I remember the turning point that brought me back to recovery. When I realized that I could no longer tell myself that "nobody would know" ... because I had enough recovery in me that * I * was no longer NOBODY and *I* would know! I had gained enough self worth in my 5 years of sobriety that I could no longer consider myself a NOBODY. THAT was pivotal. I am happy to report that I will celebrate 16 years of continuous sobriety this year. My children (now 28 and 26) do not remember my drinking because I drank at the bars, but I can see the effect it had on them. My son told me that I am not an alcoholic because I have a good job and a house and a family! I was *shocked* to hear that stereotype is still around in college! Well I straightened him out about that and told him that I will ALWAYS be an alcoholic but I have a daily reprieve. That led to a discussion about his friends and drinking on his college campus. Thankfully he graduated and drinks rarely - because the stories he shared with me were scary and I explained that he could very easily cross the line into alcoholism if he didn’t stop. My daughter attends Al-anon and started a group for teenagers Al-ateen because she could see herself in their behavior. She has a masters degree in counseling and she presents me with my AA token every year on my anniversary - it’s quite a sob-fest :-) The best news is that my recovery in AA and my daughter’s recovery in Al-anon give hope that my beautiful granddaughter (2) might be spared from the lash of alcoholism! I wrote all of this to give people HOPE that recovery IS real and possible one day at a time. I wish I could take my recovery and put it into the women I sponsor - but it is an inside job - only YOU can determine if you are an alcoholic. Sarah, thank you for your courageous book and sharing your wisdom, strength and hope as a high-functioning alcoholic in recovery. May it provide relief for many HFAs who don’t know what’s wrong with them. There IS a solution. One alcoholic helping another ... one day at a time. I hope to meet you one day as we trudge the road to happy destiny!!

Thank you for sharing your story in an effort to help others and congratulations on 16 years of sobriety! Recovery has brought so many gifts into your life, and the work continues as you "trudge" down that road. Your son's denial that you are alcoholic is proof that the stereotype lives on- but it is time that it changes. May you continue to touch lives and help others.

www.highfunctioningalcoholic.com

Mike,
Maybe Sarah will give me your email address or she can give you mine. You are on the right track in reaching out for help...a big step. I will pay for my downfall for a long time to come, but the alternative for me without the fall was certain death. I pray everyday that you, and others like us, find the alternative before it is too late. Society puts our drug dealer on every corner, bombards us with marketing for the drug, and then calls us pathetic and lynches us when we fall. So be it. I can tell you this. I sat in corporate rooms many times with high flying executives that seemed on the surface to be good people (and I am sure they are), but when EBITDA margins are all that you are judged by; well, who do you count on. Today, I sit in rooms where there are people I barely know, and I could call anyone of them and tell them I am going to drink in 15 minutes and an army of them would be here in ten. If you survive, you will most likely eventually feel public shame and guilt, and then you will find a very supportive group(s) that quietly makes its presence known. No matter how unique I think I am, I now know many others even more unique :-) We have to work at it every day, but God's grace freed me from the prison of my past. I know the same can be true for anyone, because I am not unique.