Binge drinking - can you justify it?

Bunny Colvin

Well, I've been thinking about it recently and I have made a commitment not to drink for the remainder of November and all of December - a late hope on the sober November bandwagon!

I find I'm wasting too many Sunday's being hungover, taking days at a time to recover and spending money I can't afford, with absolutely nothing to show for it. One week in, I feel grand with that decision and couldn't give a damn about not being drunk for Christmas parties and all that goes with it. It's a feeling of being there, done that. Of course I could always moderate my drinking but I think that would be more of a struggle than abstaining for me personally.


We can all safely say that a lot of people in Ireland binge drink on a weekly basis. If you're in that category, how do you justify it to yourself? Or if you're like me last week, do you just not think about it too much?

Arghus

It can be good craic in fairness.

Bunny Colvin

Arghus wrote: »

It can be good craic in fairness.

There's no denying it is good craic at the time! But if you're losing days from it, it's worth questioning imo.

Vela

I've never had to think too much about drinking. I can go months without a drink and not even realise it. But when I do drink on a night out, I go all in And I can totally justify that because I'm not out getting wasted every weekend.

Agricola

An occasional blowout is great but weekly is just a huge waste of time, money and brain cells. Far better things to be doing every Sunday than dieing with a hangover.

bnt

Me, it's a no. I can drink, but have only gotten really drunk - hangover drunk - a handful of times in my life, the last sometime around 2001.

siblers

Not when I'm up at 7am every morning with the 9 month old, even if I had someone to watch him, I would find it very hard to justify blowing 50 euros or whatever on a night out, going up to spend 12 euros on 2 drinks would depress me as that would buy me baby formula etc.

Ipso

Arghus wrote: »

It can be good craic in fairness.

It can. But then you have people talking about other people not being good craic as they don't drink as much as them. Yet they have to pump themselves full of drink to have good craic, what does it say about their personality or being good craic themselves if they need enough alcohol to launch a North Korean rocket to have good craic.
Also with regular/heavy drinkers if you took alcohol related topics from their conversations, I wonder if they would have much left to talk about.

SusieBlue

I'll probably drink more often than I usually do over the next 6 weeks, I'll probably even binge drink a couple of those times.
But I rarely drink so I don't feel remotely bad for it. My last night out was for the October bank holiday and before that it was some time in July, no reason in particular for this, I just wasn't arsed to go out or have a drink.
I think I deserve a few nights of binge drinking this Christmas!

Cookie_Monster

Yes, yes I can.

andekwarhola

Obviously real life is scripted by a moralistic chorus of Fine Gael, alcoholics and other finger waggers.

That's why it's supposedly impossible for a middle ground to exist between abstention and oblivion.

biko

What's the point of drinking if you're not going to get drunk?

OldMrBrennan83

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bnt

Sometimes the folks in my office want to go out for a few ... and they refuse to go out any night other than Friday night. The idea that you could have a drink or two with food, maybe a couple more, but not get drunk or suffer a hangover, seems to be entirely alien to them. I seem to have migrated to the "European" drinking model and prefer to avoid going out on Friday nights altogether.

Dr Turk Turkelton

Jesus no wonder the AH beers went to feic a few years ago with the amount of sappy posts in this thread already.
I mean come on looking at a beer like a packet of baby food? ffs.

Vela

Dr Turk Turkelton wrote: »

Jesus no wonder the AH beers went to feic a few years ago with the amount of sappy posts in this thread already.
I mean come on looking at a beer like a packet of baby food? ffs.

Ahh.... the glory days :cool:

ballsdeep69

My names ballsdeep69 and im an alcoholic

Ipso

ballsdeep69 wrote: »

My names ballsdeep69 and im an alcoholic

Try to cut back from four drinks on a night out to three.

ballsdeep69

Ipso wrote: »

Try to cut back from four drinks on a night out to three.

