Nine Types of Binge Drinkers Identified
Wednesday September 24, 2008
British researchers have studied the social and psychological characteristics of drinkers who regularly consume twice the recommended amount of alcohol and have identified nine types of heavy drinkers. The U.K. Department of Health hopes to use the information to target public health campaigns at those who are drinking at risky levels.According to the British National Health Service, alcohol-related illnesses cost the government about $5 billion a year in healthcare expenses.
"This will be a tough one to crack," a spokesperson told Lucy Cockcroft in a report for The Telegraph. "Research found many positive associations with alcohol among the general public - even more so among those drinking at higher-risk levels. For these people alcohol is embedded in their identity and lifestyle: so much so that challenging this behavior results in high levels of defensiveness, rejection or even outright denial."
Nine Types of Binge Drinkers
According to The Telegraph, these are the nine personality types of heavy drinkers:
- De-Stress Drinkers use alcohol to regain control of life and calm down. They include middle-class women and men.
- Conformist Drinkers are driven by the need to belong and seek a structure to their lives. They are typically men aged 45 to 59 in clerical or manual jobs.
- Boredom Drinkers consume alcohol to pass the time, seeking stimulation to relieve the monotony of life. Alcohol helps them to feel comforted and secure.
- Depressed Drinkers may be of any age, gender or socioeconomic group. They crave comfort, safety and security.
- Re-Bonding Drinkers are driven by a need to keep in touch with people who are close to them.
- Community Drinkers are motivated by the need to belong. They are usually lower middle class men and women who drink in large friendship groups.
- Hedonistic Drinkers crave stimulation and want to abandon control. They are often divorced people with grown-up children, who want to stand out from the crowd.
- Macho Drinkers spend most of their spare time in pubs. They are mostly men of all ages who want to stand out from the crowd.
- Border Dependents regard the pub as a home from home. They visit it during the day and the evening, on weekdays and at weekends, drinking fast and often.
Yikes. I know people that fit 3 or 4 of these categories, will they ever be able to stop?
Me, too, Chris. My best friend has a serious problem with binge drinking. He fits into several of those categories. I am hoping we can find the right way to help him.
Some people may have a problem with binge drinking, but I know myself and a lot of others who can party responsibly. I have a 3.7 gpa in Electrical Engineering. Graduating this spring… as long as I dont die of alcohol poisoning first.
Yeah, I think I’m a binge drinker and for me it’s definitely Hedonistic along with De-stress. But it’s only 1 night a week. I think I’ll be okay but I think I need to give up soda for the sake of my waistline…
I don’t know really about what i would classify my Fiancee, but he does it for all the resons up there but macho and on other one, He does it at the worst of times, and i am really sick of cleaning up after him, it has come down to the fact i feel like i am his mother, and of coarse he drinks to prove he can… is this a binge drinker or a full blown alcholic…..keep in mind he only does it on occasion. what do i do?
I am a binge drinker for most of those reasons. I do because it helps me not think too much about what others think of me and to feel accepted. I will give up drinking and seek help.
I definitely binge drink to let go and just have fun. It only happens when I go out which is only about once a month nowadays but it’s ruining my relationships. I become mean and I black out from events that happened that night. It need to stop.
I think that this study misses one important tytpe, that is underage drinkers, who drink due to the fact that it is illegal or cool.
Hello all,
I would like to let the young people know that there are so many young AA groups around for college age people. These kids are amazing, and happy to be sober. Check it out if you think you need help. You won’t feel alone.
I lived with a binge drinker (alcoholic)for 2 years. When he was sober he was the nicest guy in the world, but when he went out he would not come back home until he had no money left or the pub would no longer serve him, because it was closing or they refused to serve him. He would stagger home sometimes on all fours and looked a mess and embarrased me. I stopped going out with him because of his drunken states. I looked after him probably like a mother without any thanks. We are no longer together now but I miss him terribly. Dont know why, but I must have loved him some how. His father was the same as is his sister and brother. His mother is in total denial of all her family and is a manic depressive and I never got any support from any of them. Sometimes I ask myself why I let such a person into my life. I think I wanted to help him but was not able to. It has left me totally drained and disillustioned to say the least.
