Essay On Binge Drinking

Binge Drinking is an Epidemic

Researchers have found many risk factors for drinking among teens and young adults. Adolescents long to have fun, and enjoy their youth years as much as they can. They reach out for things that make them feel older and more alive. Little do they know that the result of alcohol is detrimental to a fun easy-going lifestyle. According to Deborah Morrow (2017), binge drinking is when someone abuses alcohol, and they go over the 5/4 limit in two hours or less. The 5/4 limit is just an explanation that he or she is binge drinking if a man has more than five drinks, and a woman has more than four over a two hour period. Allowing teenagers to unknowingly throw away their lives is a problem. Recently they have found that

Many students walk into college blinded with what they have been taught about what college is all about. They have been fed the lies that they cannot enjoy college without the parties. When in reality, partying is exactly what every student needs to stray away from. Adolescence value their status by comparing themselves to others, and changing their personal decisions and beliefs. Alcohol is perceived as positive and humorous; therefore, the majority of teens will follow the crowd. Peer interaction and popularity are highly associated with risky behavior involving alcohol. (look in packet about multiple authors). “Binge drinking has a strong social component [9,10]. Adolescents are more likely to drink in social settings, allowing for their drinking habits to be visible to peers” (multiple authors). Many students are involved in activities or organizations where binge drinking is just something that happens. When students get around large groups of people, they react in a way they would not if they were alone. Stressed out college students also have been taught that alcohol is an escape route for their problems. They use it to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression. When in reality, the alcohol itself gets rid of nothing, it only worsens your mind, your body, and your all around

It is a factor in five of the leading causes of death among 15 to 24 year olds” Chuck Pearce (2009). Binge drinking not only can lead to fatalities but also destroys the lives of teens. It leads them down the road of misery and self-destruction. Also, teenagers are at the most developmental stage of their life. Alcohol does in fact mess with the wiring of the brain. It mainly affects the prefrontal cortex of the brain; this part of the brain is where one’s thinking, decision making, and impulse control come from. The prefrontal part of the brain develops the most through one’s years of adolescence. When one begins binge drinking at a young age, it blunts the brain cells in the prefrontal cortex (book). Research consistently shows that students who do not drink perform far better in school than those who do (book). Many negative health consequences are directed back to binge drinking; such as, abuse, violence, injury, and addiction. Also, other negative behaviors like having sex, getting bad grades, trying to commit suicide, or trying other drugs (Pruitt & Wrye