I would pore that over my cornflakes

AmberGold

Went on total benders at least two nights a week, possibly three and could do four in a row from the age of seventeen till about thirty-two. Switched then to a bottle or two of vino in front of the TV two or three nights at the weekend.

Justified it to myself by not doing drugs, exercising regularly, going to gym etc.

Anyway, long story short went on a bender a few years back where I was drinking from four in the afternoon till four in the morning, woke with excruciating pains in my stomach that lasted for a week, it took me a year or so to feel right again.

Transpired I had acute Pancreatitis that morphed into chronic. This is something you don't want.

A wake up call too late. When I think about the scrapes, dangerous situations, lost days and money I spent while I was supposedly enjoying myself you know what my advice would be.

Bunny Colvin

AmberGold wrote: »

Went on total benders at least two nights a week, possibly three and could do four in a row from the age of seventeen till about thirty-two. Switched then to a bottle or two of vino in front of the TV two or three nights at the weekend.

Justified it to myself by not doing drugs, exercising regularly, going to gym etc.

Anyway, long story short went on a bender a few years back where I was drinking from four in the afternoon till four in the morning, woke with excruciating pains in my stomach that lasted for a week, it took me a year or so to feel right again.

Transpired I had acute Pancreatitis that morphed into chronic. This is something you don't want.

A wake up call too late. When I think about the scrapes, dangerous situations, lost days and money I spent while I was supposedly enjoying myself you know what my advice would be.

At least you've seen the light and from what you've described, the whole thing hardly seems worth it for a few hours of 'fun'.

bilbot79

I love the buzz of having a few beers, listening to tunes and everything feeling much nicer than normal.

If I work hard and make up good ground in work, I love to drink some wine and form ambitions inside my head. Weird, but there you have it.

irishman86

The bravado with Ireland and drinking is pathetic
Fair play to you for going dry
How many lads i see around thinking they are mad craic cause they got pissed and dont remember anything where in reality they are just beyond sad

OldMrBrennan83

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Bunny Colvin

irishman86 wrote: »

The bravado with Ireland and drinking is pathetic
Fair play to you for going dry
How many lads i see around thinking they are mad craic cause they got pissed and dont remember anything where in reality they are just beyond sad

I think there's a dependence and a culture where alcohol is central - especially in rural parts. You meet your mates in the pub, try to get with a girl in a club etc. The biggest challenge I'll have now for example is doing the above.

LadyMacBeth_

Vela wrote: »

I've never had to think too much about drinking. I can go months without a drink and not even realise it. But when I do drink on a night out, I go all in And I can totally justify that because I'm not out getting wasted every weekend.

+1

This is me, I can go weeks or months without drinking, maybe the odd one or two here and there but when I go on the lash, I really go on the lash

dartboardio

I justify it by telling myself 'I'm young' cause I am, I'm completely and utterly taking advantage of my student years, and as I should! I know that somewhere in the next 5-15 years (huge range) I won't have the opportunity to go out with my friends at the drop of a hat, and not have to come home for a day or two

Sometimes it does get a bit much though, and yesterday was my first Sunday in about 6 weeks not hungover and it felt fantastic, I suppose I'd prefer to go through phases of going out alot, to not going out much, back and forth, in my eyes I don't think too much about the money I'm wasting, cause that's what we all do now.

And in all fairness it works out pretty well, Monday - Friday full time college, work part time on the weekend, get my wages just so I can go out and enjoy :-D all the while not having to feel guilty about getting absolutely effed up each weekend as I know I still have my life together (as odd as that sounds)!

elperello

No, binge drinking is a waste of good drink.
Slow down and try to taste what you are drinking.

Mister Vain

I never enjoyed binge drinking. A few beers is enough for me. I haven't been properly hungover in about 10 years.

Snugglebunnies

elperello wrote:

No, binge drinking is a waste of good drink. Slow down and try to taste what you are drinking.

I don't particularly enjoy the taste of any alcohol. Drinking has never been about the taste for me.

mad m

Mister Vain wrote: »

I never enjoyed binge drinking. A few beers is enough for me. I haven't been properly hungover in about 10 years.

