Binge Drinking
There is no pot of gold at the end of a tapped beer keg to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. More often than not, the only thing at the end of a long day of drinking is a brutal hangover. Chicago is known for its ferociously rambunctious day party, where everyone is decked out in green, drinking green beer, and watching the Chicago river magically transform into green, foamy ripples at 7:00 am. For many, drinking starts precisely at the time in which the dye hits the water, which means people are drinking even before the bars open for their ticketed events. Liquor sales on St. Patrick’s Day weekend rivals any other holiday of the year, but why? Well, I have a hunch, and it’s called binge drinking.
Binge drinking has become the social norm on St. Patrick's Day, in fact on any given weekend in Chicago, binge drinking is socially expected. We are the city that really only sleeps for 3-4 hours a day (when bars and restaurants are closed), and even then, with ‘key clubs’ all throughout the city, do we ever really sleep? We are a city with amazing food, music, architecture, and of course drinks. It is difficult to venture to any social event without alcohol being available. With such easy access to it, it is no wonder why binge drinking is the primary way in which many Chicagoans interact with alcohol.
Just because you may not have a drink during the work week, and imbibe only on Friday and Saturday, doesn’t mean that you aren't causing some serious damage to your body. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge drinking is defined as having more than 5 drinks in 2 hours for the guys, and more than 4 drinks in 2 hours for the gals. For anyone who has ventured into Old Town, or River North on a Friday or Saturday, you know just how fast those 5 or 4 drinks go down.
Binge drinking is why the term ‘Sunday scaries,’ exists in our vocabulary. On top of draining your liver and kidneys, your brain undergoes a lot of strain and depletion. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and gabapentin take a major hit after a night of binging. The anxiety and depressive symptoms experienced after going ‘hard’ on the town reflects the substance induced withdrawal your body is going through, and no amount of electrolytes can replenish those lost neurotransmitters. Binge drinking can also impact ability to synthesize short term memory into long term memory, as risk for ‘blacking out’ becomes a higher probability.
Binge drinking is a part of Chicago culture, especially if you are in your 20’s. It’s hard to not feel pressure from friends and the environment that you’re in to ‘keep up.’ But, it is important to recognize your own limits with alcohol, and how your body is handling it. Binge drinking behavior is at its peak on St. Patrick’s day, and with that is also increased risk for sexual/physical assault, robbery, and other criminal acts.
The Chicago streets are a mayhem of people in different phases of intoxication. So if you venture out, please remember to not leave your friends alone, and if one person gets kicked out or can’t get in, then you all can’t stay. Be safe out there, and hydrate.