Binge drinking

What is Binge Drinking

Binge drinking is different from the characteristics of alcohol use disorder, as people who binge drink may not drink alcohol every day, or even every week as someone battling alcoholism will do. Binge drinking most commonly affects people between the ages of 18 to 35, but can be seen in younger and older demographics. 

For it to be classified as binge drinking, it is not about how often the individual drinks, it is about heavy drinking in a short period of time. As per CDC studies, on average, one in six people who binge drink will only drink around four times a month.

If someone is struggling with alcohol consumption, it is important to know whether drinking alcohol is turning into an addiction. It is also vital that the dangers and effects of binge drinking are understood.

Signs of binge drinking:

• Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels rise to the legal limit of .08 in a short space of time.
• For men: Five drinks are consumed in under two hours.
• For women: Four drinks are consumed in under two hours.

Negative Health Effects of Binge Drinking

Alcohol consumption will always have a negative effect on health, but consuming large quantities of alcohol in a short space of time puts a far higher toll on one’s health. 

Adverse affects from binge drinking are:

• Severely impaired judgment, putting the drinker at risk of engaging in risky behavior and DUIs.
• Judgment, coordination, and motor skills are impaired, leading to falls and injuries.
• Increased higher risk of alcohol poisoning, which kills six people a day in the United States.
• Much higher risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, miscarriage, and stillbirths.
• Higher risk for high blood pressure, liver disease, and heart disease.
• Higher risk for developing cancers of the mouth, throat, liver, esophagus, breast, and colon.
• Easily slips in alcoholism and alcohol use disorders.

Facts About Binge Drinking

Binge drinking may erroneously be seen as less dangerous than full-blown alcoholism. This is a common and dangerous misconception based on the fallacy of how often one’s drinking sessions are. It is important to understand binge drinking can be just as dangerous and difficult to control. 

Anyone can binge drink

Although binge drinking is more commonly seen in the 18-35 age group, anyone can do it. It may be more frequently seen in young people and college students, but it can and does affect anyone. 

Although in the past, American adults who binge drink were usually male, there has been a recent increase in the number of women who admit to binge drinking. 

Binge drinking affects the economy

Aside from the burden on the healthcare system due to alcohol poisoning, alcohol-related injuries, accidents, and illnesses, binge drinking also impacts the criminal justice system and employers. 

A study published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2010 showed that binge drinking cost the United States a staggering $249 billion a year. This is equal to about $2 for every drink consumed in the United States per year. 

Binge drinking is different to alcohol use disorder

Many people binge drink from time to time but do not suffer from alcohol use disorder. However, someone struggling with alcohol use will eventually exhibit behavioral patterns that will indicate an addiction. 

A person who binge drinks that has alcohol use disorder will not have control over how much they drink. Once they start drinking, they will be unable to stop. This often leads to alcohol poisoning. 

Other people who are not alcoholics may go for long periods of time without drinking but may binge drink occasionally. Although these people do not have an alcohol addiction yet, they are at an increased risk of developing one. 

Binge Drinking Prevention

The ideal way to decrease the risk of becoming addicted to alcohol is to abstain from drinking altogether. However, if one must drink, their goal should be moderation. 

If a person is going to drink alcohol, they should limit intake to one drink per day for women, and two a day for men. Individuals with a history of binge drinking should avoid alcohol consumption entirely. 

Get Treatment for Alcohol Abuse

If you are worried that you or a loved one is binge drinking, or already seems addicted to alcohol, learn more about the warning signs of alcohol addiction. 

It is never too late to get help for alcoholism. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you. Our treatment navigators are able to guide you on the best course of recovery and to receive treatment for all stages of alcohol use disorder. 

Related Information:

Alcohol Detox

Alcohol Rehab

Co-Occurring Disorders

The article is from an addiction and alcohol treatment center website

Budget-Friendly Ways for Families to Keep Feeling Their Best Throughout the Pandemic

Written by Cheryl Conklin

Whether you’re self-isolating or have to leave every day for work, the pandemic has probably taken a toll on your family’s mental and physical health. Adapting to all the changes that come with the pandemic isn’t easy, but luckily, there are many ways to incorporate healthy habits into your lives so you can feel your absolute best. Below, learn what your family can do to stay positive and healthy as you navigate the new normal.

Image via Pexels

Take Care of You 

As a parent, your own health often is a low priority, but it’s hard to take care of everyone else if you’re not in a good place yourself. That’s why this one is first on the list. It’s hard not to feel guilty taking care of yourself first, but it’s crucial for helping your whole family thrive during the pandemic.

