I drink most evenings after work, sometimes even on my lunch break, yet I continue to work full time, support my family, and pay all my bills. I don't feel out of control, but a friend recently said that I might be a “functioning alcoholic”. I always thought alcoholism looked very different. Can anyone tell me about this or offer their perspective?

Yes, I can absolutely relate. I was in the same boat—steady job, daily responsibilities taken care of, no obvious fallout—but I was drinking daily and relying on it more than I wanted to admit. That’s the tricky thing about high-functioning alcoholism. It doesn’t always look like a crisis, but it still takes a toll over time. You might find this article helpful: https://genesishouse.net/blog/functioning-alcoholism/. It explains how functioning doesn’t mean healthy or safe. If alcohol feels like a daily need, that’s a red flag worth paying attention to. You're not alone in this, and there are ways forward that don’t require everything to fall apart first.