Not sure where the line between responsible and irresponsible drinking is drawn? Worried that you or a loved one may have a problem?

After reading this article, you will know what responsible drinking looks like, how to identify the symptoms of addiction, and when and where to get help.

Why Be Responsible With Drinking

You want to make sure that you have responsible drinking habits in order to avoid an array of potential problems. This includes social and health-related challenges.

Here are a few of the consequences that come with irresponsible drinking:

• Drunk texting your ex-partner, coworkers, or professional acquaintances.
• Missing out on family gatherings, social functions, and community events due to being drunk or hungover.
• Losing friends and damaging your relationships with others as a result of behaving inappropriately while intoxicated. 
• Putting yourself and/or others at risk through driving drunk.
• Getting arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), which could cause you to lose your license and make it harder for you to land a job and housing.
• Exposing yourself to the dangers of alcohol poisoning, a serious medical condition that might lead to permanent organ damage and even death.
• Developing alcoholism (an addiction to alcohol).

There are many more undesirable outcomes that are associated with irresponsible drinking. In light of this, you want to focus on forming safe, healthy, and responsible drinking habits.

How To Drink Responsibly

When done the right way, you could enjoy yourself while drinking alcohol and avoid dealing with all the negative consequences that we went over above.

You can drink responsibly by doing the following:

• Know Your Limits: Your limit is the amount of alcohol that you can consume before you start showing problematic behavioral or health signs. Since this varies based on the person's weight, gender, and tolerance, you want to know what your own limit is and stick to it.
• Purchase Small Amounts: Binge drinking, which entails having too many drinks within a short time frame, is one of the most irresponsible and dangerous alcohol-related habits. Instead of chugging a beer or having multiple shots in a row, you should gradually sip on your drink and in small amounts.
• Eat Before and/or While You Drink: Drinking on an empty stomach will cause your blood alcohol content (BAC) to rapidly increase and create digestion issues. Having some food before or during a night of drinking allows your bloodstream to slowly and gradually absorb the alcohol.
• Don't Have Jagerbombs and Avoid Caffeinated Drinks: Jagerbombs are shots that mix Jägermeister (a hard liquor) with Red Bull. Since both alcohol and caffeine increase your heart rate and dehydrate you, combining the two exacerbates the unwanted effects of alcohol.
• Minimize Sugary Drinks: Mixing a hard liquor with a sweet juice or soda can dramatically increase the sugar that's in your bloodstream before quickly bringing it down, which may lead to short and long-term medical problems. To add to that, the sweet taste of your cocktail might cause you to drink more than what you think you can handle.
• Don't Cave Into Peer Pressure: If your friends are encouraging you to drink irresponsibly or go over your limit, you want to stay strong and responsible by not giving into this pressure.

While it's normal for people to make mistakes or engage in activities that they didn't know were bad (such as having sweet cocktails or Jagerbombs), there are certain occasions where you would need help with overcoming irresponsible drinking habits.

Signs You Should Get Help

If you're worried about how alcohol is impacting a friend, family member, or even yourself, you should get professional assistance when you see the following alcohol use disorder symptoms:

• You frequently have alcohol carvings. This is especially concerning if you get these cravings while at work or when you're with your family.
• On a regular basis, you end up drinking more than planned.
• Your alcohol tolerance increased, which means that you need to have more drinks to feel its effects.
• You have relationship problems that were created or made worse due to your drinking.
• Missing work, familiar, or social obligations in order to drink or recover from a hangover.
• Unsuccessfully cutting down despite trying hard to do so.
• Spending a lot of time and money on alcohol, even if it means that you have to deal with financial or other types of difficulties.
• Not being able to quit drinking when it's causing you medical, social, familial, professional, and/or financial issues.
• Drinking in unsafe environments or situations. The most prominent example is driving a car.
• In extreme cases, you may experience withdrawal symptoms (not to be confused with a hangover) when you stop drinking. Alcohol withdrawal makes you sweaty, shaky, and nauseous because your body is physically dependent on alcohol. 

It is vital to remember that many people in the US are wrangling with an alcohol addiction.

In other words, if you believe that you are or a loved one is an irresponsible drinker, you're certainly not alone. The following alcohol abuse statistics underline that:

• 15 Million: The number of people in the US who are officially diagnosed with alcohol use disorder.
• 10.2%: The percentage of Americans who are 12 years of age or older that suffer from alcohol addiction.
• 24%: Almost a quarter of US adults binge drank during the last month.
• 60%: Two-thirds of Americans increased their alcohol consumption since the COVID-19 pandemic started. 
• 141 Thousand: Tragically, there is an average of 140,557 alcohol-related deaths per year in the US.

You should remember that being an irresponsible drinker does not mean that you have to avoid alcohol altogether.

Instead, you want to focus on moderating and managing your drinking so that you may continue to enjoy alcohol, but without running into the life-ruining and heartbreaking damages that are associated with addiction.

To get the right help, consider talking to your doctor or primary care provider. In turn, they will go over the different options that you have for addressing irresponsible drinking habits.

How IV Therapy Can Help With a Hangover

One of the fastest and most effective ways to recover from a hangover and some of the problems that irresponsible drinking creates is through IV therapy.

Here at Reset IV, we offer the following hangover packages that you will rejuvenate your body and supply it with the nutrients and vitamins that it lost after a night of drinking:

• The Baller: Known as the "magic bullet", the Baller is ideal for treating multiple hangover-induced symptoms, including nausea, pain, and fatigue.
• Defcon 1: Had too much to drink? This 1-liter fluid is your go-to choice. Defcon 1 consists of saline and either anti-Nausea, pain relief, and/or anti-heartburn medications (you may choose two).
• Hydration: If you have a relatively light hangover, Hydration resupplies your body with fluids and electrolytes so that you can carry on with your day as you normally would.
• Pre Game: Instead of waiting until the next morning, this blend of saline and B-complex vitamins hydrates your body and supplies it with vitamins before you start drinking.
• Still Spinning: Suitable for somewhat moderate (but not so severe) hangovers, Still Spinning consists of saline and one medication of your choosing (anti-nausea, anti-heartburn, or pain relief).

Whether you're alone or with a party, our team of highly-trained and specialized medical professionals can come to your location within 45 minutes or less.

In short, our IV packages will make you feel better in no time.

What are you waiting for? Click here to contact us online or give us a call at 1-844-387-4870.