The effects of binge drinking in college

 

 

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Alcoholism in college these days is a growing problem; campuses around America are just starting to implement different types of programs to raise awareness of the dangers and negative effects it can have on your heart long-term.

Many college students actively engage in partying. We have all been to a crazy party sometime or other in our college careers where at least one person leaves feeling pretty sick and can’t remember what happened. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like too much of a problem, and these young adults tell themselves it’s an easy mistake to make and hopefully they just drink more responsibly next time. However, sometimes a person’s affinity for alcohol can become too much and it eventually turns into an addiction we all know too well – alcohol abuse.

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Many colleges know this can be a major problem, especially with how easily alcohol can be obtained on a college campus these days. For example, the University of Illinois has a page called “rethinkthedrink” where information can be found about the serious risks of drinking alcohol and attempts to educate students on how to drink responsibly on a night. It helps you make a plan for the night by asking how much you plan to spend on drinks and what you plan to consume per hour, thus reminded the individual to maintain a safe and responsible drinking pace throughout the night. Campuses know they will never be able to fully put an end to drinking in college (and the use of other drugs for that matter), but they are trying their best to reduce the number of injuries and even casualties per year because of drinking accidents. As the saying goes, it’s all fun and games until something bad happens. Recently I had to bear the horrible news that a friend’s friend at a party had drunkenly stumbled off the dance floor and is now in the hospital needing major surgery.

 

There are multiple reasons why people may become alcoholics over the course of their college career. These reasons could range from exam pressure, loneliness and even just becoming psychologically dependent on it, as it is a drug after all (which most people seem to forget). According to the statistics “in 2015, 26.9 percent of people ages 18 or older reported that they engaged in binge drinking in the past month; 7.0 percent reported that they engaged in heavy alcohol use in the past month”.

If you think you have fallen into this trap and slowly beginning to consume an unhealthy amount of alcohol Elevate Rehab can help you overcome an addiction and treat the mental health issues that often go hand in hand with drug and alcohol abuse. Based in the beautiful landscape of northern California, it is one of America’s prominent alcohol rehab facilities.

 

Making sure to stop the addiction before it goes too far is key, as alcohol can have a wide variety of negative effects on the body. Most of all it can impact your heart. There are many types of life threatening heart problems alcohol abuse can give you, one of these being atrial fibrillation. Alcohol poses a unique threat to heart health because it increases a person’s risk of this issue by 60%. This is a dangerous form of arrhythmia which makes the heart incapable of efficiently moving blood into the heart’s ventricles making the individual more susceptible to blood clots, strokes, heart failures and other life-threatening complications. These are not issues that you want to have to deal with; binge drinking alcohol is clearly not worth the risks that come with it.

 

Along with dangerous short term and long term heart problems, alcohol abuse can also contribute to cancer, anemia, cardiovascular disease, dementia, seizures, depression, memory loss and many other health problems. These diseases are a steep price to pay for what started out to be a little bit of fun at a party. If you currently drink, please drink responsibly and if you think you have an alcohol addiction please seek treatment and help right away.

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My personal experiences with decreasing anxiety and living in the present moment

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As a young adult who is attending college, life can be rather hectic as you move from day to day with no breaks. School work can pile up and before you know it, you’re swamped with assignments and exam pressure with no time to yourself. I know this from past experiences and having the same issues many other college students face, the question of what truly is important in this time, and if you don’t give yourself a chance each day to answer that question then you could find yourself slipping into an unhealthy place.

There are days where I am so busy I don’t even allow one thought into my brain that isn’t focused on the task at hand or jumping to the task ahead thinking about what I need to do. This is a very stressful way to live from day to day and can eventually lead to a negative outcome for many college students. They seek a way to escape the present moment that they are in instead of truly cherishing it for what it is and connecting their senses with the world around them. This can lead to different types of substance abuse, ranging from alcoholism to the use of hard drugs and many more. This is definitely not the right answer to dealing with college stress and there are many other positive ways to cope wit these pressures.

High Cost of Healthcare

To help cope with anxiety there are some techniques you can practice to become more mindful in your day to day life.

One relaxation technique to handle stress is awareness meditation. This means you sit or stand still in a place that is comfortable and safe for you, and allow your most and mind to relax and almost go numb. This is a way to get in touch with the senses of your body and tap into having present moment awareness, it is almost like you are hitting the reset button during the day and giving yourself a chance to relax and ease the anxiety. Having time like this is a necessity through college life, personally I used to become way too caught up in exam pressures and never gave myself a chance to zone out and feel each emotion strongly, if you are stressed let it pass through your body and be ok with it, when this sensation passes during the meditation process you come out of it in a much more relaxed state. This is a way to detox the body of negative emotions instead of masking them with the mind-numbing use of substances. It is good for your overall physical, emotional and spiritual health.

Another method I use personally to cope with some of the college pressures is exercise. If your stressed go to the gym and get a good workout in and sweat. Working out releases endorphins which can release tension and overall anxiety. Not only this, it also improves your confidence and gives you belief in yourself that you can handle whatever is on your plate. Many times I have done this before studying for a large exam and my mental state has good clarity and I feel confident in my ability. Therefore I seek the present moment and the challenges it brings, instead of trying to shy away from them and finding a coping method to hide them.

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Being mindful in our day to day lives is key to our overall happiness. Don’t let any sort of stresses push you to the point where your anxiety is almost unbearable. Take time out of your day to reflect and reset and focus on what truly matters in the present moment.