Hello. I thought this was the most appropriate place to put this. If there is a more suitable forum, please feel free to move this, or direct me there.
Backstory: I am currently 22, almost 23. I started drinking when I was around 16-17. It started out as only the weekends, but things progressed from there as I ran into problems (unrelated to drinking), which fueled my consumption. This eventually culminated in an incident where I was charged with a DWI (driving while impaired), although I was not actually charged with this. Anyway, this caused me to immediately cease my consumption for a period of several months. Gradually, I began drinking again, although my binges were increasingly far apart. Now, I am in university. I don't want to jeopardize my grades, so I abstain from alcohol during my time at school (weekdays, and weekends). I drank at a friend's party before I left for school, and about a month after that, still before school, drank at my grandparent's anniversary. I have since had one beer in four months. Dependency is not really an issue, and I can exert self-control if necessary. Before, I had trouble stopping at three, four, five, twelves drinks; however, this is not longer really a problem for me and I can, and have, stopped easily.
My questions are:
1) Is it possible that I caused irreparable damage during my youth? I drank quite heavily, although infrequently for the most part. There are several periods where I wouldn't drink for months.
2) I am still interested in drinking, although school takes priority and I am concerned about potential health risks. The obvious answer would be just to not drink, however I still enjoy the taste, effects, and atmosphere around my beers! Would binging (4-7) beers, once per YEAR, have affect my health negatively in the long run?
3) In addition to the previous question, would having a casual beer (one a month?) affect my health negatively in the long run?
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Thank you for your answers. I expect some lectures on alcoholism, however please keep in mind that I no longer drink very often, nor do I drink in huge quantities. And, I haven't had any trouble as the direct result of alcohol since the aforementioned DWI (~2 years ago). Alcohol is no longer a problem in my life, but I would like to know whether it is safe to continue extremely occasional drinking.