By Cathy Habas You really like drinking, but there’s a little flicker of doubt in your mind about whether you’re going overboard. Binge drinking is real. It is a sign of alcoholism, and it has the potential to ruin your career, finances, relationships and health. This dangerous practice may even claim your life. Fortunately, if you’re ready to sober up and move on with your life, binge drinking treatments are just a phone call away. Scientists have come up with definitions of binge drinking based on an individual’s body weight and gender, but don’t use numbers as an excuse to justify your habits. Here are three tell-tale signs that you may have a binge drinking problem.
- Other people are concerned about your drinking habits. It’s easy to brush off other people’s concerns as too straitlaced, but it’s foolish to do so. You might think you do a fine job of keeping your binge drinking habits under wraps or of “holding your liquor,” but friends, family and coworkers might think otherwise. It may be all too obvious to your loved ones that you have a problem. Listen to what they have to say, especially if they mention binge drinking treatments.
- You celebrate the weekend with alcohol. You know better than to drink during the workweek, but once Friday night arrives, you go through a six-pack like it’s nothing. And then you go to the bar for cocktails and shots. Sure, you might be hungover the next day, but that doesn’t stop you from enjoying yourself. Stay-at-home parents experience the same phenomenon. Deep down, they know drinking and childcare just don’t mix. So they hire a babysitter or pack the kids off to grandma and grandpa’s on Friday, and they pop open a bottle of wine or go out for the night, trying to make the most of their “one night of freedom.” Sound familiar?
- You tend to experience blackouts. The more alcohol you consume, the more likely you are to experience blackouts. Alcohol interferes with a substance called glutamate, which is crucial to proper memory function. Waking up at home without any knowledge of how you got there is scary and dangerous all on its own, but it’s also a tell-tale sign of binge drinking.
Binge Drinking Treatments Are Available
Is this really the way you want to live your life — at the mercy of alcohol? What goals do you have in your life that binge drinking is interfering with? How much enjoyment could you get out of life by being sober? You’ll never know until you get clean. Binge drinking treatments are available in both inpatient and outpatient settings. There is nothing “weak” about getting help for binge drinking. In fact, it’s the most important decision you can make for yourself. And you are worth it!