Practicing self-care can do wonders for your mental and physical health in any situation, but it’s even more powerful during times with so much uncertainty. Think about what activities or habits make you feel centered, and make time for them each day. You might also want to pamper yourself with a few new products to enhance your self-care routine. Self-care products can be expensive, but they don’t have to be if you look in the right places. 

Check in With Your Family 

Things are always changing as the pandemic evolves, so it’s important to regularly touch base with your family’s feelings. Providing a welcoming environment for conversation will encourage your children to ask questions and express their emotions. Because uncertain times like these can trigger anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns, it’s more crucial than ever to watch out for signs that your kids or partner need help coping. 

Talking things out can be therapeutic and help you grow closer. However, pandemic-induced anxiety and depression should be taken seriously. Seeking out mental health help for your family might be the best course of action if any of you are struggling to cope on your own. 

Believe it or not, self-care also extends to your surroundings. According to Redfin, a cluttered home can actually create feelings of anxiety and stress, as well as trap “bad energy” that can cause problems for everyone in your family. So, take steps to eliminate clutter and keep your home tidy so everyone’s stress levels will stay as low as possible.

Get Moving 

Physical activity certainly isn’t a cure-all for anxiety and depression, but it’s one of the best ways to improve your family’s mental well-being, not to mention your physical health. A lack of free time is often the biggest stumbling block in the way of regular exercise. If anything positive can be taken from the pandemic, it’s that your family probably has more time to start new routines together. 

You don’t have to go far from home to get fit. In fact, many of the best fitness opportunities can be found at home or in your neighborhood. Try going for a family walk around the block every night or putting on music that will make you want to dance as you do chores together. Not only are these great ways to get your heart rate up, they’re also completely free ways to have fun. 

Cook Together 

Just like fitness, food doesn’t have to be expensive or extravagant to be healthy and delicious. And even though much of the world is now in a reopening phase, your family might still feel more comfortable preparing meals at home. Luckily, this is also the best move for your budget. 

Chances are, you already have the ingredients you need to make fun and tasty foods at home. For example, recipes like spinach tortellini soup, skillet rice, or legume quesadillas are healthy and easy to make. By getting your kids to pitch in, you can help instill healthy habits and a lifelong love of cooking. 

The pandemic can be especially hard on parents who are trying to juggle work, school, and family life all at once. Taking care of yourself, checking in with your family’s feelings, and striving for healthy diet and fitness goals are just a few of the things you can do to make it through the pandemic together.

Preventing mental health Stigma

Mental health and psychological problems are still stigmatized, even if 50 % of us will qualify for some disorder once in our lifetime. The stigma can be explained many ways. Sometimes, people don`t know enough about psychology, but even people who`ve read a lot, can have prejudices. I have prejudices and problems with understanding, too, but I try to be aware of it. 

Have you heard stories about people with psychological issues who weren`t believed or felt ridiculed if they tried to explain what they felt? Unfortunately, I have, and it scares me more than anything. I might even have acted differently towards somebody, because we show dislike or contempt in many ways (and you don`t always notice it yourself). When busy, I must confess that I have a tendency to not meet the eyes of a beggar, and I have stepped back when I`m approached by for example an alcoholic. When I do, I remember to watch myself from above, and take a deep breath. Usually, it helps, and I have learnt so much that way. To illustrate what I mean by prejudice, I`ve included some pretty explanatory pictures. 

Bloggen

• The pictures come from this good (norwegian) blog
• Other good blogs

Summertime feeling

In two weeks we will be in Croatia. I can’t wait, but unfortunately have to. Not only that, these two weeks will be very busy, since I have much work to do. Due to a change in the group of patients I will work with, I have to say goodbye to many of my trauma patients (but not all, luckily), and that means overtime.

But, it will be worth it. I can process the loss of not seeing many of my wonderful patients while lying on a beach in split, and look forward to all the wonderful people I will see in my office come August.

Metaphors in psychotherapy

Good Friday to everyone! Are you ready for the weekend?

I have had a good day at work, with interesting meetings and memorable conversations. I have also had some time to read a bit, and came across two interesting metaphors. In addition, a doctor I work together with, also pulled a metaphor up his sleeve, and when I came down to my office, I had to write them all down. Then I got the idea? Wouldn`t it be great with a book full of metaphors (it probably exists already, but an update is always welcome) ? And then I started to wonder:

Do you have metaphors fitting for life in general and for psychotherapy?

