The Functioning Alcoholic and Achievement

Dr. Neill Neill

Part Two of The Functioning Alcoholic

In The Functioning Alcoholic: Part One I argued that doing one’s job is not one’s only function in life. For the alcoholic to consider himself to be "functioning" he has to function in various areas of life, not just on the job.

Abandoned Dreams and Underachievement

Consider the young woman with brains and ambition who wanted to become a doctor. Like many students, she had to take a work break from her studies to earn the money to continue. She worked in a bar, but drinking gradually crept into her daily routine. Now at 50 and four marriages later she’s still working in a bar, her dream of being a doctor a distant memory. She considers herself to be a functioning alcoholic, but is she really functioning, when she has abandoned her dream and falls so far short of her potential?

During my alcoholic period, I did my job and I was a kind loving father. But I never got around to writing. I will never know whether I might have started my writing career much earlier, were it not for the drink. I do know that I never went to any of my kids’ games during my alcoholic period, and I wasn’t even aware of the neglect until it was too late. I thought I was functioning well, but only after I had switched my lifestyle to a much healthier one did I realize how far I fell short.

The point is that addictive drinking leads to underfunctioning, and underfunctioning people do not live up to their potential and in the end usually quell their dreams.

In my mind, the abandoned dreams and the general underachievement of alcoholics do not spell "functioning." They spell serious "underfunctioning."

Whenever I meet a person who considers himself to be a functioning alcoholic, I can’t help but wonder what that person might have been or created or given, if they hadn’t fallen under the spell of alcohol and sunk into alcoholism.

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Copyright © Neill Neill. All rights reserved. Dr. Neill Neill maintains an active psychology and life-coaching practice on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. He is a member of the treatment team at Sunshine Coast Health Centre, a drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility for men. He writes regular newspaper and magazine psychology articles on healing and self-improvement. His goal is to facilitate growth in human consciousness and increase the human store of hope, happiness and generosity of spirit.