by travelling.steve

Question by Karen: Why is binge drinking such a big part of University life?
Hey guys, ok so i’m in my first year of university in the UK and one thing I’ve noticed is the fact that everyone is obsessed with drinking excessively and getting drunk. I thought it was kind of a bit of a myth and a joke when my family and friends teased me about drinking at Uni before I went but now I’ve realised it is actually true.
No wonder the NHS is feeling the effects of binge drinking because it is such a huge problem!
I personally really like the taste of alcohol and enjoy drinking small amounts socially with friends. However, parties at Uni are a completly different thing!

I need some advice as to trying to cut down my drinking.

Some people may think I am stupid and I should just stop drinking as much but it really isn’t that simple… it’s part of our culture and it’s frowned upon if you don’t drink.

Last night I went to a party at my friends house planning to play the “eurovision drinking game” – look it up if you’re interested. Basically it involves drinking when something on the list occurs. Also, you pick a country and have to drink during the points section. My cunning plan was to take 2 bottles of decent real ale (which I really like) and a bottle of diet coke. That way I can drink a small amount of alcohol and then move onto diet coke and actually be able to get some work done today.
Also, because a lot of people drink vodka and coke, people would think I was just drinking that.
However, everyone bought whole crates of beer and were drinking a lot.
I kind of got sucked into the whole drinking thing and before I knew it I was down at the corner shop buying a bottle of Rosé wine (which I finished)
I felt absolutely fine, I was having a great time and enjoying myself and I remember everything so I can’t have been too intoxicated.
I made sure I stayed up for a bit when I got home and got some water in me before going to bed which ensures I don’t wake up with a headache. However, this morning I felt rough and I still feel rough now.
Terrible stomach aches and nausea will probably stay with me for the rest of the day.
I don’t know why I do it to myself, I think it’s just a case of getting sucked into it all.

I’d quite happily give up drinking all together but it would serious impact my social life.
Everyone at University only socialises in one way, and that is by drinking. I occasionally go out for meals and to the cinema with some friends on my course but drinking is far more common.

I could also follow in the footsteps of one of my second year friends who does not drink at all but still comes to parties and simply enjoys soft drinks. However, for some reason he is an outcast of the group and is often termed “the party spoiler” because he remains sober and quickly cleans up spillages. I don’t want to be like that.

I think sometimes think, well my degree is only 3 years long, I might as well just carry on as I am and just stop after the 3 years. However, I am really worried it is impacting quite significantly on my health.
I have always eaten extremely healthily and still eat very well now. I’ve always had a really good immune system which resulted in my never missing a single day of school or college spanning over 7 years. I used to get colds occasionally but they were never severe and I often fought off the virus in 1 day whereas others in my year would suffer with the virus for weeks.
Also, my skin has always been really good, my mum said she always wished she had my skin because with hardly any treatment it would always remain soft.
I also have never really had spots, I think I’ve had one or two in the past.

However, since the addition of alcohol in my regular routine all of these things have stopped. I now get colds quite frequently and they affect me more than they ever have done. Also, my skin has got a lot more dry and spots break out fairly regularly.

I am fully aware that reducing my alcohol intake will improve these things.

Anyway, I calculated that last night with the two bottles and real ale and the bottle of Rosé I consumed somewhere in the region of 15 units in total. Is that really bad?

I am aware that this is technically classed as binge drinking. I would say I do binge drink once a week or once every 2 weeks.

Do you have any advice for me?

Luckily I am returning home for summer in 2 weeks and I do not drink heavily at home so at least my liver will have a welcome break. I will probably notice my skin significantly improve too.

Thanks for reading this far, peace

Best answer:

Answer by Dan
They drink because they’re becoming adults, and they want to enjoy their life? I’m not sure as I’m only 13 xD Just try to drink in moderation and think of the long term outcome of binge drinking.

