Happy St. Patty's Day! 🍀 It was St. Patrick's Day when we recorded this episode so we thought it apropos to discuss alcohol usage. In this episode, Michelle and Janine discuss some facts and figures surrounding alcohol use in the USA mainly, but some global facts as well. Fun fact: alcoholism is now called Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the DSM so Janine has multiple As or as Michelle would say, "Janine is an A+ student." 🤣 AUD is characterized by uncontrolled drinking and a preoccupation with the use of alcohol. Binge drinking entails having 5 or more drinks in one sitting. In the USA, binge drinking is considered culturally acceptable. Every heavy drinker is a binge drinker, but not all binge drinkers are heavy drinkers. There is a difference in the amount of drinks considered to be a heavy drinker between men and women. Men can consume 15 drinks/week to be considered a heavy drinker, whereas women can only have 8 drinks/week to be considered a heavy drinker. Michelle and Janine were both upset about this fact as this definition shouldn't be based on sex, but rather based on a person's tolerance to a substance. What do you think? Is there an actual link between sex and the affects of alcohol? Of course, as with anything, there are benefits and risks associated with alcohol usage and different levels of consumption. Michelle and Janine both describe their personal experiences and relationships with alcohol. Janine is dry since she doesn't consume any alcohol anymore, but not fully sober as she still uses cannabis. Michelle is a moderate drinker who can switch between a few drinks a week to some nights falling into the binge drinking category. We discuss drunk driving and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which can both be prevented from happening all together by not drinking while driving or while pregnant. In the beginning stages of pregnancy, most people with uteruses don't even know they are pregnant until the second trimester. We aren't mad at anyone who doesn't know they were pregnant and continued to drink. We are mad at the parents who know they were pregnant and continued drinking anyways. We would love to hear from you, our lovely audience, about your experiences with alcohol. Are you on the wagon or off the wagon? Why do you drink alcohol or why don't you? How many drinks do you typically consume? Do you have any drinking stories we can share on our next episode (anonymously)? If you would be willing to share, a Google form has been created: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflyoylrzioA_tRE5Q3Y4bsiuvBBB8fQZegfvcI5Uf1hV6W2w/viewform Next week, we will be sharing stories with alcohol use involved, both from Michelle and Janine's lives, and from our listeners who filled out the Google form. RESOURCES: https://www.buzzfeed.com/ravenishak/people-share-sober-stories https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/201703/why-do-people-drink https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/drinks-to-consume-in-moderation/alcohol-full-story/ https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FRR1-2014/NSDUH-FRR1-2014.pdf https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/10report/intro.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobriety https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/facts-about-aging-and-alcohol#signs https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi4wrf34eH9AhUKCTQIHelECb8Qz0B6BAhcEAo&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mayoclinic.org%2Fdiseases-conditions%2Falcohol-use-disorder%2Fbasics%2Fdefinition%2Fcon-20020866%3Futm_source%3DGoogle%26utm_medium%3Dabstract%26utm_content%3DAlcoholism%26utm_campaign%3DKnowledge-panel&usg=AOvVaw05LhOg_vRL0FG2jimonHnH https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/wernicke-korsakoff-syndrome
