When you’re going out on the weekends or enjoying a weekday happy hour with friends, it’s easy for one drink to turn into several. Binge drinking is a common problem, and many people don’t realize they’re participating in binge drinking until they run into trouble. Let’s take a look at the definition of binge drinking.
What Is Binge Drinking?
Binge drinking is generally defined as five or more drinks at a time for a man, or four or more drinks at a time for a woman. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as any drinking pattern that raises the blood alcohol level to or above 0.08%. For some men or women, this blood alcohol level may occur with fewer drinks than the criteria for binge drinking. This is especially true for men or women who are smaller in stature than average.
Despite the dangers of binge drinking, many teens and young adults in the United States binge drink regularly. Up to 90% of all the alcohol consumed by people under the age of 21 is consumed while binge drinking. Binge drinking is much more common in men than in women, and more common in the 18 to 34-year-old age bracket than any other age group. While some people binge drink regularly, others binge from time to time, blaming it on a special outing or occasion.
Dangers of Binge Drinking
While binge drinking is incredibly common, it’s also incredibly dangerous. The dangers of binge drinking include:
- Injuries due to falls, slips, fights, car accidents, and more
- Violence including fighting, assault, domestic violence, sexual assault, and abuse
- Sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy (potentially with complications due to fetal alcohol syndrome) due to making decisions differently than when sober
- Cancer of the breast, colon, liver, throat, or esophagus
- Alcohol dependence and addiction
Many people who struggle with binge drinking also end up in trouble with the law, due to arrests for disorderly conduct, assault, public urination, public drunkenness, and more. Some people binge drink for months or years before they realize they need to ask for help. You don’t have to wait to hit rock bottom to get help for binge drinking. Even if the people around you are drinking in excess, you don’t have to do the same. If you’ve had enough with blackouts, fighting, and an empty bank account related to binge drinking, it may be time to ask for help.
Asking For Help
When you’ve decided that you’ve had enough with binge drinking, the second part of your life begins. It’s not easy to ask for help, and we’re glad you’re considering coming to treatment. At Serenity House Detox & Recovery, we help you gently detox from alcohol, allowing your body to return to it’s natural, healthy state. A medically supervised detox program is the perfect first step to get you started right on the road to recovery. We offer several treatment options at Serenity House Detox & Recovery, including:
- Addiction treatment plan creation
- Luxury detox
- Relapse prevention support
- Medical detox
- Inpatient detox
Call Serenity House Detox & Recovery
You never have to waste one more morning searching for your license and debit card, trying to work out the foggy, embarrassing memories from the night before. If you’ve had enough with the stress caused by binge drinking, we’re here to help you give it up for good. We know it can be hard to make a healthy change. By searching for more information on the dangers of binge drinking, it’s clear that you’re concerned about your health. This is a great first step on the path to getting healthy and happy. Call Serenity House Detox & Recovery at 866.294.5306 so we can talk with you about the different treatment options for binge drinking.
