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How to Stop Binge Drinking

10 Minutes

Edited & medically reviewed by THE BALANCE Team

Fact checked

CONTENTS

Binge drinking refers to a dangerous pattern of consuming large quantities of an alcoholic beverage over a short time. It has recently emerged as a severe public concern within the UK due to increased marketing practices in clubs, bars, and pubs. Over time, these repeated binge drinking episodes have been known to alter life quality in multiple ways. It affects physical health and can lead to other problems like decreased workplace productivity and personal relationship issues.

It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that binge drinking is a potentially deadly habit, and continuing it is similar to slow suicide. Unfortunately, despite knowing and experiencing the consequences of binge drinking, many people cannot quit it. For such people, widespread help is available through self-help measures and professional rehabs for a faster and lasting recovery.

Many binge alcoholics report the immense challenges and hardships they have to face in an attempt to quit alcohol. Some factors that make the process of quitting extremely hard include the following:

Availability

Alcohol is legal and readily available in most parts of the world, especially to people over the age of 21 years. This easy access may make it extremely hard for people to stop it compared to illicit drugs, like cocaine, that are hard to get.

Drinking Culture

Because alcohol is legal, it is easily acceptable in social settings, such as networking events, social outings, business meetings, and parties. People regularly exposed to alcohol in these settings can often get pressured into drinking.

Self-Medication

Many individuals use alcohol as a medication to deal with unresolved emotional or mental issues, like depression, trauma, and anxiety. In such individuals, alcohol can numb their symptoms, making it easier to cope with them.

Addictiveness

People who are occasional drinkers, in the beginning, may sometimes get addicted to alcohol over time. For some, drinking can become compulsive and extremely hard to control; for others, it serves as a solution to stave off withdrawal symptoms.

Given the potentially dangerous risks associated with alcohol abuse, learning how to stop binge drinking is extremely important. Some of these risks are mentioned below:

Alcoholic Poisoning

Alcoholic poisoning is one of the most dangerous side effects of binge drinking that can potentially lead to death. Because binge drinking also interferes with a gag reflex and alters the level of consciousness, a person abusing it is more likely to choke on their vomit which may prove deadly.

Accidents

Binge drinkers are also more likely to engage in activities that may injure themselves or others, such as automobile accidents.

Alcoholic Brain Injury

Heavy drinking episodes can injure different brain parts, leading to poor cognition and other mental functions. Recovery from this type of injury is often slower and never complete.

Increased Aggressiveness and Violence

Binge drinking often triggers violent behaviours and increases aggressiveness in individuals by reducing inhibitions.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Women who binge drink more frequently are at risk of developing fetal alcohol syndrome during the process of conception and pregnancy. This may bring serious health consequences to their unborn child.

Alcohol-related Chronic Disease

The more an individual drinks, the greater the risk of acquiring a chronic alcohol-related disease. These diseases include high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and several types of cancer.

Breaking the Law

Binge drinking can force an individual to make poor and irrational decisions that they wouldn’t approve of whilst sober. These decisions often make them break the law by committing violent crimes or drunk driving.

People may binge drink for a variety of reasons. Depending on these reasons, different strategies are available to beat alcoholism and binge drinking patterns in easy and safer ways. If you are living with a binge drinker or suffer from the problem yourself, incorporation of the following tips in everyday life can make a significant difference:

Change of environment

Invest some time thinking about when, where, and with whom you spend more of your time binge drinking. It can be quite challenging to reduce binge drinking if you remain among these triggers. Once these triggers are identified, try cutting back on them slowly and steadily until you distance yourself from them. For example, you may consider hanging out in a restaurant instead of a bar a potential trigger for binge drinking.

Weighing the pros and cons

Changing a bad habit requires a lot of motivation and determination. Often, this high level of motivation may decline, urging you to give up your attempts to live free from binge drinking. To get through times like these, keep a list of all the reasons why stopping binge drinking can benefit your life and go through it every time your determination plummets.

Practising a self-rewarding attitude

Positive reinforcement has proven to help individuals reach their goals more efficiently and hassle-free. This method can also be particularly effective in stopping binge drinking if applied correctly. For instance, you may consider rewarding yourself with a pair of new shoes that you have always wanted if you successfully get through a special event or a set period without binge drinking.

Seeking social support

Addiction of any type demands a lot of emotional and social help, and your family can play an essential role in providing this support. Confide in the family members and friends you trust and request them to help you cut down or quit alcohol. These social peers can also help set up a rewarding system for you which will only guide you towards recovery.

