So much happens in the blink of an eye at college. You’re on this tremendous learning curve, both academically and personally. Unfortunately, drinking also happens at college — sometimes a lot of it. Statistics show that binge drinking in college is a significant issue. If you suffer from binge drinking, admission into an alcohol detox center in Wrightsville, PA is the first step towards lasting alcohol addiction recovery.
Dangers of Binge Drinking in College
Binge drinking doesn’t come with a universal definition that applies to everyone in the same way. As a rough guideline, clinicians define a session of binge drinking as five drinks within two hours for men, and four for women.
Binge drinking in college, for whatever reason, has become a rite of passage. But it can have disastrous consequences, including death. If you or a loved one shows signs of binge drinking in college, taking action now makes sense.
Binge drinking doesn’t make you an alcoholic. But it sets you up to travel down the wrong road. And even short of being diagnosed with alcohol-use disorder, binge drinking in college opens students to enormous risks.
For instance, according to the University of Rochester, an estimated 2,000 students die each year from the consequences of alcohol (including car crashes.) Another 100,000 students report being victimized in alcohol-related sexual assaults, while 700,000 experience general alcohol-related assaults.
That doesn’t even begin to take into consideration the health effects of binge drinking, which include:
- High blood pressure
- Low blood sugar
- Withdrawal symptoms, such as the shakes
- Respiratory illnesses
- Alcohol poisoning
- Liver and kidney damage
- Blackouts
Binge drinking is a broader problem. The CDC estimates the cost of excessive drinking at about $250 billion a year, including losses in productivity.
Is it Alcoholism?
If you or someone you love is a binge drinker, you may be worrying whether the next step is alcoholism. Interestingly, the answer is, “not necessarily.” In fact, it’s not very common. The CDC estimates that about one of every 10 binge drinkers graduates to an alcohol-use disorder.
Diagnosing a use disorder really depends more on what alcohol does to your life than it does how much you drink. If your drinking interferes with your job or relationships, and yet you continue drinking, it’s possible you have the disease of alcoholism. Other challenges include increased tolerance, where you have to drink more to get the same effect; structuring your life around drinking; vowing to quit but being unable to resist.
Alcohol Addiction Treatment Programs
An inpatient alcohol rehab center in Wrightsville, PA provides dual diagnosis alcohol addiction treatment for the underlying co-occurring mental health disorders that contribute to your alcohol addiction. Upon your admission into an inpatient alcohol rehab center, the addiction treatment staff will conduct a mental health assessment to compile a personalized alcohol addiction treatment plan based on the unique co-occurring mental health disorders contributing to your alcohol addiction. Alcohol addiction treatment center programs in Wrightsville, PA include:
- 12 Step Program
- Inpatient Rehab Program
- Outpatient Rehab Program
Binge Drinking Nationwide
Binge drinking is not a problem isolated to college campuses. It is a problem that extends to all age groups, even though it is most severe among 18 to 34-year-olds. That’s one reason why the Centers for Disease Control describes binge drinking as the “most common, costly, and deadly pattern of excessive drinking in the United States.”
In addition to touching all age groups, binge drinking has a problem of frequency. According to the CDC, about a sixth of the adult population binge drinks four times each month.
Evidence suggests that income is an indicator of binge drinking risks — the problem is more common in households with incomes of $75,000 and above.
Putting Health First
Parents and administrators have given the issue of binge drinking in college their attention for a long time. Yet the problem persists. The dangerous aspect of binge drinking is that it puts a student’s health and safety at risk. If you’re worried about yourself or a loved one, it may be time to consider getting professional support. Consider consultation at one of the nation’s alcohol addiction treatment center programs. College goes by too fast. Call for a confidential consultation today.