Jamie likes to enjoy a drink or two with dinner, but that number skyrockets when the weekends roll around. Before he knows it, Jamie falls into the grip of binge drinking, well on his way to blacking out and waking up the next morning with horrible hangxiety.
Many of us might find ourselves caught in the cycle of excessive drinking. But it's time we understand the truth about binge drinking and how we can control it.
For men, binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting; for women, consuming four or more drinks in one sitting is considered binge drinking. According to the CDC, binge drinking is a serious, but preventable, public health problem.
Binge drinking is the most common, costly, and deadly pattern of excessive alcohol use in the United States.
Most people who binge drink do not have a severe alcohol use disorder. However, binge drinking is a harmful risk behavior associated with serious injuries and multiple diseases. It’s also associated with an increased risk of alcohol use disorder. One in six US adults binge drinks, and 25% do so at least weekly. Although binge drinking is just one pattern of excessive drinking, it accounts for nearly all excessive drinking. Furthermore, 90% of US adults who drink excessively report binge drinking.
Here are a few common signs of binge drinking:
Our drinking culture, which often glorifies excessive alcohol consumption, might explain why binge drinking is so popular. From TV shows to social media, drinking is often portrayed as a symbol of fun and camaraderie. Celebrations, special occasions, and even casual meetups are often steeped in the expectation of alcohol consumption. This social conditioning can make it easy for us to overlook the dangers of binge drinking.
The consequences of binge drinking are far-reaching and can impact our physical health, mental well-being, and social relationships. Binge drinking can lead to severe health issues, like liver disease, heart problems, and an increased risk of cancer. On a psychological level, binge drinking can exacerbate mental health disorders, like anxiety and depression. Additionally, it can strain our relationships and potentially lead to risky behaviors, like drunk driving.
Although drinking any amount of alcohol carries certain risks, crossing the binge threshold increases the risk of acute harm, such as blackouts and overdoses. Additionally, binge drinking increases the likelihood of unsafe sexual behavior and the risks of sexually transmitted infections and unintentional pregnancy. Because of the impairments it produces, binge drinking can have potentially deadly consequences, like falls, burns, drownings, and car crashes.
Alcohol affects virtually all tissue in the body. Data suggests that even one episode of binge drinking can compromise the function of the immune system and lead to acute pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) in individuals with underlying pancreatic damage. Over time, alcohol misuse, like repeated episodes of binge drinking, can contribute to liver disease and other chronic diseases, and increases the risk of developing certain cancers, such as head and neck, esophageal, liver, breast, and colorectal cancers.
Binge drinking can also be deadly. Roughly 95,000 deaths in the U.S. between 2011 and 2015 resulted from alcohol misuse, and almost half (46 percent) were associated with binge drinking.
Binge drinking is also costly. Researchers estimated that binge drinking accounted for 77 percent ($191.1 billion) of the $249 billion economic cost of alcohol misuse in 2010.
People binge drink for various reasons. When it comes to quitting binge drinking, different strategies will work for different people. If you or someone you care about wants to quit binge drinking, consider the following ways to stop:
Breaking free from binge drinking isn't always easy, but with determination, support, and the proper strategies, it’s absolutely possible. As we work toward healthier drinking habits, we'll discover that the joy and connection we once sought in alcohol can be found in the richness of our everyday lives.
Binge drinking can wreak havoc on our minds and bodies. We know there’s a lot of pressure in our culture to “just have one more,” but we also know that’s simply not worth the adverse consequences on our well-being. We now know that drinking too much is linked to several chronic diseases, and flooding our bodies with more alcohol only increases our risks of developing them.
However, by taking steps to change our drinking habits, it’s possible to reverse many of the negative effects excessive alcohol consumption causes.
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