I am still living with a binge drinker. He and I have been together for almost 5 years. He is a wonderful, caring, loving and intelligent individual. BUT… he drinks when alone and of our social activities surround alcohol 85% of the time. He has caused me to lose touch with my family and consume my life. I have cleaned up after him in his work and family relationships. I am the “mender” of all thinks he “breaks”. It is a lot of pressure on me and he apologizes profusely and yet, still here he is drinking. He does go long brief stints w/out boozing it up, but … does he really? I am not around him 24/7 and hold his hand. So, when I clean the house I do see that he has hidden empty vodka and beer containers and it KILLS me to see that. I have zero trust and respect for him and yet… how do I or can I get that back? He needs help but I think he feels he will come across as weak, when in all actuality he is a weak one for not getting help. He obviously cannot do it alone, or with me “attempting” to assist. I feel sadness for those who have or are in my situation. Only wish he could see that he is a perfect person w/out alcohol, and a total idiot with!
i am a 54 yera old white male that definetaly fit at least 7 of the 9 you’ve mentioned..I’ve had great success quitting drinking on my own, thru A.A., rational recovery, in-patient treatment, over the last 25 years but i seem to keep going back to the booze as soon as I’ve fixed everything I’ve screwed up..
Emails and advice are being asked for now as the beast has once again reared its ugly head..,
yours,
Danny Snow
If you are with a binge drinker GET OUT NOW. It won’t get better. I’ve been with one for over 30 years. It actually drove me crazy!! I am depressed, taking anti-depressants and getting counseling. We are in counseling together and he is in total denial. I think he always will be. He says he’ll cut down, but that only lasts a few week, every 4 or 5 years. Then it’s quickly back up to 5-12 drinks per night. GET OUT NOW before you’re married and have children!! He’s a good provider but at what other cost1?
my 20 yr old son is going downhill fast with alcohol. HELP i cant seem to help him, i just need advice on how to do it. He is 1 of my 4 sons and he has a heart condition from birth. I love him so much that it hurts to think of this, but i believe i will lose my boy at a young age unless someone can help me. PLEASE, anything
All I have is AA (the accumulated experience of millions of alcoholics since 1935). But -as far as I can tell, all nine ‘types’ are drinking for the same reason – they are looking for the ’sense of ease and comfort’ described in the Big Book of AA. To classify them based on occupation suggests that occupation affects drinking motivation, which is in fact not the case. The big distinction to be made is between drinkers who get a sense of ease and comfort from drinking, and those who get it when not drinking. According to AA, these are the two basic types of alcoholics. So – IMHO this list is dangerously misleading.
I’m a 25year old white female. I’ve been a binge drinker for the the past three years. I have been to treatment twice. I am active in Celebrate Recovery which is a Christ centered 12step group across the country. The longest I have been without drinking was almost 60days. I struggle everyday with the shame that I am an alcohlic, that I let myself get to this point because of past hurts and hangups. It is very hard for me to accept that I will NEVER be able to drink like a “normal” person. But I will never stop working the program because I know that as soon as I think I’m okay and doing well, I start sliding back into my old destructive behaviors.
I encourage those who have a problem to look into Celebrate Recovery and AA for support. It has helped me to not feel alone when I think no one understands why i “can’t just stop drinking”
Hi Jenni,
Dont ever be ashamed of being an alcoholic. At first I was a bit ashamed as well but now am ever so grateful to have realized this and through the program of AA and the fellowship of all of the other recovery alchoholics one day at a time I am more and more proud to know and have the tools to keep it in check! Good Luck to you with your recovery. You can do it!!! ONE DAY AT A TIME!
To all who suffer,
My biggest fear when I stopped drinking over 3 yrs. ago was what will I do with all my free time, that drinking took and how would I have fun, without out booze. It did not take long to find friends that were just like me, that we shared a common problem, that I could sooo relate to. You can find the same thing for yourself in A.A..
Being with a binger is frustrating, confusing, and often scary. It also tends to drag you into a lifestyle on some level, which is a real negative. Perhaps consider getting out when they have not admitted a problem and have not stopped or sought help. Sure enough the binge behaviour will not change, and will usually be re-triggered or may intensify depending on who the binger is associating with in any given season. Again if they FAIL TO ACKNOWLEDGE the problem and that there is obviously A BETTER WAY to live, then you could be wasting your time. Check out support groups and websites – there are ways to cope with people in your life like this.
Yes. I am a Re-Bonding Drinkers are driven by a need to keep in touch with people who are close to them.
How to avoid it?
Hi all, I have been living with a binge drinker for 10 years, as others have said when he is not drinking he is the most wonderful person, but when he does, I am expected to go and pick him up (which I do gladly, that way I know he is safe), but when he gets home he become aggresive and starts on me and the children and starts throwing things around in the house, anything he can get his hands on, I have to hin all valuable before he gets in so they wont get smashed.
Hello,
I know of a friend of mine. He drinks. But he is doing the most horrible thing: asking people for money and use it on his beers and all stuff. Is that serious? If yes, then I need to report it to the mental hospital. I know he’s 24 years old. but still, he needs help again, and it is not his first time drinking too much.