Life is like a camera

The cloak of invisibilty

When she was little, her grandfather told her about the cloak of invisibility. A little girl wanted to get inside a palace, but as she was poor and never could get inside, she could only dream. One day a fairy appeared, holding a blood-red cloak, sparkling in the sunlight. She carefully draped it around the girls shoulders, and left. Three days later, when she by coincidence looked into a mirror in a hotel where she went in to wash her face, she startled when she could`t see herself in the mirror. In shock her cloak fell off her with a heavy thud, and she magically reappeared. Picking it up and taking it on again, she vanished once more.

The following days, she experimented with her cloak, and not only could she not see herself in the mirror when she put it on, no one else could either. With a thumping heart, she went to the palace. The cloak firmly around her slim body, walking with shaky legs, she stepped inside her palace of her dreams. Not only did her eyes rest upon beauty she never knew existed, but she also saw the prince himself. He was so handsome, that her cloak almost fell off her again, but she managed to avoid the disaster by clutching it tight. Three days later, she ventured into the palace again, and saw the prince sitting in the library, reading a book with tears streaming on his beautiful face. Without thought, she ran over to him, always eager to help. When she ran, her cloak made her trip and she fell, exposing the body she always tried to hide. The prince looked up from his book in shock from the loud thud, and the sudden appearance of a girl right in front of him. Their eyes met, and if there is such a thing as faith, this was it.

Three years later, they were happily married and had a girl, a little princess. The girl with the cloak, was never invisible again.

Her grandfather looked at his grandchild and smiled. She sat there, in rapt attention, dreams floating in her eyes. She looked at in him in awe and asked with a tender voice:

«Can I have a cloak like that?» He chuckled, stroking her hair and thinking he would give her anything, if he only could. On her 4th birthday a present was under a bed together with a little fairy doll on top of it. Eagerly she ripped off the paper, exposing a beautiful red cloak with glittering beads all over it. Before her parents, who always disapproved of her no matter what she did, could come in and realize that her grandfather had indulged in her once again, she hid it in the closet where she herself hid when her father roared in anger.

Later, she tried it on. She hid her bruises, misery and pain, and felt safe underneath the soft satin cloak. When she heard footsteps outside her room, she did not shiver like usual. She only put the cloak tighter around her, hiding in her closet, murmuring that everything would be okay. Like magic, her father left her alone, though he probably knew she sat there, and could have dragged her out to the bed like he sometimes did.

She had always felt invisible, even without a cloak, but this time it felt good. When she recalled how much fear and horror she endured in her life, as an adult, she knew that she finally could change her future. Her cloak was always with her, no matter how dirty and ragged it became. Bit by bit, she felt safe enough to show small pieces of her invisible self to people who loved her. She managed to hide when someone untrustworthy came into her life, and slowly the bruises that had marked her body for so many years, faded. Sometimes, in the darkness before the dawn, she still put the cloak on, and little by little she managed to show herself to the world. She was like a broken mirror, but slowly the pieces came together again, and finally, one day, she was able to look at herself fully. Her husband, a kind man, helped her and found many of the broken pieces. Handling them with care, he fixed the mirror together with her, until they both could look into each others eyes without ever having to turn their gaze away from what they both hid inside.

At their third anniversary, he hid a present under her bed, with a little fairy on top. Her eyes filled with tears, as she saw the soft present underneath it. With shaking hands, she unwrapped it. A new cloak, even softer than the first one, appeared. Her tears flowed freely now, and when her husband came in with a birthday breakfast on a silver tray, he came over and held her hand. Carefully, he draped the soft silk around her shoulders. To her amazement, he wore a black cloak himself, shining in the sunlight from the new day. Together, they walked over to the mirror.

Her tears stopped flowing, and in that moment, life was good.

She never had to hide again.

This post was reblogged from my blog: Mirrorgirlblog

On Kindness

A Tale of Two Scientists

I haven’t posted here in a while, as I’ve been busy building my new site, designed for the support of caregivers. I invite you to check it out at http://www.exploringdementia.com

In 1907, two very important papers were published. The author of one paper went down in history, as the saying goes, while the other eventually faded into relative obscurity until just recently.

The first of these two men was Dr. Alois Alzheimer, famous for his work in helping to define the disorder that now bears his name. He was born in Bavaria, and earned his medical degree at Wurzberg University in Germany. Soon after graduating, he began work in the Asylum for Lunatics and Epileptics in Frankfurt. In 1901, he observed a patient who exhibited symptoms very similar to those observed in someone with senile dementia. However, Auguste Deter was only 51 years old.

