To Drink or Not to Drink
By Clare Bagnall
Monday 2nd November 2009
Monday 2nd November 2009
“First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.”, or so F. Scott Fitzgerald said. A notorious drunkard, true, and yet many students can’t help understanding exactly what he means. Does that amount to alcoholism? Getting drunk once a week? Twice a week? More nights spent drunk than sober? A bottle of wine of an evening really does help the fingers rolls across the keyboard; sparks the imagination for that imminent essay. Or maybe it goes along the lines of: just one more drink won’t hurt. Then maybe another. Before you know it, you are at the Bop on a Tuesday night with a 9am class the next day; and while you may not even know or like the song that is being played, you are doing some of the most enthusiastic dancing ever witnessed. You wake up, with that old familiar feeling, nauseous, someone taking a pickaxe to your skull, the sensation you have been licking a dog in your sleep. You drag yourself half-awake, reeking of alcohol to your class; this is if you wake up in time at all.
But, does that mean that you are drinking too much? When does drinking regularly begin to teeter on the edge of alcoholism? Government recommendations advise that women drink no more than 14 units a week, which amounts to a bottle and a half of wine; while men are allowed 21 – the equivalent of two bottles. It is doubtful then that the government would approve of people drinking their weekly allowance or more in just one night. But then the government are there to curb people’s fun after all. And of course, politicians would never exceed such limits themselves after work on a Friday evening. The problem then lies in how we see alcohol, as a social lubricant and relaxation tool, and the reality of the situation.
Alcohol is all too often seen as a central part of student life. It reduces your inhibitions, you can have the most marvellous fun when drunk, do the most absurd things without a care in the world. It is the thing to do while you are young and a student, one day, you assume, it will end. However, what if already, by drinking to such an extent, a student is creating a pattern of drinking behaviour that will result in alcoholism throughout their life. Alcoholism is a disease, an illness that can cause multiple social and health problems. Advanced liver disease often cannot be diagnosed until symptoms appear, by which point you have a one in three chance of immediate death. But, clearly, no one considers this when they are in their flat playing drinking games before a big night out. No one stops and wonders what the future will hold for the person they are shouting at to drink faster as they down their pint. The consequences are so far distanced from their initial actions. To be a student who drinks is not the same as being a student who suffers from alcoholism. However, if you begin to think about how much you actually drink on a weekly basis, the results can be fairly frightening.
At the same time, drinking is not considered to be a problem. Looking on the university’s student union website you will have trouble finding any numbers or people you can contact if you fear you are beginning to fall under the grips of alcohol addiction. And while there was an AA desk at the societies fair, there is no information about it on the union website, while there are societies listed for the celebration and drinking of gin, wine and ale — In moderation, of course, but the student mind isn’t really geared for things in moderation.
Ernest Hemmingway advised: “always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” and he was quite the drinker. Besides, we have all been there, wishing we hadn’t done or said something; something you would never dream of doing in a million years if you hadn’t been led on by that extra drink. All too often you fall victim to your own drunken advances and foolish behaviour. Apparently drunken people are attracted to other drunken people due to the bizarre behaviour of neurotransmitters which alcohol causes. This may make you kissing someone resembling an ogre forgivable, if you have both drunk half a bottle of vodka, but the photos your friends take and plaster over Facebook are definitely less so. These are the risks of alcohol we view as humorous; this is why websites such as textsfromlastnight.com are so popular. If you have ever been drunk enough to do something stupid, you will have done so; you may have boasted about it, been mortally ashamed, or laughed it away. Because, while drinking gave you the confidence to speak to that really attractive guy in your I.R class, you made such a fool of yourself he will probably never look in your direction again, except to snigger.
