Binge drinking is risky behaviour by any standard. In this post, you’ll learn some of the most important details about binge drinking that should serve as warning signs if you or a loved one binge drink on a regular basis. We invite you to consider contacting Addiction.org should you have any further questions about binge drinking, alcohol treatment, or enrolling in an addiction rehab clinic. We are here to help.
Binge Drinking Defined
The Chief Medical Officer released a publication in 2016 outlining updated government guidelines for determining problem drinking. Unfortunately, there was no updated definition for binge drinking, leaving us to rely on how the NHS defines it. They define binge drinking as “drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk.”
There are two established principles here that are very important. First, a binge drinker is someone who consumes excessive amounts of alcohol in a very short amount of time. Given that the new government guidelines state that the lowest risk drinking is characterised by 14 or fewer units of alcohol per week, you could make the case that consuming anything in excess of those 14 units within a short amount of time would be considered binging.
You could also make the case that consuming 12 units of alcohol in under 24 hours also constitutes binging. The point is this: it’s not only the amount of alcohol consumed; it is the volume of alcohol consumed as compared to the amount of time the person takes to consume it.
The second component is drinking to get drunk. If we understand the NHS definition correctly, any purposeful, wilful attempt to get drunk constitutes binge drinking.
You Can Avoid the Addiction Rehab Clinic
Our goal is to encourage you to avoid having to seek treatment for alcohol abuse or addiction by getting help for your binge drinking right now. If your condition has not yet progressed to the point of alcohol addiction, you might only need counselling and a prescription from your doctor to get your drinking under control.
Our question to you is this: how often do you binge drink and for how long have you been doing it? If you have any concerns that you might already be an alcoholic, now is the time to do something about it. Your local alcohol addiction rehab clinic exists for the sole purpose of offering the treatments you need to get you drinking under control.
How to Know If You’re Already Addicted
We imagine by now you might be concerned that you could already be in an addictive situation. If that’s the case, there are things you can do to get a bit of clarity. First, you can contact us on our 24-hour helpline and speak with one of our counsellors. Our counsellors are trained in providing alcohol assessments based on modern standards. Through a series of questions, we can help you figure out whether your binge drinking constitutes addiction or just high-risk behaviour.
You can also visit the Drink Aware website and use their online self-assessment. If that’s not an option, setting an appointment with your GP is another avenue you can try. Your doctor will be able to evaluate your circumstances and health pretty quickly.
In the meantime, step back and assess your life. If you are already an alcoholic in need of help from an alcohol addiction clinic, you probably find yourself thinking about drinking and getting drunk quite often. You worry that you will not have enough alcohol to be happy, you probably hide alcohol around your house, and you frequently miss work or school in order to drink. These are all tell-tale signs of alcohol abuse or addiction.
If your family and friends routinely raise concerns about your drinking habits, that is another sign you might have a problem. Please do your best not to get defensive. They are only raising their concerns because they are worried about you. Believe it or not, your friends and family would probably be your biggest advocates if you were willing to get professional treatment.
Find an Addiction Rehab Clinic Right Now
It should be clear to you that binge drinking is dangerous to health and could lead to a host of other problems for you in the future. Hopefully, your binge drinking is not so out of control as to constitute alcoholism. If it is, there’s still plenty that can be done about it. You just need professional treatment and a good aftercare programme.
We can help you find an alcohol addiction clinic in your local area right now. If you are concerned about your drinking, do not delay. Contact us today so we can provide you with a free assessment, sound advice, and a referral to a trusted local addiction rehab clinic.
Sources: Binge drinking data resource (NHS)