Ditto, Once I'm on my 3rd pint I say Uh Oh if I have another one Ill have an all day headache tomorrow. Now a good glass of wine with food is nice.

elperello

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

I don't particularly enjoy the taste of any alcohol. Drinking has never been about the taste for me.

Nil desperendum keep trying don't give up you will eventually find a drink to suit your palate.

bnt

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

I don't particularly enjoy the taste of any alcohol. Drinking has never been about the taste for me.

You might end up with my "problem": one drink I like is XO Cognac, which is freaking expensive since Kim Jong-il bought up half the world's supply. (His son must be sitting on some crazy Cognac stockpile unless he drunk it all himself. Kim Jong-un is reportedly more in to rum and vodka.)

I don't have that kind of money, so problem solved.

weldoninhio

Bunny Colvin wrote: »

There's no denying it is good craic at the time! But if you're losing days from it, it's worth questioning imo.

I lose 5 days a week to work. Losing one to a hangover is worth it to get rid of the stresses and strains of the working week.

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weldoninhio

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Exactly, Sunday is the best night to go out anyway!!! They you get paid to be hungover on the Monday. Win-Win.

Hector Bellend

I cant justify it.

Other than I enjoy getting drunk.

JJayoo

3 pints is termed binge drinking.

Dr Crayfish

Justify it to who?

MadYaker

JJayoo wrote: »

3 pints is termed binge drinking.

Could even be 2 depending on what you're drinking. I would consider a binge to 2 or more days of continuous drinking.

Bunny Colvin

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Justify it to who?

Yourself.

elperello

JJayoo wrote: »

3 pints is termed binge drinking.

I know fellows who would drink 3 pints while deciding whether to go on the beer for the day or not.

Bunny Colvin

elperello wrote: »

I know fellows who would drink 3 pints while deciding whether to go on the beer for the day or not.

They sound like mad lads!

elperello

Bunny Colvin wrote: »

They sound like mad lads!

I couldn't keep up with them:)

irishman86

Patww79 wrote: »

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Most Irish people have the attitude towards drink.

c_man

AmberGold wrote: »

Transpired I had acute Pancreatitis that morphed into chronic. This is something you don't want.

Ouch. How that affect your life now?

irishman86

Bunny Colvin wrote: »

I think there's a dependence and a culture where alcohol is central - especially in rural parts. You meet your mates in the pub, try to get with a girl in a club etc. The biggest challenge I'll have now for example is doing the above.

I agree 100% buddy, i had to sit on a bus with the rugby team yesterday for 3 hours and they look at you like you have two heads when your not drinking
I think a big part is that they dont want anyone doing anything different to them because they might have to look at there own behaviour :pac:

I like the odd glass of prosecco or a cocktail but it's not often i actually go drinking. No need to change my habits there i reckon. Probably an extra few over xmas, and a pub crawl. Be grand

King George VI

I can only justify binge drinking in the way that I really enjoy binge drinking. As John B Keane once said "Drink in moderation is one of the most ridiculous statements ever made. You must drink a little more than moderation."

smurfjed

Presently in Riyadh Saudi Arabia, will be in Dublin on Friday where a bottle of Seans Bar Limited Edition whiskey awaits, can I justify binge drinking for the weekend, HELL YES!

HalloweenJack

It really depends what binge drinking does to you and how you handle it.

If you're getting into trouble or dying from hangovers and wasting your time away then you need to have a think about it.

I did a lot of heavy drinking in my 20s but never got myself into major trouble, like fights or getting arrested. The days after I could handle the hangovers. FWIW, if you're going to whinge about hangovers, don't drink so much. It's not as if you don't know they exist. If I have a really bad hangover then I accept its my own fault. I don't go around moaning about it.

I have stopped drinking as much the last few months because I work seven days a week now and I can't have Saturdays and Sundays where I wake up in the early afternoon in no mood for anything.