Considering abstinence

For many people, quitting alcohol altogether seems like a much more feasible option instead of only focusing on avoiding alcohol binges. Plenty of rehabilitation centres can help you learn how to stop binge drinking in a safer, healthier, and more effective way.

Setting limits

If complete abstinence from alcohol does not seem to work for you, try limiting how much you can drink during a specific time period. This can be established by reducing the amount of alcohol consumed per session, restricting drinking to certain days or hours, or avoiding certain types of alcohol. Your family members and friends can help you monitor your alcohol intake and assess if you are following your limits.

Finding healthier ways of coping

Many binge alcoholics indulge in heavy drinking to cope with negative feelings, such as anxiety, depression, boredom, and stress. Such individuals may consider learning healthier ways to cope with these feelings, such as exercise, self-care, and other soothing hobbies like listening to music or reading a book.

Joining a treatment centre

If nothing else seems to work, the best way to overcome a binge drinking problem is by joining a treatment centre specialising in alcohol abuse management. These rehabs provide such people with multiple options, such as residential programmes, outpatient treatments, or daycare programmes, for a more personalised approach. A team of experts at these centres work together with clients to determine which approach suits them best, followed by an extended treatment program lasting at least 28 days or more.

With access to the most suitable treatment plan in a rehab, you can have the opportunity to identify the reasons and negative behaviours responsible for binge drinking. Once these reasons are identified, a therapist can help you replace them with healthier alternatives. Most of these centres also provide ongoing support to ensure long-term recovery and sober life.

If you or someone you know frequently indulge in binge drinking to the extent that harms your life, know that you are not alone. Millions of people have been battling similar problems for years, and most recover with the right kind of treatment and support.

Joining a binge drinking treatment rehab can be the best choice to beat these negative behaviours before they exert permanent damage on your life. The team of experts in these rehabs will work with you to create a care plan that meets your unique requirements and needs. With a variety of treatment levels, including outpatient and inpatient treatment, recovery can be made possible without facing any physical effects or social stigma.

Do not let binge drinking ruin your life. Take the right step today by giving us a call and setting up an appointment. We are here to help you.

FAQs

Why do people binge drink?

There are several reasons why people may resort to binge drinking. Some of these common causes include the following:

To deal with anxiety or nervousness is through social meetups
To numb unhappy feelings
To loosen inhibitions
To distance oneself from low mood, stress or other psychiatric problems

Is a binge drinker an alcoholic?

A binge drinker is not necessarily an alcoholic. While most people often confuse the two terms, they differ from each other in terms of basic definition. Binge drinking is defined as consuming large quantities of alcohol in a short time to raise the blood alcohol level to significantly high levels. For men, this averages out to five drinks in 2 hours in contrast to four drinks for women.

Alcoholism, on the other hand, cannot be defined by the number of drinks consumed. Instead, it is a chronic condition characterised by an inability to stop or control drinking, an increased tolerance to alcohol, and a tendency to keep drinking despite the negative consequences.

Most binge drinkers commonly develop an alcohol dependence; however, not all alcoholics are necessarily bingeing drinkers. In fact, some binge drinkers may consume unhealthily high amounts of alcohol over the weekend and get through the rest of the week without even touching alcohol.

What are the long-term effects of binge drinking?

Drinking excessively for an extended period can deteriorate physical health and strain a person’s mental health. Some common side effects that someone with a binge drinking problem is likely to experience in the long run include:

Alcohol use disorder
Liver disease
High blood pressure leading to stroke and other cardiovascular illnesses
Pancreatitis
Neurological damage
Fetal alcohol syndrome in babies born to binge-drinking women
Cancer
Depression
Suppression of the immune system
Declining mental function, leading to dementia
Anaemia
Seizures
Nerve damage

How can I know if I am a binge drinker?

Some common signs of binge drinking include drinking more than intended with an inability to stop it. The exact signs and symptoms of this problem are likely to vary from one person to another. In contrast to the usual pattern of alcohol abuse, binge drinking may not be consistent or frequent. Nevertheless, it can be equally damaging due to the consumption of large amounts of alcohol over a relatively shorter life span:

Some common symptoms of binge drinking include:
Consumption of more than 4 or 5 alcoholic drinks by women and men, respectively, in a time span of 2 hours
A loss of control over how much alcohol is consumed
Drinking more than intended
Having blackouts or gaps in memory while drinking
Exhibiting dangerous or violent behaviours under alcohol intoxication (for example, getting into fights or having unprotected sex)

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