essay

Nick Urban
Mrs. Borensen
Expos 4th HR
Final Copy
January, 27 2009

How many is too many? A Question that can be for many answers. But by many I mean beers. It’s called "Binge Drinking". A phrase that few of us know but many of us practice. Especially high school and college students. Young people believe this is the popular "cool" thing to do. But in reality it’s substantially dangerous. Binge Drinking: consuming five or more alcoholic beverages in a short period of time. We've all binged drink before, if not the chances are very high that you will. For those of you who haven’t let me debrief you on the after affects of this lurking cloud of binge drinking.
Binge Drinking: the consumption of dangerously large quantities of alcoholic beverages in one session. This definition may not seem to alarming to ones self. But once you have experienced this, then you will know exactly how this definition feels. The definition is as sharp as a blade. This definition basically means by drinking too much you can literally loose your common sense. By doing this you can not only become a fool to everyone else you can also deteriorate your health. The side affects of binge drinking are unusual behavior, acts of disorderly conduct, nausia, aching body and so forth. I know this because of my past experiences and I have definitely learned from them. About a year back I encountered the worst feeling when binge drinking. I was at the point of complete misery. I remember lying on the couch praying to god that I would wake up in the morning. The reason of this misery is because I decided to be stupid and chug about seven beers in a row. No pauses in-between. That whole night I threw up in just about every single corner. Seconds seemed like days. The next morning I was still drunk. I made a pact to myself that I would never binge drink ever again. Two hours of feeling good is not worth ten hours of misery.
One question that many people ask is why do people binge drink? One major reason is peer pressure. Along with all of the fancy alcoholic beverage commercials. Most first timers are just curious and want to know what its like to be drunk. Others like me just want that special feeling and not thinking of the long term effects. Others such as older people use alcohol as a way of reducing stress. According to (learn-about-alcoholism.com) statistics say that binge drinking peaks between the ages of 18 and 22 which are mostly college students. However there many high school students who start binge drinking as young as 13. Another interesting fact is that the younger they start drinking the more likely they will become alcohol dependence. For example 25% of those who drink before the age of 17 become alcoholics. Compared to 10% of those who start drinking after the age of 21.
As most of us know the biggest risk of binge drinking is alcohol poisoning. But that’s not it the list goes on and on. Liver disease, high blood pressure, stroke, neurological damage, sexually transmitted diseases, unintentional pregnancy, unintentional injuries. All of this can be preventable by simply not binge drinking. Binge drinking can impair your judgment more than you think. When a person drinks they are more likely to take risks or do things that they normally don’t do. One major mistake drinkers make is driving while intoxicated. Not only is driving dangerous but as well as walking intoxicated. According to (kidshealth.org) in 2000 roughly one third of pedestrians 16 and older were killed in traffic accidents.
Studies also show that people who binge drink through high school are more likely to be overweight and have high blood pressure by the time they are 24. One beer alone has about 150 calories. So if a person drinks five to seven beers they are receiving approximately 800 calories. Not only can your physical health deteriorate but as well as your mental health. Binge drinkers have a harder time in school and are more likely to drop out. Drinking disrupts sleeping patterns, which can make it harder to stay awake and concentrate during the day. This in the turn can make your grades suffer.
Fortunately all of this can be prevented. For example creating an education program teaching and explaining the dangers of binge drinking. It’s also reasonable to refer to physician screening, counseling, and referral for treatment of alcohol treatment. For some people I can really get that bad. But if your half way smart and learn your lesson the first time you won’t have to resort to some of these conclusions. Knowing more on this subject I know have a better understanding of binge drinking and its horrible consequences. “Binge Drinking” is like a black cloud lurking over a persons shoulder. As that person drinks the cloud grows bigger and bigger. This dark cloud pops up the very next day and surprises you with a nasty headache and a hangover of a lifetime. So if you want to avoid this cloud or even just keep it very small don’t binge drink. If you second guess yourself about drinking the next beer you probably shouldn’t drink it.