An insight into young 'binge drinkers'

Hello, im a 24 year old music producer from the south of England. I produce music for an outfit known across the nation as “Macabre unit”. www.myspace.com/macabreunitdemon. Being from a town like Bedford, small, close net kind of place, there’s never a shortage of parties and “sessions” as we call them, I’ve been drinking since I was about 16, not heavily, but enough to be understanding that this stuff isn’t a soft drink….. Drinking is something that all young people cant wait to get doing, ever since I was young I remember there being drink fuelled fights, whether they involved me or not. At first they were all hyped up arguments, bit of pushing around, that’s it, but as we all got older, things began to change. The violence got worse, the anger that I see drink bring out in myself and my friends was shocking.

One of the first moments that stick in my head clear as day was when I was in the town centre, I was about 18, my friends were just over 20, we were drinking in a bar, having a laugh, talking 2 girls, u know, usual lad stuff, out of nowhere, 1 of my boys trashed the toilets, for what reason I do not know. Obviously we were told to leave the premises, we were all totally blind drunk and a argument has spilled out in2 the street, loads of fights kicked off, it was a rite commotion, little did we know at the time that the bar we was drinking in wasn’t run by your normal landlord type person, this place was run by gangsters. I’ve tried to get away from the fight scene, as I’ve tried to; I’ve been bundled into the back of a car and driven off. These were the guys that run the bar, they wanted to no who my m8s were, I said I dint no, after driving me around for about 20minz looking for them and having my head bounced off a window more times that I could remember, we found them, they all started fighting, I was still in the back of the car when the driver told round to me and said “Bruv,,, get out of the car and run, coz I cant help u now”.. I was gone up the street; this lot are still fighting it out, car chases and allsorts. This has by now, totally blown out of proportion, it spilled over into the next few days, more fighting, more hi-jackings, all coz 1 of us had 2 much to drink. I should really be grateful that imp still around after that……. But if you fink it stopped there…. That was just the beginning…

Its not only pubs and bars where violence goes off after a drink, I recall an incident involving 1 of my mates, a good mate as it goes, this mate of mine is a binge drinker, but veering towards an alcoholic, he’d been drinking all day, he went to a park where he was being his usual boisterous self when there was a lad there giving it the “large one” , so to speak, this boy apparently pulled out sum weapons on my boy, swinging them about threatening him. Unfortunately, that boy did not know who he was dealing with. My mate went on to beet this lad so badly that he was in intensive care for a week or so, head swollen like a football, the outcome…. My mate is now serving a 7 year jail sentence for section 18 gbh, that boy apparently still goes round giving it the biggen, sum people just don’t learn. That was just another example of how drink can change your life in 1 session. Literally.

Alcohol and relationships, now what’s the best way to get a date with a girly, ask her out for a drink? Its all good when you and a partner can share a drink together have a laugh etc…. not for me, Unfortunately for me the girly that I chose to have a relationship with for so many years turned out to be just as hot headed as me, especially when she drank. As the years went on, drinking became something we done when we were bored, rather than sharing problems, talking about our days, we would drink. It always started out laugh and jokes, but then always ended in an argument.
The arguments would mostly start through unresolved problems, like he say she say stories, jealousy etc... Things that when you’re sober you can quite easily turn a blind eye to, but not me, or her, both Being quite hot headed people, wed argue and argue and argue, until the arguing turns to violence. Now I’ve got my scars, mentally and physically, but I tell u what, I lost count of the amount of times I’ve had to say sorry for the night before, it’s pathetic that drink can totally crush any intimacy or any kind of connection that you have with a partner. The situations are very difficult to forget and put right….

Families and alcohol, these 2 are a hideous combination
I remember when I was a kid, my mum was with this man, he was cool to start with, he liked a little drink. But slowly as the years went on, this guy became an out and out alcoholic. She was with him for a total of 10years, the arguments id see, the fighting, the lies, it was almost hard to believe, even as a little kid, it was very sad stuff. As time went on, this guy drunk more and more along with holding down a job, then he had a very bad accident, breaking his leg so badly that he had to have a massive metal pin in his leg. He wasn’t able to work no more, so you already know what he was doing instead to pass his time, drinking. As the years went on he just ended up being an out and out alcoholic,

The relationship between him and my mum was finished, they hated each other. In the end, enough was enough, my mum through him out. I didn’t see this guy no more, until we found out 1 of his livers had stopped working and he was in a bad way, after that this guys life just went down the pan. The last time I see him he had a carer with him escorting him about, and he was clearly insane…. I looked him in the eye, and he didn’t even recognise me… that almost made me shed a tear. He isn’t even that old, and he wasn’t even a bad person, but drink had ruined, and probably ended his life.

Violence is the main downfall of drinking
I've been told that I'm a violent person, drink or not, maybe I am, when I drink though, I am that violent person, I have been arrested twice in 2months recently for fighting whilst drunk, the most recent incident has resulted in my best friend maybe going back to jail. Maybe all the things that I've seen or experienced to do with drink in the past have affected me, in more ways that I know, or is it that drink just brings out the worst in any human being, Man or woman. When will we learn that drink is fuel to a fire, the next time you pick up a glass and have a drink, think back to the bad experiences, I mean god… that had to have happened for a reason... I don’t think I will ever stop drinking; neither will the rest of the world. Thanks for your time

The above story was recently submitted to the BBC for a potential programme series to run in 2008

On to the business partner...

