Former 'high-functioning alcoholic' shared one sign she suffered from that she only realised after getting sober

A woman who said she had been a 'high-functioning alcoholic' explained that there was a sign of it which she didn't see until she became sober.

Denizens of the internet likely know Julie McFadden better in her capacity as a hospice nurse who has given answers to a lot of the questions people have around death and dying.

In her videos, she says she wants to help people become 'less scared' of dying and hopes that shedding some light on the situation is the way to do it.

However, in a recent video she posted she talked about her recovery with alcoholism and the impact it had on her life.

She said the term 'high-functioning alcoholic' was 'frowned upon' but she liked using the term as she thought alcoholism was 'misunderstood'.

She explained that there were times she was just focused on getting her next drink. (Youtube/Hospice Nurse Julie)

Julie said that she used to have an idea of what an alcoholic looked like, but she was an alcoholic that didn't conform to the idea of an 'old man who lost his job and lived under a bridge'.

Telling people her recovery story, she described what the urge to drink was like and the impact it was having on her life, and how, for a time, she told herself that if she got good grades and a good job 'there must not be a problem'.

"Every time I drank something, switched in my brain where it turned into only drinking, it was only the obsession to get the next drink," she said.

"One time I went to my favourite band, I went to see their concert and once I started drinking, because of course why wouldn't you drink at a concert, it stopped being about my experience with my favourite band.

"It turned into 'how can I get more alcohol, how quickly can I get it and where are other party favours that go along with my drinking and using while I'm at this concert'.

She said she only spotted how she was acting in hindsight. (Getty Stock Photo)

"I missed the whole entire concert, I didn't hear any of the songs because I was too obsessed with how to party more.

"That's just one circumstance and of course I didn't even think anything was really wrong with that, it's only in hindsight I could tell that's how my life was run for many, many years."

An expert said a high functioning alcoholic was someone who could maintain their jobs and relationships while still being an alcoholic, and there were a number of signs of being an alcoholic to spot.

Therapist Jeffery Meltzer said these included consistently drinking for longer than planned, where one drink would turn into several, as well as getting cravings and recognising you have a problem while not stopping drinking.