Alzheimer spent a great deal of time in the ensuing years observing Frau Deter and chronicling the development of her disease. Eventually, he moved to Munich, and in 1902 began work at the Royal Psychiatric Clinic there. When Frau Deter died in 1906, he requested that her medical records and her brain be sent to him for further study. Upon autopsy, he discovered the now-characteristic shrinking of the cerebral cortex as well as the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques.

Going on to publish a paper on the subject, in 1907, Alzheimer described Deter’s case at some length. He was not the one to name this newly-discovered disease after himself, however. That honor fell to Dr. Emil Kraepelin, Director of the clinic where Alzheimer worked at the time of his discovery, when he published his textbook “Psychiatry” in 1910. Kraepelin is a well-respected name in the scientific community, in his own right, for his work in the fledgling field of neuropsychiatry – specifically in the study of schizophrenia and other disorders.

At around the same time period that Alzheimer was doing his research, a scientist named Dr. Oskar Fischer, was working at the German University in Prague. From 1900 to 1909, he worked first in the Department of Pathological Anatomy, and then later moved to the Department of Psychology. He investigated sixteen cases of senile dementia – particularly the cerebral cortexes of these patients – using a number of different staining techniques. He not only described the presence of plaques in 12 of these individuals, but also was the first person to describe what is now known as the neuritic plaque. Plaques were not observed in the brains of 10 control cases, 10 psychotic individuals, and 45 patients with neurosyphilis.
Fischer went on to describe the appearance of these plaques, both as he initially observed them and also as they grew in size. His use of the word “neurofibrils” to describe the appearance of certain components of the plaques has persisted to this day, found in the modern term “neurofibrillary tangles.”

Moving on in his research, Fischer then began to investigate whether the clinical symptoms of these 12 individuals with senile dementia differentiated them from the other test cases. He linked the presence of plaques with a diagnosis of presbyophrenia, a diagnosis commonly used in the early years of the 20th century. This was considered to be a form of dementia, including behaviors such as confabulation, significant memory loss, hyperactivity, disorientation, elevated mood, and a preservation of “social graces.” It was thought to be either a form of Korsakoff’s psychosis or senile dementia. However, the term has vanished from current usage. Those four individuals who did not have plaques were considered to have exhibited senile dementia, thus identifying the two conditions as separate diseases.

In subsequent research, Fischer went on to describe eight stages of plaque development. He likened plaque formation to the inflammatory process, especially interesting now in view of the current research in that vein. (It was only when the state of immunohistochemistry had evolved sufficiently that Fisher’s theories were able to be validated.)

The work of Alzheimer and that of Fischer are considered to complement each other, with their use of staining techniques to identify the neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles being the major point that made their work stand out over that of others. Interestingly, Alzheimer also discovered what later became known as “Pick’s bodies” in what later became known as Pick’s disease or frontotemporal dementia. (The director of the clinic where Fischer did the bulk of his work was Dr. Arnold Pick, now famous for his work in the definition of FTD.)

The two scientists disagreed on a number of matters. For instance, Alzheimer took issue with Fischer’s theory that the plaques had a link with presbyophrenic dementia. While he agreed that plaques were a distinctive feature of senile dementia, he did not think that they actually caused the disease, as Fischer did. Alzheimer did actually give Fischer credit for helping to draw attention to plaques in the diagnosis of senile dementia. He considered that the cases of presenile dementia that he and Fischer had both described to be a sub-type of senile dementia, rather than an entirely new disease. Fischer also disagreed that a new disease was being reported. The two men differed in their opinion on the formation and the significance of the tangles.

So, why do we speak of Alzheimer’s disease, and not Fisher’s disease? In the years immediately following the work of both men, we do find references in the literature to “Fischer’s plaques.” Alzheimer himself actually used the term in a paper he wrote in 1911. The terms presbyophrenic dementia and Alzheimer’s disease were both in usage as late as 1949. However, by 1955, textbooks that had previously used Fischer’s name to denote the disease had been changed to use the term Alzheimer’s disease exclusively. Fisher’s work was reported as being obsolete.

Some credit other factors as playing a part in Fischer’s legacy. Despite teaching there for 17 years, Fischer was never awarded tenure at the German University, and in fact his appointment was revoked in 1939 as the university began to quietly remove all Jewish faculty in anticipation of the Nazi take-over. Fischer attempted to continue a private practice until 1941, when he was arrested by the Gestapo. This eventually led to his imprisonment and death in a Nazi concentration camp in 1942. The German University, where he had done so much work, was likewise closed down in 1945. Fischer did not have any students who continued his work, as Alzheimer did.

