It’s time we talked about Drunkorexia, the habit that causes you real harm

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It’s time we talked about Drunkorexia, the habit that causes you real harm

It isn’t as harmless as you think

There is finally a term to classify the behavior that we see exhibited by so many college students, both male and female. Drunkorexia is when someone doesn’t eat throughout the day to get drunk faster or to avoid gaining the inevitable college weight that is caused by booze.

This drinking habit is more dangerous than you think, to your body and mind, and I spoke to a few brave students that opened up on why they do this to themselves.

A rising junior said, “I did it because I didn’t want to look bloated at parties. I would either eat really early in the night or eat a snack instead of dinner and then drink and wake up looking really thin.”

She eventually had to stop because she started vomiting all of the time and admitted, “my whole friend group did it.”

This is a terrifying fad that young people are subjecting themselves to because of self image issues. Photoshop and social media may be to blame, but we can’t point the finger solely at modern expectations.

Contrary to popular belief, this is not a millennial trend. Drunkorexia has been going on since the moment people realized that alcohol equals a few extra pounds on your body that shies away from your dream physique.

Partying and drinking excessively is part of our culture, and people are willing to give up all food and nutrients to bong shitty beer and slap their bags of wine.

Men put themselves into this category as well, and this could be because of the whole “broke college student” label that most of us have.

“I don’t eat on Fridays before I go out because I don’t want the food to soak up the alcohol. I want to feel the buzz and get drunk quicker and have a fun night.”

According to Medical Daily, when you are lacking substance in your stomach, the alcohol goes directly to your bloodstream. The higher concentration of alcohol you have in your bloodstream, the more intoxicated and “hot mess” you become.

Total DUI reported that once the booze reaches your brain, your grasp of control in your behavior and functioning vanishes and leaves you very drunk, very quickly.

Most college students don’t know when enough is enough, especially in America thanks to our lovely drinking laws, and this is one of the causes of the high numbers of alcohol poisoning among college students- just think back to Freshmen year when you discovered that partying didn’t mean puking and passing out by 10pm.

I spoke with a senior and she said, “I think that not eating before drinking is really dumb, however, I have done it multiple times. Most of the time it’s not planned. I always end up realizing after two beers that I’m feeling tipsy, and then remember ‘oh shit’ I haven’t eaten anything today.”

We’ve all had busy days and went straight for the bottle to unwind before thinking about how that will affect the rest of your night. A lot of the students I spoke to said they stopped saving all of their calories for booze once they got sick of being the girl/boy vomiting at the end of every night.

I spoke to an adult about their experiences with Drunkorexia, and she said that it was prominent when she was in college as well because she would prefer to spend her money on alcohol to have fun with her friends instead of buying food.

She was also in a sorority where drinking was a huge part of the culture. Contradictory to their actions, her sorority kept high standards on what pant size you should remain at as well, so she felt like not eating all day before a night of drinking was the only way to keep her body desirable to men and herself.

I spoke with a physician on this subject, and he admitted that he was aware of the fad and was terrified of it because he has daughters in their early twenties.

“It is easier to get alcohol poisoning than you think. Your body is already not meant to have the substance in your system, let alone in excess where you put yourself in danger to a multitude of scenarios.

It is easy to blame society for young people’s desperation for an insta-famous body and lifestyle, and it may be the culprit. Partying in your early twenties is “normal,” but now that your friends can take a picture of you to post on Snapchat at any moment, you always have to be photo ready. It is sad that some girls would prefer to look skinny throwing up by midnight at a party instead of eating a sandwich and having a good time with their friends while dealing with a minor double chin in a picture or two.

Drunkorexia is a real issue among college campuses even if it does have a name that sounds like the title of a “South Park” episode. When you know you and your squad are going hard that night, get your “drinking belly” on and prepare, so you can enjoy yourself while staying safe and maintaining the fun buzz.

Watch out for each other and if you’re gonna drink, do it properly- with a sandwich in your stomach.

@melanierinhaas