Alcohol Abuse vs Alcoholism
Alcohol is integrated into our lives in so many ways it can be easy to abuse. It’s normal to drink with your colleagues to celebrate at a work event. Having wine with dinner or a drink of spirits or beer at the end of the day is not considered unusual. Drinking in excess on a night out is often considered ‘key’ to having a good night. With most social events having alcohol flowing freely, it can even feel like you’re being unsocial if you don’t join in. With the societal norms surrounding alcohol, it can be challenging to understand different relationships with alcohol including alcoholism, binge drinking, and alcohol use disorder (AUD).
Binge Drinking vs Alcoholism
Binge drinking refers to excessive consumption of alcohol in one go which increases your blood alcohol content (BAC) to 0.08 percent or over. When this happens you might experience side effects such as blackouts, loss of inhibitions, vomiting, and losing your balance. A high blood alcohol content can even be fatal which is also referred to as alcohol poisoning.
However, binge drinking is less likely to lead to dependence. This does not mean binge drinking can not lead to addiction. It simply refers to the body’s ability to function normally without alcohol. Someone who drinks too much to enjoy the effects of alcohol does not have an alcohol abuse disorder (AUD). Drinking to excess or ‘getting drunk’ is widely considered normal. Unlike other substances that cause addiction, alcohol is not seen as ‘bad’, and drinking alcohol is often encouraged at social events.
The key difference between drinking alcohol, alcohol abuse, and alcoholism is how dependent you are on alcohol. You can drink alcohol without abusing it or being addicted to alcohol. Small amounts of alcohol, primarily red wine, have been shown to have health benefits in moderate amounts.
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Signs of Alcohol Abuse include:
- Drinking when upset or stressed to feel better;
- Continuing to drink even when it starts to cause problems at work, with your relationships, or in your daily life;
- Risky behaviour when drinking, such as drink-driving or getting into fights;
- Drinking alcohol to enhance the side effects of prescription medication;
- Mixing alcohol with illicit drugs like cocaine or GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate);
- Regularly drinking excessively;
- Drinking for a longer time than initially intended;
- Blackouts and memory loss of what you did while you were drinking; and
- Waking up with unexplained bruises or injuries.
Alcohol Addiction
Dependency or alcohol addiction normally refers to physical withdrawal symptoms, such as sweating or shaking. Other signs of alcohol addiction include craving alcohol and consuming alcohol regardless of the negative consequences. As our understanding of addiction has progressed, the terms alcohol abuse and alcoholism have been replaced with the term, alcohol use disorder (AUD). This term covers alcohol abuse from mild to severe cases. Alcoholism or alcohol addiction is at the severe end of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Alcohol abuse would come under the mild to moderate end of alcohol use disorder (AUD).
If you or someone you care about is abusing alcohol or binge drinking, please contact us today for expert, free confidential advice.
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