By contrast, Alzheimer worked under Dr. Kraepelin, who not only named the disease after him, but was also one of the most influential psychiatrists of his time. The Munich institute continued for many years, and when Alzheimer ceased his work there in 1912, he was succeeded by Spielmeyer, one of the most respected histopathologists of his time. It has also been speculated that, because the schools where the two men worked were rivals, Kraepelin was quick to gain recognition for his school as well as for Alzheimer. However, even though Kraepelin coined the term Alzheimer’s disease in 1910, it was not until the 1970s that the term became widely used to describe patients with senile dementia.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov “Presbyophrenia: the rise and fall of a concept”
“Oskar Fischer and the study of dementia,” by Michel Goedert, in Brain, 2009, 132.
“Oskar Fischer,” Wikipedia
“Prague: What Say You, Alois – Should it be ‘Alzheimer-Fischer’ Disease?” Gabrielle Strobel, http://www.alzforum.org

Breaking news: Live from a mental institution

An anchor woman holds her microphone steady as she reports live from ‘We have the power’ , an old mental institution where the walls should have been painted decades ago. Her voice intermingle with twenty other reporters looking seriously into the camera, pointing occasionally to the building behind them. The anchor woman turns her voice dramatically down when she arrives at the conclusion.

“Sources tell us that in this mental institution, often just keep patients long enough to give them medication before they send them back. They sometimes don’t arrive at the right diagnose, and it is rumored that they don’t take enough time with traumatized victims or that they even consciously decide not to talk about what they have experienced. Only 30% report that they felt better or had hope for the future after being released, and surveys show that staggering 20 % of the patients will be readmitted after not receiving the help they wanted”

Her face is now full of rage. Her mother killed herself after being hospitalized in a mental health clinic. When she had read through her mother’s journal she saw how many pills she was on, barbiturates strong enough to knock out a mammoth. When she tried to find therapy notes where her mother could process her traumatic past, she only found short conversations where the doctors wanted to know if she slept well, eat what she should or if she felt a bit better after taking another pill. She shouldn’t even be reporting, but she manages to do her job, t is important for her to get it all out there.

Another reporter talks with the direction, who promises that they will do everything to make this right. They will look into their routines and see what they can do to make sure this will never happen again.

The news report goes viral. Oprah dedicate her next show to the cause, and Internet users on Twitter have started protest demonstrations, venturing into the street with their fists pumping in the air as they chant: ‘Stop this, stop this, stop this’. They bring posters where with personal accounts: ‘My mother only got three days in the institution, when her depression intensified they said they have done everything they could so she was not prioritized. Take mental health seriously!” Some write messages to the government. ‘We want that our tax payers money go to mental health care for the 450 billions who needs better treatment” or “Why only research on drugs?”.  The protesters don’t make to much of a fuss. They don’t shout out obscenities, but they gather in every city, staying put and showing their support. They have started a peaceul war.

Why don’t we see this in the real world? Where is the public outcry over the state of unsatisfactory mental health care? When someone breaks a leg, we demand full treatment until the injury is fully treated. We never take off the bandage after three weeks instead of six, telling our patient that they can come back if the leg breaks again as it will because it simply was not healed. We protest when the plumber does a bad job, demanding to sue them if they don’t come back and fix it. When politicians have done something wrong, news papers write about it for days, as they do when an actress have broken down and been sent to rehab. But where are the headlines after it thousands of citizens have been ignored by the health care system? Where are the depth interviews with families who’ve seen their loved ones break down after unsuccessful treatment?

In my future news scenario, the media would focus on mental health daily. They would write nuanced articles on every subject relating to how we suffer and what our options are when we do. There would be demonstrations to so that we get what we need.

We would all be small Ghandies, damanding justice. We wouldn’t close our eyes, we would engage and try to change things. The media would not ignore us.

In my future utopia, the mental institution ‘We have the power’ would change their ways. They would give the power back to their patients, not giving up before they had tailor made the treatment that was right for them. They would listen to them and find their resources.

They would use money on educating their employees, giving their patient the very best care. We do it with cancer patients, we even do it at Starbucks to make sure that the customers are a hundred percent satisfied with their coffees. I dream about a world where surveys about how satisfied their patient are with their treatment. Why shouldn’t we give mental health all of our attention? When almost a fourth of us have psychological issues, stigma should be lifted by never ignoring our troubled minds.

We should not be afraid to speak up.

More:

Demonstations

Mental health research in India

 Stigma | Mental Health Commission of Canada

Readmission Rates for Mental Health Patients – NBRHC

Strategies for reducing stigma toward persons with mental illness 

On Learning…