Binge Drinkers

Ah yes, binge drinkers. They are the ones who cost the nation £2.7 billion and have led to the UK being dubbed ‘Binge Britain.’ However, I am not talking about those who just binge at weekends because of the many midweek restrictions that prevent them drinking. The fact is most of these drinkers triple their intake at weekends. No, I am talking about the group of people who give the impression that they can take it or leave it; I’m talking about those who do not touch a drop for months, then go on a binge. This group usually falls into two distinct categories:

Those who really do not think that alcohol has any benefit and do not miss it when they are not drinking.
Those who really do miss alcohol when they are not drinking and are, in a sense, simply ‘on the wagon.’

In both cases when they drink, they really are drinking. All the restrictions in the world would not stop them. From morning till night they have to drink and there are no half measures. They just continue to hit the button and sod the consequences.

The first category of people who, when they are not drinking, genuinely do not miss alcohol at all can actually see it for what it is when they are off the booze and

wouldn’t drink the stuff. The problem is, they do believe one of the illusions and that is that it helps to alleviate stress. They binge drink as a way to escape reality when reality has simply become too much and they cannot take it any longer. So it’s either join the Foreign Legion or go on a binge. If heroin were legal they would probably use that to blot out life. In a sense it has nothing to do with alcohol addiction; it could be anything that does the job but they choose alcohol because it does not require a prescription, is legal and readily available from almost anywhere. These people are not actually addicted to alcohol and they do not think that there is any pleasure to be gained from drink; they simply think it will act as a catalyst to escapism. The problem is that, because alcohol is a depressant, it actually drags them down even further, giving them more reason to want to escape. They wake up feeling worse than the day before, so they drink even more. The initial reason for wanting to blot out their problems (or get ‘blotto’) is getting worse by the day because they haven’t dealt with the issue, which causes an even greater need for the anaesthetic.

Many binge drinkers have destroyed everything they have worked for in a matter of weeks. One day they realise that drinking is destroying their lives even more than the reason they resorted to it in the first place. Reality dawns and they know that it simply has to stop, so they decide to get on with their lives and quit drinking . These people are playing a dangerous game and if they believe it has one benefit, it won’t take long before

they believe all the illusions. The time they spend not drinking will decrease and the time they spend bingeing will increase. This type of drinker is rare but does exist, which is why I have covered it here.

The second type of binge drinker is the most common. This is the ‘three months on, three months off’ drinker. When they are not drinking they are missing it and feel miserable and deprived. However they do not admit to anyone that they feel deprived, and openly judge everybody else who drinks, becoming real ‘holier than thou’ ex-drinkers, and there is nothing worse. They are resisting the urge to drink all the time, using discipline whenever they are not drinking. Their thoughts are entirely taken up with the effort. Eventually something happens in their life and, as their resistance runs low, they do not have the mental strength to resist any longer.

They have now reached the ‘dam’ position. This happens when there is so much pressure on the dam from the build-up of water that it starts to crumble causing a deluge. Although the dam appeared strong, it collapses within seconds. It is the same for the poor binge drinker because, in order not to drink, they need to use incredible self-control on a massive scale. Every day the pressure builds up and it simply takes one moment of stress or a big social gathering and, wham, the resolve collapses. Subconsciously they make up for lost time. Their need for the drug is caused by the drug, so the more they have initially, the more they will need the next day. When they are drinking they hate it and when

they are not drinking they hate it. During the time spent not drinking they are simply on the wagon and if you are on the wagon it means that you are not drinking for a period of time, therefore it is inevitable you will come off it again.

The problem is that the poor drinker honestly believes that they have fallen off the wagon and to them, the only way to solve this problem is to go back on the wagon. It is not a great deal of fun either, so eventually, it becomes easier to keep drinking even though that’s painful too.

Whether binge drinkers are off the drink or on the wagon, they also become ‘holier than thou’ ex- drinkers . These are the sort of people who do something for years, stop, then spend all their time judging people who do what they once did. The judgemental types also fall into two categories:

The drinker who has stopped but is using willpower , discipline and permanent self-control not to drink. These people are the ‘recovery mob’ who are still missing it and believe they have made a genuine sacrifice. However they do not wish to say this because they would appear weak-willed, so they opt for the ‘holier than thou’ approach.
The person who has never drunk alcohol. When I say never, I mean those who had their first drink and hated it so much that they were just not willing to go through the process of becoming accustomed to it. After all, it’s not easy to get over

the foul taste and awful effects that the first drink produces. Virtually everybody has tried alcohol at least once in their lives. These are non-drinkers. They have never been hooked because they have never suffered any of the illusions that the drug creates. These people plainly and simply cannot see why anybody drinks and, because of this, can appear on the surface to be somewhat self-righteous . However, their attitude is more than understandable and is exactly the same as your attitude to people who take heroin. If they knew how desperately heroin addicts wanted to stop, they wouldn’t be so quick to judge them either.

What is so wonderful about this method of stopping drinking is that you will not turn into a ‘holier than thou’ ex-drinker. Once you fully understand the alcohol trap (as you will by the time you finish this book), you will feel genuinely sorry for those who still have to drink and are gradually sinking further and further into the quagmire. You certainly will not be judgemental as you will never forget that you were once there yourself.

I have said that it is only fear that keeps people hooked and so powerful are these fears that the very thought of stopping altogether is just too much. Drinkers think that it will be easier to just …