I Don't Have a Drinking Problem. I Drink, I Get Drunk. No Problem.I Don't Have a Drinking Problem. I Drink, I Get Drunk. No Problem.
Addiction Medicine Made Easy
Dr Casey Grover and health coach Colleen Clifford talk about binge drinking, showing how occasional heavy use can still fit alcohol use disorder criteria. Their discussion mixes medical facts with Colleen’s lived experience, focusing on cravings, readiness to change, and the serious risks of “just one big night.”
37:04•8 Jun 2026
Weekend Benders, Hidden Risks: Rethinking Binge Drinking with Colleen Clifford
Episode Overview
- Binge drinking can meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder even if someone does not drink daily.
- Cravings can be managed by accepting discomfort, "playing it forward," and using alternatives like alcohol-free drinks until the urge passes.
- Lived experience and peer-style support, such as coaching from someone who has binged, can create connections that traditional clinical care cannot.
- Readiness to change is crucial; without a strong personal reason and motivation, efforts to cut back or quit are unlikely to stick.
- Medications like naltrexone, taken before drinking, may help reduce the intensity of binge episodes for some people.
“It only takes one moment of binge drinking to change your life forever. Will it be yours?”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This conversation between Dr Casey Grover and health coach Colleen Clifford digs into binge drinking as a pattern that often hides in plain sight, especially for people who "only" drink on weekends or big nights out. Aimed at clinicians, health professionals, and anyone questioning their own weekend drinking, the episode blends clinical facts with hard-won life experience.
Dr Grover explains how binge drinking can still meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder under the DSM-5, even when someone isn’t a daily drinker. He breaks down concepts like cravings, withdrawal, and how patterns of use matter just as much as frequency. Colleen brings the human side.
A former commercial fisherwoman and binge drinker, she talks about losing her husband to alcohol-related suicide, quitting drinking after a terrifying drink-driving incident, and realising she’d been using alcohol and binge eating as a "band-aid" for a lifelong belief that she wasn’t lovable. Her line, "It only takes one moment of binge drinking to change your life forever. Will it be yours?" sums up her message. You’ll hear practical tools too.
Colleen describes learning to "live with the uncomfortableness" of cravings, using strategies like playing the tape forward, choosing alcohol-free drinks, and focusing on self-love rather than shame. Dr Grover adds a medical lens, including the role of peer support and medications such as naltrexone that can reduce binge episodes. The tone stays warm, candid, and occasionally light, even while covering grief, suicide, and depression.
Anyone who’s ever justified their drinking with "I don’t drink every day" may find themselves asking some uncomfortable but important questions by the end. Are those "big nights" really as harmless as they seem?
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