Office of Alcohol, Drug, and Health Education
Blackouts
Definition - A blackout is an amnesia-like period
which is preceded by excessive drinking. It is not passing out or
losing consciousness. The person will appear to be normal and will seem
to be functioning appropriately. Later, however, the drinker will not
remember periods of time during or after drinking. A blackout may last
just a few minutes or several hours.
Some drinkers may report, for example, not remembering how they returned to their room from a party,
or they may not recall conversations with friends during the evening.
Cause - The exact cause of blackouts is not known. The simple explanation is that alcohol disrupts the storing of information in the long term memory.
Significance - Blackouts are serious for a number of reasons. First, most drinkers do not have blackouts. Those people who do have them mistakenly assume that everyone does, but this is not the case. Second, most people who have a first blackout do not have another because they decide that if excessive drinking is going to cause them to forget what they did, they do not want to drink that much again. So, simply having multiple blackouts is an indication of a possible, and likely, problem.
Solution - The only way to avoid blackouts is to reduce or eliminate drinking. Check out beerboozebooks.com for more information