 Binge DrinkingBinge drinking has become a very British phenomenon; there are headlines almost daily on the evils of drinking too much in a short time but still the figures rise. The term ‘binge drinking’ is also misleading, as it implies a difference between excessive drinking and alcoholics. I have many clients that when they first come to see me will readily admit they are binge drinkers but don’t seem to think this is alarming or a problem. Binge drinking can progress into alcoholism very quickly, in fact that is what I’d like to clear up, you can be a binge drinker AND an alcoholic at the same time. It is a myth that you need to drink everyday or first thing in the morning or really need a drink to qualify. I know plenty of alcoholics who were binge drinkers. Binge drinking is not the restricted to the under 25’s, binge drinking seems to be the way most British people drink whatever their age, from the college girls on a night out, to the rotary club fundraiser, we drink far more than is good for us. Because we have normalized abnormal drinking many people are under the illusion that just because we’re all doing it, it must be ok. Unfortunately that’s not the case. We have come to a point culturally that we don’t believe it is possible to have a ‘good time’ without alcohol, booze is completely intrinsic to any kind of social event, ‘getting p****d’ is the purpose of a night out for many people. I would venture that it is now impossible to go out on a Friday or Saturday night to a bar in any town centre in the country and have a relaxing drink without being exposed to an orgy of excess and forced to endure the attentions of inebriated individuals. For some people this is fun or a rite of passage and they survive the weekend intact but for many others problems relating to binge drinking soon begin. One of the first things that can happen no matter what age is that alcohol is going to affect your mood, so after a big session over the weekend, drinkers can often feel ‘low’ because their brain chemistry has been messed around with and this can gradually slide into depression. What is almost certain is if drinkers repeatedly drink to excess then they are going to feel depressed as alcohol is a depressant, they may also experience anxiety attacks. This is when things can escalate and drinkers drink more to cope with the unpleasant feelings they are experiencing. Feelings of shame and low self-worth can grow from binge drinking episodes where drinkers have behaved in ways that contravene their morals or standards. They may feel embarrassed at something they send or did, jobs or relationships could be sabotaged. Of course there are enormous health impacts as well, we are now seeing cirrhosis of the liver in twenty something women, it increases your risk of certain cancers or contacting STD’s. There is a minefield of negative effects that every excessive drinker has to negotiate. Few drinkers emerge unscathed from a few short years of binge drinking. The main upshot of this is the strength of our collective denial around binge drinking, still many drinkers do not take the warnings seriously, do not believe anything bad will happen to them. Or despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary refuse to see the negative impact excessive drinking is having on their lives and will look for other reasons to blame rather than consider giving up the booze.
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