Why do People Drink too Much?

How much is too much? Everyone has their own limits when it comes to alcohol. Some people can get drunk on just a glass of wine, whilst for others it takes a lot more. There is so much contradictory evidence when it comes to alcohol. Sometimes it's suggested that you should drink a glass of wine a day for the benefit of your health, whilst at other times all alcohol is deemed as harmful. Nevertheless, it is evident that your body can only tolerate so much alcohol before you start to experience adverse effects.

Even if you don't feel particularly drunk, this doesn't mean the amount of alcohol you're drinking is reasonable. It may be that your body has just grown accustomed to you drinking too much! Clearly, you can't drink a couple of bottles of wine every night and expect your liver not to take a hit. Drinking too much can lead to serious health problems, yet despite the warnings, many people carry on doing it regardless. Many people are ignorant of how much is an acceptable amount of alcohol to drink, but then most probably do not bother to do any research into it either.

For most people, drinking is a relatively cheap way to have a good time. When you go out with friends, what do you do? Many people choose to go to the pub or to nightclubs where alcohol is served. Drinking lowers many of your inhibitions and so you become more outgoing and can dance and chat to strangers without feeling self-conscious. Even if you're not a keen drinker, when you're surrounded by your friends and other people who are all drinking, it's hard not to succumb and to have a few drinks yourself. Alcohol is, after all, a socially acceptable drug that you're not going to get prosecuted for imbibing.

Getting drunk is almost a rite of passage. Everyone has their own drunken tales to tell and although politicians may complain about a binge drinking epidemic, most people don't really think about their own drinking habits in such a way. They want to go out and have a good time, and drinking is frequently part of that. Of course, there are dangers in drinking too much, as you can easily end up in a vulnerable position if you're so drunk that you don't know what's going on. Yet, despite the immediate risks and the long-term health risks, it seems that people would prefer to live for the moment and avoid thinking about the consequences of their behaviour, making it easier for them to drink too much.