As it is, alcohol is an institution, and a key part of the student lifestyle. However, according to scientists, alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs around. If it were created now, it would instantly be made illegal; with its hugely addictive properties and combined effects which mimic drugs like heroin, barbiturates, cocaine, Prozac and Valium. If you were going for a night out, you wouldn’t even consider taking such a lethal cocktail. Likewise, when you drink you do not think that one day you could drink so much you don’t wake up; that one night you could choke on your own vomit as you lie in bed, or that you could thoughtlessly step out in front of a speeding car because you can’t even see straight, not to mention risking an entire life of addiction and a premature death. More frightening though, is that fact that knowing all of these risks, even after waking up feeling horrendous and proclaiming you’ll never drink again, within days you will be drinking heavily again. Though you will be incredibly careful never to consider yourself an addict, and besides, those terrible, affecting stories always happen to someone else, right?
But, does that mean that you are drinking too much? When does drinking regularly begin to teeter on the edge of alcoholism? Government recommendations advise that women drink no more than 14 units a week, which amounts to a bottle and a half of wine; while men are allowed 21 – the equivalent of two bottles. It is doubtful then that the government would approve of people drinking their weekly allowance or more in just one night. But then the government are there to curb people’s fun after all. And of course, politicians would never exceed such limits themselves after work on a Friday evening. The problem then lies in how we see alcohol, as a social lubricant and relaxation tool, and the reality of the situation.
Alcohol is all too often seen as a central part of student life. It reduces your inhibitions, you can have the most marvellous fun when drunk, do the most absurd things without a care in the world. It is the thing to do while you are young and a student, one day, you assume, it will end. However, what if already, by drinking to such an extent, a student is creating a pattern of drinking behaviour that will result in alcoholism throughout their life. Alcoholism is a disease, an illness that can cause multiple social and health problems. Advanced liver disease often cannot be diagnosed until symptoms appear, by which point you have a one in three chance of immediate death. But, clearly, no one considers this when they are in their flat playing drinking games before a big night out. No one stops and wonders what the future will hold for the person they are shouting at to drink faster as they down their pint. The consequences are so far distanced from their initial actions. To be a student who drinks is not the same as being a student who suffers from alcoholism. However, if you begin to think about how much you actually drink on a weekly basis, the results can be fairly frightening.
At the same time, drinking is not considered to be a problem. Looking on the university’s student union website you will have trouble finding any numbers or people you can contact if you fear you are beginning to fall under the grips of alcohol addiction. And while there was an AA desk at the societies fair, there is no information about it on the union website, while there are societies listed for the celebration and drinking of gin, wine and ale — In moderation, of course, but the student mind isn’t really geared for things in moderation.
Ernest Hemmingway advised: “always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” and he was quite the drinker. Besides, we have all been there, wishing we hadn’t done or said something; something you would never dream of doing in a million years if you hadn’t been led on by that extra drink. All too often you fall victim to your own drunken advances and foolish behaviour. Apparently drunken people are attracted to other drunken people due to the bizarre behaviour of neurotransmitters which alcohol causes. This may make you kissing someone resembling an ogre forgivable, if you have both drunk half a bottle of vodka, but the photos your friends take and plaster over Facebook are definitely less so. These are the risks of alcohol we view as humorous; this is why websites such as textsfromlastnight.com are so popular. If you have ever been drunk enough to do something stupid, you will have done so; you may have boasted about it, been mortally ashamed, or laughed it away. Because, while drinking gave you the confidence to speak to that really attractive guy in your I.R class, you made such a fool of yourself he will probably never look in your direction again, except to snigger.
As it is, alcohol is an institution, and a key part of the student lifestyle. However, according to scientists, alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs around. If it were created now, it would instantly be made illegal; with its hugely addictive properties and combined effects which mimic drugs like heroin, barbiturates, cocaine, Prozac and Valium. If you were going for a night out, you wouldn’t even consider taking such a lethal cocktail. Likewise, when you drink you do not think that one day you could drink so much you don’t wake up; that one night you could choke on your own vomit as you lie in bed, or that you could thoughtlessly step out in front of a speeding car because you can’t even see straight, not to mention risking an entire life of addiction and a premature death. More frightening though, is that fact that knowing all of these risks, even after waking up feeling horrendous and proclaiming you’ll never drink again, within days you will be drinking heavily again. Though you will be incredibly careful never to consider yourself an addict, and besides, those terrible, affecting stories always happen to someone else, right?