For many years I enabled my ex-husband to drink by covering up for him. Finally, when he nearly killed us both in a drunk driving accident, I realized I was going to die if I didn’t get out of the marriage. I urge everyone who loves an alcoholic to find an Alanon meeting today. That wonderful organization will help you learn how to save yourself and how to accept that you cannot “fix” the alcoholic.
Anyone who drinks alcohol is a major addict. Alcohol is a poison and should be banned.
I’m married to a binger. I’ve only been married two years and have endured many sleepless nights. My husband attends an event like a golf outing drinks heavily – then stops at 3-4 bars on his way home. Does he think he is missing something? We are not young – he is 55 and I am 49. I’m devastated by his behavior. Yes – I do drink – but at home and do not drive after consuming alcohol.
Well this seems to be about 90 % of the population lol what are erst doing ? I can’t think of one person I know who drinks 1 beer or wine without having more..besides Piccard on the Enterprise….
I love binge drinking. Its awesome I do it all the time and always have a great time
i have been seeing a guy for 7 months and i love him dearly but his binge drinking is soul destroying, it takes away all the trust and just when u think he wont do it again then comes the big bombshell hes away again, staying in hotels for days constant drinking then either hes ill or the money runs out and hes back. i say time and time again this is the last or its over but im still here as i know deep down this isnt the life he wants, he wants to be a normal guy but up until he realises he cant drink normal this will keep happening. i try to be very supportive and understanding and do realise he drinks mostly to run away and hide from problems in his personnel life, he has started to address things and is now on anti depressants for his depression and also taking campral for anti cravings, so as long as hes trying i’ll support him but like most people in my position you just never know when that day might come when hes off again then its back to square one. im as helpless as anyone in this situation and dont know if i’ll ever have peace of mind, its such a sad place for everyone involved including my partner. i just live in hope that one day i can trust my partner to say never again and mean it. if theres any success stories like my situation i would love to hear from anyone
Hi, I’m a female binge drinker, 45 married with 2 older teenage kids. You wouldnt believe the things I have done while drunk … I dont believe them … in fact I dont remember most of them … unfortunately my children do !!! I have cheated on my husband of 16 years many times this year. I go out … I get drunk … I get horny … I get laid. At the time it means nothing. I have a good respectable job & only drink once or twice a week, but up to a bottle of scotch when I do drink. I have lots of drinking buddies. I thought I was just having fun. I used illegal drugs half a dozen times while drunk this year … cocaine, speed, meth, dope … if someone offered I accepted … after all I was having fun !!! UNTIL I realised (thanks to the most wonderful supportive person I’ve ever met) that I am an alcoholic. I stopped drinking 15 days ago. My kids are very happy about this, & proud of me. I don’t want them to feel pride because their mother managed to stay sober this Friday & not flirt with one of their friends !!! … It has been difficult but I’m doing it “one day at a time”. I AM going to make it … I will always be an addict (I have multiple addictions) but with my sponsors support I will conquer this and have the life that I crave, instead of craving the alcohol.
Good luck to everyone else out their battling this addiction. Find a sponsor, go to AA, see your Doctor, just do something …… Miss M
I am still living with my husband and have been for the last 41 years. I got married when I was 18 years. For early on, my husband has been a heavy drinker.
He is a very kind person, well mannared and considerate but unfortunately when the alcohol kicks in (every night before dinner) it is hell. The alcohol goes into his brain straight away. Socially at times, he is at his worse. I could write pages and pages of experience of my hard times. When we socialise I am always on a tight rope. Matters got worse since retirement, he still does not drink at all during the day, he has stuck to his routine to drinking in the evening which used to consist of beer, whisky and wine.
This has stopped now and he has two drinks each night but he still drinks plenty when we socialise.
He is trying now to stop drinking during the week and he is saying he is going to decrease his alcohol consumption when we socialise.
What do you think? Should I keep on hoping that this situation will get better. I love my husband.
I dated a binge drinker for a year and a half. I never drank very much until I met him and almost instantly he was leading me down his same path. At first it was fun. But a year later I was so tired of it. All the wasted Saturday and Sundays laying around with hangovers. What a waste of life. I just recently got out. It has been so hard because I loved him so much but I feel so much better not drinking like that anymore. I agree with everyone who says if you’re with a binge drinker…GET OUT!!! U will start to feel normal in about 3-4 weeks. As soon as u get up start a new routine. Something motivational…prayer, self help c d, something to get you going in a positive direction first thing and stay positive.