For many people with an alcohol addiction, binge drinking has played a huge part in their addiction journey. Some people tend to binge drink throughout the week, whereas others save their binge for the weekend, acting as part of a reward for working hard or for getting through the week.
Someone who drinks heavily throughout the weekend might believe they cannot have an alcohol problem because they manage to stay sober throughout the working week.
During the week, they might hold down a job, look after their family, exercise regularly and appear perfectly healthy and normal between Monday to Thursday.
However, weekend-only binge drinking can still be a serious issue and can certainly lead to an addiction issue. It is important to understand that alcoholism is not determined solely by how many days a person drinks.
Instead, modern healthcare professionals generally use the term alcohol use disorder (AUD) to describe problematic alcohol use.
This can range from mild to severe and can involve issues when it comes to controlling alcohol and cravings. Those who are addicted to alcohol, even if they only consume it at the weekend, will continue to drink despite the consequences.
This means someone does not necessarily have to drink every day to develop an alcohol addiction. In some cases, a pattern of intense weekend drinking can gradually become harder to control, creating significant harm and increasing the risk of needing professional treatment.
Weekend binge drinking describes a pattern where someone consumes a large quantity of alcohol within a relatively short period, usually during Friday and Saturday nights or across the weekend [1].
The important issue is not simply whether someone drinks at the weekend. Most people tend to enjoy a drink or two throughout the weekend.
The issue can become how much they consume, how quickly they drink, what happens when they drink and whether they can control their behaviour and their drinking habits [1].
Binge drinking is generally defined as consuming enough alcohol over a short period to produce a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or above [1].
For the average and typical adult, this equates to approximately four or more drinks for women or five or more for men within around just two hours.
Regardless of the measurement used, the principle remains the same: consuming a large amount of alcohol quickly can create a range of issues and after a prolonged period of time, can lead to an addiction.
Someone might spend Monday to Thursday completely alcohol-free, only to consume a significant amount over a few hours on Friday and Saturday. This would still be classed as binge drinking and if often easy to dismiss as simply ‘letting off steam’.
Yes. It is important to understand that drinking only at weekends does not automatically mean that someone has an alcohol addiction or an alcohol use disorder. Many people drink socially without developing an addiction.
However, the fact that alcohol is restricted to particular days does not rule out a serious addiction problem.
The NHS describes alcohol use disorder as drinking in a way that is harmful [2].
It also includes signs such as regularly drinking more than you initially intended, finding it difficult to reduce your consumption, experiencing cravings and continuing to drink despite being aware of the health and social problems that are impacting your health, work or relationships.
Frequency and how often you drink has a huge impact on your addiction. Someone who repeatedly only drinks one or two days a week may be focusing on the number of drinking days rather than what actually happens during those days and how much they consume in the short period of time that they do drink.
During a binge drinking session, a person might drink more than they intended to become unreliable, regularly experience blackouts and behave in ways that they will regret once they recover.
They will also spend at least one day a week recovering from their binge session and experience a range of mental health issues including anxiety and depression.
One of the biggest issues with weekend binge drinking and alcoholism is that it can remain hidden in plain sight.
A person might appear to have a completely stable life because they are not drinking during working hours. They can continue to work Monday to Friday and complete their responsibilities.
They will also be able to go a number of days without drinking. Because of this, friends and loved ones might therefore assume that everything is fine.
Across the UK, there can also be a strong cultural habit to associate excessive drinking with socialising.
Most people tend to drink alcohol on a big night out, a pub trip, a football match or a weekend gathering. The difficulty is that social acceptance does not make excessive drinking harmless. Often, it can lead to a more severe addiction issue.
Repeated binge drinking can also expose a person to a number of risks, whilst ongoing alcohol abuse can increase the chances of developing a long term addiction.
The most useful thing to focus on is not how many days of the week you drink. Instead, you should ask what happens when you drink. Below are a number of signs that your weekend drinking might be becoming a problem:
Sometimes you might only plan to have one or two drinks. However, once the first drink has been consumed, stopping becomes difficult.
This can often be an important warning sign. Drinking more than planned is different from repeatedly losing control over alcohol. However, if it happens most weekends, then it might be worth thinking and considering why this is happening.
Someone who drinks at the weekend might not drink Monday to Thursday, but they might spend much of the week thinking about the drink that they are going to have on Friday night. They might plan where they will drink, what they will drink and who they will drink with.
It is important to understand that looking forward to drinking does not prove an addiction. However, when alcohol becomes a central source of excitement, relief or reward, it can be a sign that drinking is becoming a problem.
There might be an issue if your weekend plans gradually become organised and planned around drinking alcohol. Instead of deciding what to do and then having alcohol as part of the occasion, alcohol becomes the occasion itself.
This can often involve spending most weekends at a pub, club or simply drinking at home. Other activities will also start to gradually disappear because they do not provide the same anticipated reward that alcohol does.
Blackouts and significant gaps in memory should not be dismissed as an ordinary part of having a big night. They are simply not normal and might be a sign that something serious is happening.
If someone repeatedly cannot remember conversations, journeys or events after binge drinking, then their alcohol consumption might be becoming a problem.
Likewise, memory loss can also make it harder to recognise just how serious the drinking has become, because the individual might not remember what happened and just how bad their condition was.
Family members, friends or partners will start to notice changes. Repeated comments such as ‘You drink too much at the weekend’ should not be dismissed as criticism.
Sometimes people close to us can see the consequences of addiction before we are ready to acknowledge them, which is why it is important to acknowledge what your loved ones are saying and know that they are only trying to help because they care.
It is important to understand that a person does not need to drink seven days a week to struggle with an addiction.
Binge drinking at the weekend can certainly be classed as an alcohol addiction and large amounts of alcohol consumed over a short period of time can increase the likelihood of a number of health issues.
This includes the likelihood of accidents, injuries, alcohol poisoning and other immediate dangers.
Frequent binge drinking can also lead to long-term health issues. This is one reason why viewing weekend drinking as harmless simply because there are alcohol-free weekdays can be incredibly misleading.
The body does not necessarily reset every Monday just because you haven’t had a drink and have gone to work. Repeated binge drinking places pressure on your physical and mental health.
Yes, it is important to understand that drug and alcohol rehab is not reserved for people who drink every day. The treatment options depend on the severity of the addiction, and as well the individual’s specific circumstances and the type of support they need in order to recover safely.
For some people suffering from an alcohol addiction, structured outpatient drug and alcohol treatment may be enough in order to detox and recover.
However, others might benefit from inpatient rehab treatment where they can temporarily remove themselves from drinking environments and focus intensively on their recovery.
During your time in rehab, you will get to understand your triggers, gain better coping strategies, explore the root causes of your addiction and build a relapse prevention plan for when you leave rehab treatment.
As discussed above, weekend-only binge drinking can lead to an addiction. Whilst the person might be able to still go to work, exercise, see friends and get through the week without alcohol, the cycle might begin on a Friday night.
If your weekends regularly involve excessive alcohol abuse, blackouts, arguments or failed attempts to control your consumption, then it might be time to consider whether alcohol has become more of an issue than you realise.
It is important to understand that you do not need to wait for weekend drinking to turn into daily drinking before getting the help that you need.
Alcohol addiction can be treated with rehab and seeking help early can make it easier to understand and address your addiction.
Remember, alcoholism is not measured by how many days you drink. Instead, it is about the relationship you have with alcohol and whether drinking has become difficult to control, despite being aware of the consequences.
[1] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/binge-drinking
[2] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alcohol-use-disorder/
