High Functioning Substance Abusers

Even though we’ve made great strides in understanding the science of addiction, there still remains the misconception that addiction and substance abuse is an issue of willpower and morality. This view is incorrect and adds to the challenges people face in embracing recovery.The concept of the “High Functioning Alcoholic” addresses those people who lead outwardly successful lives, but who suffer in silence with unresolved emotional issues that are connected to their use of alcohol or drugs.
The reason we don’t think of these people as substance abusers is because their trapping of success enable them to hide it. The pressure for perfection, particularly among moms, can become too much to bear. Without healthy coping mechanisms, many moms become “silent sufferers”. They put up a façade of perfection to mask the anxiety, fear and overwhelming pressures they feel, self-medicating with alcohol.
Although these “high functioning alcoholics” may not drink or use every day, they become psychologically dependent on the substances they abuse – obsessing on their next opportunity to drink or needing to drink in certain settings.
Some of the signs of high functioning alcoholism include…
Click here to read the entire source article.