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Essential support for under 25s
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Comments
an awful lot of young people seem very ilinformed about alcohol.
i know many men my age who drink everyday more or less.
without any problems.
they go into hospital for a couple of weeks with some work related injury ...they don't drink ...they don't withdraw ...they heal and recover ok.
for years ...men who do physicaly demanding work can and do drink three or four pints of bitter ...every night ...with no ill effects. these men work hard play hard ...look after families ...save up for foriegn holidays.
few of todays young drinkers will be able to do that i fear.
when i was young ...if you fell about threw up broke things and or started fighting ...you were deemed to not be able to handle your drink ...and few people would therefore drink with you.
today ...the whole aim seems to be to get wasted ...if you can't remember what happened ...must have been a great night!
i dont understand that behaviour.
Thats a matter of perspective surely?
If it is detrimental to your wellbeing and causes a decrease in your happiness and standard of life then yes, of course its a serious problem.
But binge drinking isn't inherently a bad thing. I agree with Rolly when he says that many, many young people these days do not understand alcohol, its dangers, and what constitutes acceptable use. And clearly going out destructively and drinking until you are sick cannot (and is inconcieveably considered) fun or rewarding. You cannot remember it, if nothing else.
But drinking to excess/binge drinking is not necessarily a bad thing, if done with reasonable responsibility. Most people condemning binge drinking I suspect are total hypocrites - most people drink to excess and are fine fairly frequently, and are generally fine other than a headache and some embarrassing memories the next day. Most don't feel to repeat the experience indefinately. Everyone responds in a different way, and it does more harm to some than others.
I know several people who binge drink excessively and behave atrociously when they do, and I've told them I think its a problem. Similarly I know many people who, on their birthday, christmas, or on the day they've finished a big piece of work go out, get hammered, behave themselves, and have a bloody good time. If you have a tendency to slip into a rut, or use alcohol to try and counter the effects of the last bout (drunk at 08:03 :eek2: - I can't even get up at that time), you have a problem.
Evaporated, from what you have said I think you are in this situation. If you yourself suspect its a problem then it most probably is. But congratulations on recognising it and having the will to confront it - most people don't have the courage to do this and they are the real problem cases. Now its just a matter of carrying it through, find your limits and learn to be disciplined about it. Good luck to you, you seem like you have a good chance of sorting yourself out.
in some parts of some towns ...it is the majority!
You whaty?
It does make me laugh... someone says "I had a wicked night last night, I got wasted!!" "Oh yea... so what happened?" "I dont know, I cant remeber most of the night!"
How the fuck did you know you had a good time then you twat!!
In all fairness though, we have all been there and all done that, I dont like getting that drunk to the point where I dont remember anything and I dont normally, but on the odd occasion you go ott witout realising it, then it hits you all of a sudden!
Always regret it then next day when you feel like shit though!!
and yes ...i sometimes drink to much ...as i'm sure plenty of people are aware of here!
the trouble with problem drinkers and more so alcoholics ...is they aren't the ones who realy know.
everyone else sees it first but the problem drinker goes into denial.
denial being a very real symptom or condition.
i know what you mean, with weed anyways i was in denial for 99% that it was a problem or that i was even addicted, but there were quite a few times when i reflected on it i knew it was a problem........
I think you will find the above statements are incorrect. Binge drinking by its very nature is irresponsible. Drinking to excess is harmful to your health.
I am about to go to a meeting, but when I get out I will pull up some information to support the above, unless someone else can be bothered to do it for me....
I'm not denying that its bad for your health, but that doesn't mean its inherently "irresponsible." Plenty of things are bad for your health, what is a matter of perspective is whether if you indulge in them it is a "serious problem."
E.g. Working as an investment banker, with all the stress, long hours etc it entails is bad for your health. Do they all have "serious problems?" Are they "irresponsible?"
Driving a car to work, instead of walking, drinking coffee, sunbathing, living in the city, going a night without sleep, not eating 5 fruit and vegetable portions a day. They're all bad for your health. I wouldn't describe those things as "serious problems," unless they were consistent and/or excessive.
Nor is going out and getting pissed twice a year. Yes, it is detrimental to your health, but that is a choice you make in exchange for the experience, as with many, many other things in life. As long as it is not continual, habitual, or has a negative effect on other people then I don't think its a "serious problem." A problem maybe, but one you are well aware of when you decide to exceed the recommended limits.
I understand the point you are making here - that people assume because you feel like you've recovered from a binge after a couple of days its had no impact - and I mainly agree with you. What I don't like is generalizations that put informed, responsible people who are well aware of the dangers involved, and are disciplined as to how (and how often) they use alcohol, with 'louts' or whoever going out and drinking themselves to oblivion every friday night.
The point I suppose I am trying to make is that j you don't have to go out and act like a 'lout' every weekend to have a problem. If you still drink to excess/to get wasted every weekend, it may mean that you are dependent on alcohol, psychologically or physically.
There is a recognised problem regarding the drinking culture in many western countries, the UK in particular, about people's attitude to alcohol and what constitutes a 'normal' weekend.
I guess what we are talking about is the level of 'seriousness' of this kind of behaviour. I don't think the establishment of these kinds of damaging habits is taken seriously enough, but I also don't think that every binge drinker is a potential alcoholic.
Agreed - although I still think it is unfair to label drinking to excess as inherently "irresponsible." Clearly the seriousness of the problem is going to be different for every person and at any rate is a matter of perspective.
What I am saying is it is a matter of perspective whether the harm the occasional binge does outweighs the enjoyment/pleasure/theraputic value it gives.
No, I never denied that binge drinking is harmful to your health - what I do deny is that something that is damaging to your health is inherently "irresponsible" or "a serious problem."
I don't know what it's like where you go out, but I don't find that that's the case in most of the places I go. The people getting trashed are in the minority, and many of them have got in that state unintentionally.
You'd be surprised at the amount of people who actually go out to, you know, enjoy themselves and have a good night, not get totally trashed :yeees: .
Certainly it is the minority, but its a very significant minority I think.
maybe it's a choice? you don't HAVE to be dependant or addicted.. you can choose to. Noone is saying it's not causing physical harm.
?
I could choose to get wasted for a week then not drink for a month and be perfectly happy.