Hello, I am a 28 yr old M.C/Music producer from Bedford Situated in East Anglia. I am Part of a group known as Macabre Unit. I have lived here all my life and as far back as I can remember I have been in pubs and surrounded by the effects that alcohol has. Personally I have been binge drinking since the age of 13 quite heavily. Drinking while at school on the lunch hour and going back to school intoxicated was the norm for me. The first really bad experience I can recall was being asked by my father to meet him at the pub, I was only 16 but it was acceptable for me to drink in the pubs where we lived. I remember getting close to the door of the pub, hearing commotion, then seeing him behind the bar smashing up optics, throwing tables and chairs. Basically in a blind drunk rage, just going crazy. The police then proceeded to go in and arrest him. I remember watching him get marched out of the pub in handcuffs telling me it will be ok! It will be ok? If ok is going to see your Dad in prison for doing something you can’t get your head round then yeh its ok!!!! Little did I no what I was doing drinking so young not daily but drinking to get off my face whenever I did, I would never of thought that 10 yrs later I would be sitting in the very same prison my Dad was for similar things.............

Violence and binge drinking go hand in hand,
My personal experiences have led me to get arrested while being drunk not being able to deal with the situation the way I would if I was sober. The earliest charge I have was abh on a 23 yr old when I was 16.Me and a close friend was arguing over the last can of beer while walking back from a party. The way this was heading we was going to end up fighting each other until a drunken man barged his way between us. We stopped and confronted the man, a few words exchanged; he then grabbed hold of me. I thought he was going to head butt me. The friend I was with smacked him in the mouth, he let go of me then we both proceeded to beat him up. Little did we no the police were watching all of this. We got arrested, spent a night in the cells and in the morning we was cautioned for a.b.h.!
My first brush with the law!!!
Fast forward to the present day, December '06 I got stopped in a mate’s car, he got breathalysed. I started a commotion n ended up braking a wpc's finger....at the time I would always say I weren’t drunk, but being truthful I was hammered. Escaped jail that time ...hefty probation orders........rite up to today.....05.06.07 I have been in court for being drunk and disorderly, section 5 and assault on a pc. I have breeched my probation order and in my solicitors words "definitely going back to jail".

Relationships definitely suffer if 1 or both of the parties drink a lot
From a child I watched my Dad beat up my mum, girlfriends and when old enough he started on me. And it was all because he was so far gone he didn’t no what was going on ,almost like he'd lost touch with reality, I've seen him come home smashed to pieces.
The sad thing is I have mirrored this exactly to the t nearly...
I have had big domestics with my ex partner, smashed up her flat, destroyed brand new things that she has bought for me, and I am ashamed to say I have hit her which led to my first custodial...even her parents have seen the effects, 1 incident her Dad had to come and pick me up off the side of the motorway after I got off the bus not knowing where I am...I tried to say I had sunstroke, I must of stunk of booze. That night I laid in the bath naked while my partner had a cold shower on me keeping me cool. I was sick all over the house and in the morning I felt so low, small and ashamed but by that time its too late...I would only be ashamed for a week at the most then it would happen again

My family have definitely suffered,
16 yrs old I nearly died. I drank 1 1/2 litres of teachers whisky in 20 minutes...I loved it!!!!! What I can remember. I fell unconscious and was taken to hospital where I had my stomach pumped. I was close to the edge apparently. I woke up not knowing where I was for five minutes. Then thinking I'm in hospital maybe I can do a runner...then I noticed I was on a drip with wires in me......I remember thinking Maybe I can get out without my family finding out, next thing the nurse tells my Nan’s been here all night. She was my mum basically...brought me up because my Mum didn’t want me to be in the violent drunk house she shared with my Dad. I put my Nan through hell with worry through my drinking I disrespected her a bit sometimes and took her for granted, drinking was more important. Then on her deathbed she told me “Ironic isn’t it? This is the closest we've ever been!” You don’t see what’s slipping around you when you drink.

The worst downfall for me about drink is I don’t care about anything when I'm drunk or what I'm doing and if it’s hurting anyone.
Sober I am nothing like that. I have no regard for the law and now that is going to see me do my 3rd prison sentence, all of which have been drink related. I have a daughter aged 5 and my ex who I totally adore, I want them both back and its there for me. The horrible thing is I would never put them through any of my drunken mayhem. And especially Larna (my daughter), she will never see the same childhood I saw.
That’s me signing off, as I sip my glass of straight Jack Daniels.

Cheers.

Alcohol and how it has affected me…..

Well it all started when I went to my local nightclub at the age of 15 in the last year of upper school with my cousin and a few of her friends where I started drinking. I used to drink pints of cider as they were only £1.00 a pint back in those days together with a mixture of cocktails called blue tits! A funny name eh but boy when you were drinking this cocktail with the cider god it ended up being a good night! As the years went on and I got out of my teens I started going out more and got into djing where I was in nightclubs a lot more so obviously at that age back then I was drinking more and more but then I got on to drinking shorts like whiskey and coke and vodka red bull to keep me awake through those long nights. I found after drinking the shorts it made me into a very aggressive person when I was drunk , I would be fine in the clubs partying away but then sometimes when I left the club and the slightest thing that annoyed me would cause me to turn which now when I look back on is not a nice thing and am glad I have learnt this through an early part of my life as one time it caused me to smash a shop window and even someones house window which got me into trouble. A friend of mine was arrested through drinking and hurt by the police which again shows what it can do to you…MAKES YOU INTO A DIFFERENT PERSON…
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