(This part of the article is available in audio recording)
Even if you don’t drink alcohol every day, you could be a binge drinker if you:
- Regularly drink more than the low risk drinking guidelines in a single session
- Tend to drink quickly
- Sometimes drink to get drunk
If you find it hard to stop drinking once you have started, you could also have a problem with binge drinking and possibly alcohol dependence. As everybody is different, it is not easy to say exactly how many units in one session count as binge drinking, but in the UK, it is considered you are binge drinking if you consume more than:
- 8 units of alcohol in a single session for men (e.g. 2 pints of 5% beer)
- 6 units of alcohol in a single session for women (e.g. 5 small (125ml) glasses of 13% wine)
The impact of the binge drinking on your physical and mental health will depend on your tolerance to alcohol and the speed you consume it at.
Binge drinking can lead to:
- Accidents resulting in injury, which means you may have to take time off work.
- Misjudging risky situations – again, thinking about safety of yourselves and the people around you.
- Losing self-control and taking part in risky behaviours like having unprotected sex.
How can I reduce my risk from binge drinking?
Next time you’re drinking, remember the following key points:
- Limit how much you drink on any single occasion
- Try to eat when you are drinking
- Alternate your alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks such as water or juice
- Make sure you have planned ahead and are not working or driving soon after a heavy drinking session
You can be at risk from others and can easily lose control of what you do or say and may make risky decisions. Keeping track of your drinking, especially when in unfamiliar circumstances is so important.
If you are unsure if you drinking alcohol has become problematic, please take this self-screening test which will give you an indication of whether you benefit from further support.