The Two Types of Alcoholics: Binge and Daily
When it comes to addiction treatment, there are two types of alcoholics who seek help. The binge drinker who will drink according to his/her mood and the daily drinker who drinks as a form of habit.The binge drinker will drink until they are inebriated. The daily drinker tends not to take days off since they are constantly seeking the relief they feel when they drink. Both types of alcoholism are common and very dangerous. Any type of alcoholism can result in health problems and even death. Thankfully, there is help by way of recovery for all types of alcoholics.
The Binge Drinker:
Daily drinkers are more prone to seeking out professional help with their alcoholism than that of a binge drinker. This may be why binge drinking is the third leading cause of preventable deaths. Binge drinkers tend not to drink every day; but when they do, they make sure to consume enough to reach high levels of intoxication. The binge drinker may start out drinking socially, or as a way to loosen up around people. As a result of addiction, they eventually lose sight of their own limitations. Their alcoholism becomes less about drinking to help deal with personal problems and more about running away from the problems for a night.
Side effects found in binge drinkers:
- Memory lapses
- Headaches
- Vomiting
- Slurred speech
- Heavy Breathing
- Sudden Unconsciousness
- Comas
The binge drinker knows exactly what alcohol can do, and desires the effects. Since the binge drinker does not consume daily, they are less likely to come to terms with their alcohol abuse issues than that of the daily drinker. Binge drinking can be just as bad, if not worse, as daily drinking by causing serious bodily harm or can even result in death.
The Daily Drinker:
Most people that seek help with their alcoholism claim to be habitual drinkers. The daily drinker looks at drinking as a way to take care of all the problems that have piled up in his life. Although there are many other outlets and ways to deal with problems, the daily drinker masks them with alcohol abuse. Drinking every day is a way for the daily drinker to not have to face real world problems face on. In either instance, alcohol is looked to for to provide a feeling of reward, yet leaves loneliness and self-harm.
A habitual drinker will start to have a tolerance to the side effects of alcohol, after some time of drinking daily. The daily drinker is less likely to blackout since they are used to a high amount of alcohol intake on a day to day basis. Additionally, a daily drinker is more likely to see their alcohol use as a problem, because their drinking is both frequent and abundant.
Side effects found in long-term habitual alcoholics:
- Liver disease
- Heart failure
- Amnesia
- Nerve damage
- Stroke
- Cancer
- Brain damage
- High blood pressure
- Malnutrition
Along with these side effects, binge drinkers can act out in ways that hurt themselves and others. These situations may include car wrecks, broken family relationships, and violent aggressive behaviors. Any type of alcoholic may deal with these side effects, but the binge drinker who consumes as much alcohol as possible is in even higher amounts of danger.
Comparing the Two Types of Alcoholics:
The two types of alcoholics share more similarities than differences. Both types seek to be someone else through inebriation so that they don’t have to deal with the real world. While the daily drinker drinks every day, the binge drinker drinks heavily in a short amount of time.They are both lost in a cycle of drinking to control their own emotions.
Seeing Hope in Each Addiction:
At the very least, each type of alcoholic can draw hope from the other. The daily drinker may see a binge drinker and see that they do not need to have a drink every day. The binge drinker may see a daily drinker and realize that with moderation, one can drink according to how much they can handle. Although seeking to act like a different type of alcoholic may not help in dealing with alcoholism, it is at least helpful to acknowledge that there are other ways to dealing with alcohol.
Seeking Help for Alcoholism:
Whether you classify yourself as a daily drinker or a binge drinker, there is help available for both types of alcoholics. If you decide to seek help for your alcoholism, it is important to remember that the road to recovery may be challenging. The emotions and problems that you ran from when drinking will all rush towards you as you become sober. Sobriety will open your mind to who you really are, since alcohol masks real feelings and emotions. Recovery will give you the tools to be able to face the world head-on without having to rely on alcohol. You will be able to regain your lost relationships, become a better version of yourself, and live your life to the fullest.