Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Remember all the risks of binge drinking

Drinking heavily is not uncommon in Pullman. Whether it’s because of our age, peer pressure or some other reason straight out of the D.A.R.E. program, it happens. And while I’m sure you’re well aware drinking too much equals a hospital visit, there are a slew of other issues you should be aware of before going out this weekend.

Q: I have noticed a lot of friends get carried away with drinking this year. Everyone knows binge drinking causes serious medical problems such as alcohol poisoning, but what are the more immediate consequences of drinking too much?

A: There are a couple of things that scare me at WSU. Like those guys skateboarding down huge hills in traffic. I mean, one pine cone and it’s game over. But the drinking thing definitely takes the unnerving cake. While I completely accept that drinking is a part of the culture in Pullman or any other town, the binge drinking is where people tend to sway off into problem behavior.

Binge drinking is defined as consuming four drinks in a row for women, and five consecutive drinks for men in less than two hours, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Because about 75 percent of the alcohol consumed by adults in the United States is in the form of binge drinking, the prevalence is extremely high.

So let’s talk consequences. First of all, the caloric content of alcohol is much higher than a lot of people think. One of the biggest drinking myths out there is that hard alcohol has far fewer calories than beer or other similar beverages. In fact, when you add up the calories both with the alcohol itself and a mixer, it’s about twice as many calories as beer. Consuming this many extra calories on a consistent basis is bound to affect your weight.

Empty calories aside, drinking has serious social consequences as well.

Due to decreased inhibitions, you’re much more likely to do things you will seriously regret when you sober up. Or people.

Sexually, people feel freer. They are less likely to use condoms and therefore more likely to contract an STI or get pregnant. They also become less selective of their partners. Waking up next to someone you don’t know, and probably don’t want to know, doesn’t ever feel good. People have less qualms about acting out. Violence, ego and bad dancing are all magnified by being drunk.

To avoid getting uncomfortably drunk, try to pace yourself. Drink slower and eat with your drinks. If you think you or your friends might have a problem, WSU Counseling and Testing Services offers free treatment for drug and alcohol issues.

Remember, college is college. We are in a unique community that embraces drinking. The important thing to keep in mind is that this is a transitory state we are in. Don’t expect to keep up with the same behavior and get away with it after you leave school. So have fun and be responsible, but this isn’t Never Never Land – everybody’s got to grow up sometime.
__________________
source: Daily Evergreen

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Cancer- during treatment

Cancer is a deadly disease and therefore, naturally, on diagnosing cancer in an individual, can make him hyperactive and depressed. Many patients are likely to be tensed during their entire cancer treatment process. Therefore, here are some tips, discussed below, which will help the patient undergo his treatment comfortably. Mostly, the side effects of the….

Wealthy women more likely to binge drink

Wealthy and professional women are far more likely to binge drink than those on lower incomes, a new survey of Scotland’s health has suggested. Official figures showed 31 per cent of females in homes with the highest earners drink more than the recommended limit of 14 units per week, the equivalent of seven pints of….

Binge drinking: Drink, drunk, dead

For some women, girl power means widening the crack in the glass ceiling by enrolling in engineering or some other predominantly male domain. For others, it’s drinking like a man — lots and frequently. Men still drink more often than women. But women are no shrinking violets when it comes to tossing back the booze,….

Abstinence the path to avoid alcoholism

Parents throughout Victoria and Canada are vehemently opposed to their children taking illicit drugs — but what about the most widely used, and deadliest drug of all? There is a killer that lives among us every day — a killer called alcohol. In recent years, it has been common practice for parents to condone underage….

Governments’ Drug-Abuse Costs Hit $468 Billion, Study Says

Government spending related to smoking and the abuse of alcohol and illegal drugs reached $468 billion in 2005, accounting for more than one-tenth of combined federal, state and local expenditures for all purposes, according to a new study. Most abuse-related spending went toward direct health care costs for lung disease, cirrhosis and overdoses, for example,….