College Students/Alcoholics?

[kate2]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 2:51am

So, I just got back to my dorm after driving 4 of my drunk friends home from a party. I know I'm an anomaly to the college student stereotype because I don't drink alcohol, but hearing the way they talk (as well as act) about drinking gets me worried. All I ever hear is "I need to get drunk tonight" "I'm not wasted enough" "I'm drinking til I black out tonight" and things like that. These, to me, while coming from college students, are the words of an alcoholic. It really worries me that the college mentality is that "it's not alcoholism until you graduate." Maybe I'm just overtired and cranky from having 4 people plus myself squeezed in my VW Beetle at 2am, but I feel like this is a huge issue. Don't even get me started on the amount of students drunk driving. My rant is over.
Updated On: 10/11/09 at 02:51 AM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 3:21am

When I was in high school one of my classmates was a recovering alcoholic. Yes, a recovering alcoholic at 17. It happens. Your friends and classmates can deny it all they want but alcoholism is not only an "adult" disease.

[binau]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 3:36am

Alcohol is a very easy and (IMO) shallow way to have fun...I want to drink with the intention of becoming extremely 'drunk' to have fun or do things I know I wouldn't get away with without the excuse of being 'drunk'. So I would say the same things or words to those effect as your 'friends'.

But I HATE the taste of Alcohol, I would be happy (except for missing out in 'fun' as above, but I mean in terms of addiction/taste etc..) to never have another drink for the rest of my life. And I would NEVER drink for the sake of it, only for the reasons again as above.

So I don't think you can necessarily say they are alcoholics. Does the conscious choice that they need more maybe imply the opposite? I thought Alcoholics just can't stop, drink by themselves, or anywhere etc..not even admit that they have a problem etc.

Updated On: 10/11/09 at 03:36 AM

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 3:44am

Also keep in mind that a lot of college students drink simply because they CAN.

[artscallion]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 8:53am

Alcohol addiction has nothing to do with liking or not liking the taste. Many, many alcoholics hate the taste. It's not the taste they crave, it's the effect. And they drink despite the taste.

And for every alcoholic who acts the way you think an alcoholic acts, there's another who acts differently.

Bottom line, you can't diagnose an alcoholic. You also can't say, "this probably means they're not an alcoholic." Only they know and only they can do something about it.

The only thing you can do if you have someone with an "alcohol problem," (alcoholic or not) in your life is to take care of yourself. Make sure you have boundaries in place so they aren't affecting your life and you aren't enabling theirs. Remember, their problem should remain their problem. Otherwise, if you pick up after them, and they have no consequences to their actions, they also have no reason to change.

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 9:44am

Well, alcohol is a drug after all. People do it for the effect.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 9:46am

I agree that with many college students, it's just that they can. They are probably away from home for the first time, and have the freedom to do whatever they want. I was recently one of those people. I'd mostly be worried if these people you speak of can't stop and do anything and everything drunk.

Posted: 10/11/09 at 9:58am

Most college students get drunk to have an excuse to do the things they wouldn't do sober.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 10:00am

I enjoy a drink every once in a while. If I'm out with friends and we go bar hopping, I'm the guy who will nurse a $7 Diet Coke for two hours. I've never enjoyed the feeling of not being able to control myself plus I try to avoid the empty calories (Hell, I'd rather have a big piece of double chocolate cake from Amy's than a few vodka crans). Plus addiction runs in my family in other forms so I'm REALLY careful about anything that I might potentially get addicted to. It's a shame more kids don't look at things like that before deciding that it's cool to always get drunk.

[HellsBells2]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 10:32am

They are trying to be "Cool". Same reason anyone would start smoking in this day and age - because they think it is, or makes them look "Cool".

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 10:56am

I tended to stay away from alcohol in college, but during my senior year, I drank it more. Not to the point where I blacked-out or vomited, but enough to give me a buzz and feel more outgoing.

Anyways, ever since I graduated (which was this past May), I don't even drink much anymore. I like trying different cocktail drinks, but I don't see much point in drinking just to get drunk. It was just a very short phase in college for me which, unfortunately, other people will take a while to grow out of. Now I sometimes feel gross after having one drink, whereas before I could have a couple without feeling anything.

College students drink because they can. Because it enables them to let loose and just have a good time. It also gives them a sense of self-importance and makes them look "cool" in front of others. I heard so many "I drank so much beer and couldn't stop puking last night" stories on the subway. It is almost a rite of passage for them; they have finally transitioned into adulthood and the "free" life of a college student.

[Parks]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 11:27am

Good timing for this thread. I've actually never tried drinking and I've thought about it a lot over the last few days. I sometimes feel like I'm left out of plans a lot because I don't drink--and I'm just not comfortable around it. I've had a very hard time deciding whether or not it would be a good idea to try it or not. I get upset when friends say they are going to drink--because that means I will not be hanging out with them that night/that they will have less control of themselves.

