Alcohol Blackouts Are Serious Warning Signs

Alcohol blackouts can be partial or full. They are different than when someone just passes out due to intoxication because the person is conscious and even interacting with others. Sometimes they involve forgetting details and usually the train of thought is impaired. For full alcoholic blackouts, a more severe situation exists where the memory cannot be jogged at all. Often one needs other person's accounts the next day to tell them about what happened during that period of time. It is very frightening and also dangerous. One of my clients had a blackout and had no idea how he ended up in Miami the next day with his cell phone and wallet missing.

During a blackout one's judgement is impaired and he may experience a decrease in inhibitions that leads to engage in activities that are high risk like fighting, committing a crime, drunk driving, and sexual promiscuity. These activities lead to even more serious problems like diseases, injury and even death. Since generally people will pass out from too much alcohol rather than have a blackout, this is something to really be concerned about. It should be a wake up call to the extent of one's drinking habits, however you don't have to be an alcoholic to have a blackout. However, generally it does indicate excessive drinking. You may not know when you wake up where you left your car or other critical information.

If you know someone who goes through this, you may be able to motivate them to change by pointing out that they are probably doing foolish things when they are inebriated. Sometimes vanity is a great motivator for change. Help them to see that they are out of control and that their behavior may be outlandish and humiliating if they were able to rememeber it. Of course the dangers of interactions with people when one is in this state are also quite high. Money can be stolen or violent encounters can occur during this time period. Memory impairment is a serious matter and it is easy to be taken advantage of.

En bloc are the complete blackouts and one cannot be prompted to have recalls of what happened during that time period. The partial blackouts, also known as fragmentary blackouts, will have pieces missing which can range from minutes to hours. Drinking slower can help prevent this problem but the more important factor is to evaluate one's drinking patterns and habits to see why one engages in this activity. If you are going to go out and drink it is also best to be with someone you can trust who will be able to tell you that you are drinking too much and need to stop.

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