Admit it or not, you binge drink at least once in your life. Binge drinking often happens to young adults who only “enjoy life.”
Binge drinking is a person’s consumption of alcohol during an occasion. For men, it is binge drinking when they consume five or more alcoholic drinks, and for women, four or more drinks.
Binge drinking is not considered an alcohol use disorder. But, there are risk factors in binge drinking. Also, it can be the first step in your alcohol use disorder or alcohol addiction.
The Effects of Binge Drinking
Four or five alcoholic drinks may sound average, but having this number of drinks within two hours can cause severe consequences. For example:
- Getting into a car accident
- Getting injuries
- Committing violent acts such as sexual assault, domestic violence, suicide, or homicide
- Acquiring sexually-transmitted diseases
- Pregnancy
- Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
- Sudden infant death syndrome
- Chronic diseases like high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and liver disease
- Cancer
- Learning difficulties
- Alcohol Abuse
When Does Binge Drinking Become Alcohol Addiction
While it is true that people who binge drink do not always have an alcohol addiction, binge drinking can raise the chance of having an alcohol addiction.
Alcohol addiction is diagnosed by professionals using criteria. These diagnostic criteria include:
- Strong cravings for alcohol
- Cannot cut down alcohol use
- Drinking causes incomplete tasks at home, school, and work
- Keeping away from social, work, and other activities due to drinking
- Drinking in unsafe situations like driving
- Drinking despite having health or psychological issues
- Alcohol tolerance
- Withdrawal symptoms when one attempts to stop using alcohol
You can manage your binge drinking at home. You still have a chance to control the amount of alcohol you consume. You can cut or stop your binge drinking habit before it becomes an alcohol addiction.
What To Do When Binge Drinking Becomes An Addiction?
While binge drinking can be controlled at home, alcohol addiction is not recommended to treat yourself.
Mallard Lake Detox Center in Dallas, Texas, can help you battle alcohol addiction from binge drinking. Addiction in the early stages is the fastest to treat.
We have Medically-Assisted Detox that is scientific-based and proven to treat addiction. We take pride in our programs and facilities that will help you in your recovery journey.
If you want to start your healing journey now, call us today!