The occurrence of an alcohol blackout is unpredictable both in severity and in timing.
When experiencing an alcohol induced blackout, you will remain conscious however there will be no recollection of what happened afterward. It is almost if the ability to process and retain memories is ineffectual. It’s amnesia in a way, but it’s caused by alcohol abuse and not a traumatic event or physical injury.
The two most popular kinds of alcohol researched are: Fragmentary or en bloc.
1. Fragmentary
These are more often the result of the consumption of lower quantities of alcohol . You might forget names or what you were talking about in the middle of a conversation. These partially interfere with memory formation during intoxication. There are certain times where a person will be able to remember the missing parts if they are prompted or reminded of the context of the conversation or if they are reminded of the of what took place during the situation.
2. Complete or en bloc, blackouts
Once a person has a total alcohol blackout, he will continue to have physical and mental actions even though he might seem like his normal self. During this kind of blackout, a person is still conscious – but is unable to remember what has occured during the time of his blackout, he will not remember anything what so ever. Prompts and reminders will not lead to you recalling the events. It seems like the ability of us trying to transfer and imprint memory short term to long term storage seems to be completely blocked.
In most cases, blackouts are caused by binge drinking – the consumption of excessive quantity of liquor at one given brief period.
Other things you should know about blackouts:
Age is a determining factor in how much alcohol you can safely consume, and women are more susceptible. The reason behind women’s tendency to black out more easily is perhaps due to the difference in how they metabolize alcohol compared to men. Females have more tendencies towards the milder forms of alcohol-induced memory impairments, even though consuming same quantity as like men.
The dangers of experiencing blackouts:
Surveys have discovered that college students who had experienced blackouts found out later on they had participated in various high-risk activities. Unprotected sexual intercourse, driving after drinking of alcohol or damaging the public properties are the examples.
Those who suffer blackouts may find themselves with the lack of ability to function cognitively.
Tips for safe drinking and preventing and managing blackouts:
The only sure-fire method for not having a blackout or memory problems is to not drink. A confusing element of blackouts is that they cannot be predicted, nor can the severity of damage be predicted.
