There's a really common saying / dark joke in AA "we were all high functioning once." When admitted alcoholics look back on their lives we usually find a period

There's a really common saying / dark joke in AA "we were all high functioning once." When admitted alcoholics look back on their lives we usually find a period of years where we and even those around us considered our drinking "high functioning" but that's not really a stable position. Eventually some major life disruption will throw off whatever is keeping you balanced there and then it's on for real. It's better viewed as a stage of alcoholism rather than a type of it, if that makes sense.