It's peer pressure that makes me want to try drinking. It's not that anyone is flat out telling me to--but the fact that it seems like everyone else is doing it makes me wish I did sometimes.

Is it something I should try atleast once so I can understand why people do it/know that I won't enjoy it?

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 11:38am

Parks, you shouldn't force yourself to do something you are uncomfortable with. Would you be okay with having just one drink over the course of the night? That way you won't be drinking yourself to death, but you can still socialize with your friends.

[LaurenB]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 11:58am

Kate2 - You deserve better. Get new friends.

Whether your current acquaintances are alcoholics, or habitual drinkers, or just immature, it doesn't make a difference. Just imo.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 12:45pm

Young people, in general, are hardwired to party and have a lot of sex. It's just in their genes. Some people do it, some people do it a lot, some people don't do it at all. Most people emerge from their youthful partying years unscathed. Many people do not. Some develop serious problems, many do not.

It's hard not to want to pass judgment (which is also in our hardwiring) but some of the people I might most have predicted to become alcoholics by their behavior in their 20s grew up, got tired of hangovers, and reached a sort of equilibrium in their lives. Only one became a recovering alcoholic.

You just never know, is what I'm saying, I guess.

[xoangel2789xo]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 12:46pm

It's something that I've noticed with kids at my school too...the words "I'm looking to get blackout drunk" (almost every night) and "pre-gaming" come to mind. If I do go out with people, I might get a drink or two; getting wasted is just something that doesn't interest me at the moment and I guess lots of people my age find that odd. And I have other reasons why I don't drink alot, but since you guys don't seem that judgmental I don't see the need to explain myself. That and my lunch is ready.

That said, if I were you, I think I'd be pretty fed up with those friends.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 1:02pm

College was a long, long time ago, but my experience was that those who did not drink at all in HS, went crazy in college. Those of us who did drink a bit in HS already got the craziness out of our system, and did not need to demonstrate how free and independent we were (at the age of 18 no less).

My freshman year my dorm had a Long Island Iced Tea party, which was deadly for those who did not drink before, specifically because it did not taste like "real alcohol". I tried to warn folks, but some very, conservative folks ended up face down on the bathroom floor asleep. Many of these kids came from very conservative, tight knit families. They were out to prove that they were no longer a kid.

I did my share of drinking in HS and College, but we always had someone as the DD just to be safe. It was a way to blow off some of the steam, anger and angst that is part of being a teenager. Part of me thinks that drinking to excess a few times is just part of growing up, and I think part of boasting about it is just posturing.

And, though I don't say "I need to get drunk tonight" I have joked at work many times about needing a shot after a particularly tough meeting. (Which is rarely, if ever, followed up by a shot when I get home).

I would focus on what these folks actually do, repeatedly, as opposed to what is said to perhaps impress friends.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 1:25pm

Cool, coooooool bathroom tile, mmmmmmzzzzzzzzz.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 1:32pm

I'm 17 & can't imagine why anyone would WANT to get black out drunk.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 1:40pm

Namo, it was interesting the next morning watching their hangovers and reactions.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 1:56pm

my old school was a "dry campus" (ha! yeah right. thirsty thursdays, anyone?)
my new school... i dont know what you would classify it as since it's a community college and people don't live there.

my best friend is a recovering alcoholic. he started going to AA meetings when he was about 15. i'm a recovering addict of a different kind (i had an addiction to cutting). he's 19 and i'm 23.

i guess what i'm saying is echoing what others have said. addiction and alcoholism is not a "grown up" disease. it can effect young people as well.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 2:03pm

With me, I never drank in high school, so of course I got drunk easily when I did start drinking in college. It was never intentional when I did, except for maybe a couple of times. But I knew people who had been drinking since high school and were always looking to get drunk purposely. I guess it also depends on who you know and where they came from.

But, seriously to those who don't drink, don't just do it because someone pressures you to. I know people I went to college with who are still going out drinking and partying all the time and I just wonder if they ever wiil stop.

For me, a couple of drinks in one night is perfectly fine.

Updated On: 10/11/09 at 02:03 PM

[winston89]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 4:00pm

The thing about my college is that it is a dry camps. However, a vast majority of the kids who do sneak in beers are the perfect example of someone who is ultra shady. They are people that most kids on campus wouldn't drink with despite the fact that they might be their only source of beer.

[pli1018]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 4:18pm

Is there really such thing as a dry campus?

I'm a sophomore in college and I can say that almost 95% of my friends will tell you they are drinking just to get drunk, (which means their drinking because that's the "thing to do".) I don't see the logic but to each their own.

I personally only drink when/if I want to. I don't give a crap if people call me straightedge-it's my prerogative. I suppose it's also their prerogative to just get drunk.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 6:20pm

I still don't understand why people want to look stupid or uncoordinated, or feel sick and confused. But whatever floats your boat. (Or, you know, doesn't float your boat, since alcohol's not very dense...)