Weekend alcoholics: these are their characteristics

In most cases, when talking about behavioral problems associated with alcohol consumption, one automatically thinks of the image of a person who has developed all the typical characteristics of addiction: economic hardship due to not being able to maintain a lifestyle based on dependence and drunkenness, the syndrome of withdrawal that appears within a few hours of drinking, impulsiveness and a predisposition to hostility, physical health problems caused by organ wear and tear, etc.

This type of alteration, although it is very severe and unfortunately very widespread among the population, does not include all the reasons why alcohol consumption can give rise to dysfunctional and highly harmful. For example, there is a profile of a drinker who, despite having developed a problem with alcohol, is not aware of it and assumes which is one more aspect of his lifestyle, because he has not developed the signs and symptoms of dependency nor does he suffer abstinence. It's all about the weekend alcoholics, which in many cases never taste a drop from Monday to Thursday.

• Related article: "The 5 types of alcoholism (and associated disorders)"

Characteristics of weekend alcoholism

In western societies, a series of cultural elements have been established that link the idea of ​​“leisure for adults” with the consumption of alcohol. The fact of drinking products such as beer, tequila, and rum, gin or vodka cocktails is completely normalized in the world of nightlife, to the point that it is assumed that venues that offer places to meet always obtain their income mainly from this via.

This type of dynamics has several causes, and part of them have to do with the maneuvers of marketing by an industry that every year moves an enormous amount of money at the international. Be that as it may, today it is a fact that there is a difference in the perception of alcohol compared to other drugs with health effects of the same or even less severity level.

In this context, it is not surprising that there are those who are “weekend alcoholics”. These are generally young people, but they can be of practically any age group, and who do not conceive the idea of ​​spending their free time on Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday without drinking a drop of alcohol. The kind of leisure rituals that lead them to drink on the weekends are so ingrained in their thinking that even if they haven't yet developed an addiction chemistry to this drug, feel bad if they don't drink on those days, and/or have developed a very dysfunctional way of drinking from Friday to Sunday because they get too involved in that experience. And that, of course, has implications for your health and quality of life.

• You may be interested: "The 14 most important types of addictions"

Two different ways to get to this health problem

There are mainly two ways a person can become a weekend alcoholic; let's see them

Epsilon type alcoholism

The Epsilon type alcoholism It occurs in those people who, although they do not feel the need to drink alcohol and can afford to spend months without doing so, when they begin to consume alcoholic beverages lose control, reaching very high states of intoxication or even losing consciousness (with the danger of falling into a coma ethyl).

In other words, in these cases the addiction has not settled in the functioning of their brain and their nervous system does not suffer a imbalance when the days go by and alcohol is not drunk (something that in addicted people really generates the famous syndrome of abstinence), but at specific times when you drink, the problem suddenly appears, breaking into the health of the person and destroying everything.

• Related article: "These are the 9 effects that alcohol has on the brain in the short and long term"

Alcoholism due to social pressure

There are people who, although they have certain resources to moderate their alcohol consumption once they have started drinking (unlike those who have Epsilon type alcoholism), they feel very bad if they arrive at the weekend and, being accompanied by other people who are partying, do not drink as they.

In cases like this, a chemical addiction to alcohol has not settled in the functioning of their brain either, but social pressure makes the individual feel pushed again and again to drink alcoholic products. The idea of ​​not doing so raises the fear of rejection by others, and can even lead to the effect of not liking oneself, not being "adult" or "strong" enough to try that kind of substances. But in addition, since these people feel that they do not fully enjoy alcohol, a false confidence in their ability to avoid the appearance of chemical addiction often arises in them... without realizing that addictive disorders are often consolidated not from momentary pleasure, but from the avoidance of discomfort.

• You may be interested: "Social pressure: what it is, characteristics and how it affects us"

Are you looking for professional support to overcome alcoholism?

Regardless of the type of weekend alcoholism a person suffers from, they should seek help urgently, to avoid psychological and medical problems before alcoholism becomes aggravate

If you are seeking treatment for alcoholism, contact us. In APPOINTMENT Clinics We specialize in addictive disorders and pathologies associated with the use of psychoactive substances, and we serve people of all ages, both through the outpatient care and through comprehensive treatment through admission to our module for patients, fully equipped and located in a quiet place and surrounded by nature. You can find us in Barcelona and in Dosrius (Mataró).