Hope this helped

Add your own answer in the comments!

by Shoot First, Eat Later

Question by Karen: Why is binge drinking such a big part of University life?
Hey guys, ok so i’m in my first year of university in the UK and one thing I’ve noticed is the fact that everyone is obsessed with drinking excessively and getting drunk. I thought it was kind of a bit of a myth and a joke when my family and friends teased me about drinking at Uni before I went but now I’ve realised it is actually true.
No wonder the NHS is feeling the effects of binge drinking because it is such a huge problem!
I personally really like the taste of alcohol and enjoy drinking small amounts socially with friends. However, parties at Uni are a completly different thing!

I need some advice as to trying to cut down my drinking.

Some people may think I am stupid and I should just stop drinking as much but it really isn’t that simple… it’s part of our culture and it’s frowned upon if you don’t drink.

Last night I went to a party at my friends house planning to play the “eurovision drinking game” – look it up if you’re interested. Basically it involves drinking when something on the list occurs. Also, you pick a country and have to drink during the points section. My cunning plan was to take 2 bottles of decent real ale (which I really like) and a bottle of diet coke. That way I can drink a small amount of alcohol and then move onto diet coke and actually be able to get some work done today.
Also, because a lot of people drink vodka and coke, people would think I was just drinking that.
However, everyone bought whole crates of beer and were drinking a lot.
I kind of got sucked into the whole drinking thing and before I knew it I was down at the corner shop buying a bottle of Rosé wine (which I finished)
I felt absolutely fine, I was having a great time and enjoying myself and I remember everything so I can’t have been too intoxicated.
I made sure I stayed up for a bit when I got home and got some water in me before going to bed which ensures I don’t wake up with a headache. However, this morning I felt rough and I still feel rough now.
Terrible stomach aches and nausea will probably stay with me for the rest of the day.
I don’t know why I do it to myself, I think it’s just a case of getting sucked into it all.

I’d quite happily give up drinking all together but it would serious impact my social life.
Everyone at University only socialises in one way, and that is by drinking. I occasionally go out for meals and to the cinema with some friends on my course but drinking is far more common.

I could also follow in the footsteps of one of my second year friends who does not drink at all but still comes to parties and simply enjoys soft drinks. However, for some reason he is an outcast of the group and is often termed “the party spoiler” because he remains sober and quickly cleans up spillages. I don’t want to be like that.

I think sometimes think, well my degree is only 3 years long, I might as well just carry on as I am and just stop after the 3 years. However, I am really worried it is impacting quite significantly on my health.
I have always eaten extremely healthily and still eat very well now. I’ve always had a really good immune system which resulted in my never missing a single day of school or college spanning over 7 years. I used to get colds occasionally but they were never severe and I often fought off the virus in 1 day whereas others in my year would suffer with the virus for weeks.
Also, my skin has always been really good, my mum said she always wished she had my skin because with hardly any treatment it would always remain soft.
I also have never really had spots, I think I’ve had one or two in the past.

However, since the addition of alcohol in my regular routine all of these things have stopped. I now get colds quite frequently and they affect me more than they ever have done. Also, my skin has got a lot more dry and spots break out fairly regularly.

I am fully aware that reducing my alcohol intake will improve these things.

Anyway, I calculated that last night with the two bottles and real ale and the bottle of Rosé I consumed somewhere in the region of 15 units in total. Is that really bad?

I am aware that this is technically classed as binge drinking. I would say I do binge drink once a week or once every 2 weeks.

Do you have any advice for me?

Luckily I am returning home for summer in 2 weeks and I do not drink heavily at home so at least my liver will have a welcome break. I will probably notice my skin significantly improve too.

Thanks for reading this far, peace

Best answer:

Answer by Dan
They drink because they’re becoming adults, and they want to enjoy their life? I’m not sure as I’m only 13 xD Just try to drink in moderation and think of the long term outcome of binge drinking.

Hope this helped

What do you think? Answer below!