Pathological Patterns Of Binge Drinking

Binge drinking is when someone consumes a large amount of alcohol within a short amount of time. This relates to other substance use disorders as binge drinking involves the intake of alcohol which is one of the ten classes of drugs we spoke about. Binge drinking also follows the four criteria we spoke of regarding the pathological patterns of behaviors seen with substance abuse. These criteria are impaired control, social impairment, risky use, and pharmacological criteria. Binge drinking can be related to these criteria. When one is partaking in binge drinking, they are exhibiting impaired control as they commonly stay out longer than intended, and spend a lot of time recovering from the substance. Additionally, they typically express the desire to stop drinking after a bad hangover or a bad experience, but after cravings begin, they resort back to drinking. Binge drinking also highlights social impairment. This is seen as people tend to not fulfill obligations during a night of binge drinking or the morning after. It is also seen where people continue to drink heavily even after their relationships have begun to diminish. Risky use is something that is also seen due to binge drinking. People tend to do extremely risky activities when drunk. Driving while intoxicated is an example. Lastly, pharmacological criteria are met as people tend to build up a tolerance for drinking and they face

People who partake in this behavior often tend to have certain types of friendships. They have been seen to only hold friendships with other people who want to spend their time binge drinking. Additionally, this type of company typically blows off commitments for school, work, etc. While this can be the case, good social impacts can come from occasionally drinking with friends. It is only when it becomes excessive and reaches the point of binge drinking that it can become a significant