Binge Drinking

The current media interest in so called ‘binge drinking’ relates to excessive alcohol use in social settings, usually on a Friday or Saturday night.

Historically we have referred to binge drinking to mean a pattern of drinking where someone has long periods with little or no alcohol, and then they will choose to drink to a state of high intoxication (oblivion) as a means of managing life. This type of drinking pattern is one often worth talking through with a therapist.

How much is a safe amount to drink?

Government guidelines currently recommend that women might drink up to 14 units per week, and men might drink up to 21 units. However, they also recommend that you don’t drink them all in one go. For health reasons women should only drink up to 2 - 3 units per day and men up to 3 - 4 units per day.
These drinks contain 1 unit:

• 1 half-pint of ordinary strength beer, lager or cider (3.5%)
• 1 small (125ml) glass of wine (8%)
• 1 single (25ml) measure of spirits (37.5%)

Extra strong beers, lagers and ciders can contain up to three units. Low alcohol does not mean alcohol free.

What happens to my body when I drink a lot?

If you drink a lot over a long time, certain changes occur in your body. These can lead to you becoming physically addicted to alcohol. The way your liver processes alcohol changes and your brain adapts to the consistent intake and tries to avoid its intoxicating effect. Unfortunately in adapting to alcohol like this, your body can become reliant on it - if alcohol is suddenly removed you can experience very unsettling and sometimes extremely dangerous symptoms of withdrawal. These can range from a slight tremor, nausea, sweating and a general feeling of anxiety to more serious symptoms which can be vomiting, extreme tremors, hallucinations and epileptic-type seizures.

Alongside these problems, your physical health will deteriorate. This can be made worse by a reduced interest in food and less physical activity. This physical damage is often focused around your liver, stomach and pancreas although alcohol can, and does, affect all parts of your body.

How does alcohol affect the way I feel?

The psychological benefits of alcohol are well known to jost people. In small amounts it can sometimes boost confidence – ‘Dutch courage’ - or you can use it to calm your nerves after a frightening incident.

At various times and stages in our lives, we might find socialising more of a challenge and can find that a drink before we go out helps calm those nervous feelings. If you begin drinking to socialise at a young age this can become a life pattern and socialising without alcohol is something that is dreaded.

It can help for a short amount of time in blocking out your feelings following a bereavement or break-up of a relationship. However if you use it continually to avoid dealing with the highs and lows of life, it can have a very negative effect. If you drink regularly to avoid experiencing these emotions you can become psychologically dependent and, more and more, your ability to cope with everyday emotions decreases so you drink more to avoid dealing with issues as they arise.

If you drink in sufficient amounts it can reduce the sense of urgency and importance you need to deal with emotions. It can also reduce your confidence and hence a cycle is set up where alcohol is drunk to boost your confidence; it then in turn reduces your confidence and so you drink more to deal with that loss of confidence.

Alcohol is also well known for exacerbating mental illnesses and can mask previously unknown or undiagnosed mental illness such as depression.

How can I detox from Alcohol?

If you have an alcohol-related health concern, you need a prescription or if your body is dependent on alcohol and you want to explore the option of medically monitoring alcohol withdrawal symptoms, we are able to offer referrals into local services that can provide this support in partnership with Drinksense.

There are three ways of detoxifying from alcohol, i.e. ridding the body of the toxin alcohol and managing the associated withdrawal symptoms.

The first way is to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink each day by small amounts. You yourself manage how quickly or slowly you detox, based on whether you’re experiencing withdrawal symptoms or not. In the long term this method is less physically damaging and promotes feelings of self esteem because you are in complete control of the process.

The other two ways of detoxifying are closely linked; both require medication in place of alcohol. The medication is then reduced over a period of between 8 - 10 days and supplemented by appropriate vitamins. Where the two processes differ is that:

• One is undertaken at home with the support of your GP and Community Psychiatric Nurse from the Alcohol Service.
• The other is undertaken on an appropriate ward in a local hospital.

Please see the web page on your nearest Drinksense office to see what services are available in your area.

We will still be able to work with you after you have completed the detox.

It is important to note that none of the options for detox are a cure in themselves, rather they are a necessary stage in the change from being physically addicted to alcohol to a position where a choice can be made as to whether to drink or not, which is not based on a physical need for alcohol or to avoid alcohol withdrawal symptoms.