Partying itself is not a problem. It can be a great way for you to fit in with your new group of peers, distract from homesickness, and simply to blow off steam. However, when you start drinking alcohol, parties can cause problems. Booze can lead to poor choices, risky behavior, health problems, and even potentially deadly situations. 

What Are the Possible Consequences of Abusing Alcohol?

Of course, the best decision is not drinking at all. But if you choose to, make sure you do it in a responsible and legal way. Otherwise, you can create problems for yourself and others. 

Moderate, social drinking can rise into problem drinking quite fast. Often, people start to seek help and visit online aa meetings when they have already faced some negative effects. 

Hingson and colleagues (2009) analyzed national data sets of various alcohol-related harms among youth aged 18-24. Every year, drinking is linked to:

• 599,000 unintentional injuries
• 646,000 physical assaults
• 97,000 sexual assaults
• 1,800 deaths, including traffic crashes
• 400,000 students report unsafe sex 
• 150,000 students develop alcohol-induced health problems
• 2,7 million cases of drunk driving.

Other studies complete the picture. College students who abuse alcohol may experience:

• memory loss (blackouts)
• property damage, including vandalism
• involvement with the police
• suicide attempts
• alcohol dependence.

How Does Alcohol Consumption Affect Your Academic Performance? 

You may not even realize how much partying hard is affecting your studying. According to one national survey (Presley and Pimentel, 2006), binge drinkers were about 6 times more likely to get a lower grade for a test or project, about 5 times more likely to miss classes, and about 4 times more likely to have a memory loss in comparison to moderate drinkers.

But binge drinking can also have long-term negative effects. In one survey, 1,972 U.S. college students were interviewed twice: in college and a decade later. The survey revealed that some binge drinkers had higher risks of not finishing college and poorer job opportunities later in life. Also, they were more likely to develop alcohol abuse and addiction with time.

To avoid the effects of alcohol use on your life, it’s important to find help a.s.a.p. Seek for aa support groups online.

How to Tell if You Have an Alcohol Problem

Researchers from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University found out that about 20% of college students meet the medical criteria for an Alcohol Use Disorder. Generally, binge drinking is more than 5 drinks within a 2-hour period for men or 4 drinks in a 2-hour period for women.

If alcohol is starting to cause problems in your life, there will usually be the signs:

• Lower ability to control alcohol consumption
• Dubious decisions that lead to legal, financial, or health problems 
• Neglecting responsibilities related to college, work, and family life
• Sleep problems (insomnia or oversleeping)
• Spending more time with those who often drink alcohol.

When drinking transforms into dependence and addiction, the situation becomes even worse. It may involve: 

• Developing a tolerance to alcohol (the need to drink more of it to get the same effect)

• Spending more time drinking and having more severe hangovers
• Blackouts
• Withdrawal from family and previous friends
• Trying to hide how much alcohol you really consume
• Feeling unable to manage life without alcohol
• Unsuccessful attempts to cut down or quit 
• Withdrawal syndrome in case of abrupt quitting (this is the sign that you’ve developed a physical addiction).

What to Do If You Need Help?

If you already have several unsuccessful attempts to stop consuming alcohol, it’s time to seek professional help. A common worry among students with this problem is that treatment may not fit their academic schedule. But it’s not always necessary to go to rehab. Online aa meetings usa can aid you in your attempts to start a healthier life and won’t take much time.

Online meetings in Alcoholics Anonymous are not an innovation. Members have been connecting online for as long as there has been the Internet. But because of the Coronavirus and stay-at-home measures, this form of gatherings has become more popular. 

Many people use online AA meetings as a supplement to a traditional type of meetings. Those who can’t share the fellowship due to virtue of geography, disability, or scheduling conflicts also choose this option. 

Online AA meetings come in a variety of formats, from telephone and video conferences to email and chat groups, and are available in many languages. 

Getting an online consultation and support at 24 hour aa chat rooms online is a smart idea. You don’t have to be a member of Alcoholics Anonymous to join it. They exist to encourage anyone who is searching for help with a drinking problem.

Participating in AA distantly won’t impact your study schedule. How long do aa meetings last? One meeting will take an hour of your time. Sometimes, they last up to 2 hours. It depends on how many people are willing to talk. To join an online meeting, visit the AA website, find the schedule, and fill in a meeting submission form. 

Push away all doubts and act! AA meetings are easy, fast, secure, and smartphone user friendly!