Manifestations Of Youth.

I am sure this was a frightening experience for you, and rightly so, as blackouts are a warning sign that one is drinking too much.

What is a blackout? It is a chemically (in this case alcohol) induced period of amnesia that can last for seconds, minutes, hours, and/or days. A blackout does not inhibit the movement of the individual during his/her daily activities. It will, however, prohibit the natural development of memory of recent experiences. It is not the same as passing out (loss or consciousness) which can also occur as a result of excessive drinking.

Could this amount of alcohol you mentioned cause a blackout? Most certainly it can. Research indicates that what generally leads to a blackout is a rapid rise in blood alcohol level, or drinking a lot in a short period of time which certainly occurred during the concert, on top of what had already been ingested. Other factors which contribute to blackouts besides drinking a lot in a short period of time, are drinking over long periods of time, fatigue, and no food.

One other consequence which you experienced was his hostile and aggressive behavior toward you and his getting kicked out of the concert. Research on college students who binge drink (drink 5+ drinks for a man, 4+ drinks for a women) and experience blackout, indicated that during the black out period, 33% insulted someone, 16% engaged in arguments or fights, and 16% damaged property and engaged in various other problem behaviors. So the aggressiveness you experienced is not an uncommon experience.

Following this experience, I hope you take some time to evaluate your drinking behavior. At the very least, blackouts represent a dangerous state in which the drinker is typically extremely impaired and at great risk of doing harm to self or others, especially motor vehicle crashes and injury from falls and burns. The recommended drinking limit for men is no more than 2 drinks per day or 14 per week, with no more than 3 on any one occasion, and for women no more that one drink per day or 7 per week with no more than 3 on any one occasion. This may seem like a difficult limit, but you can see from this experience the strong effects alcohol has. Even more important is the effect that alcohol is having on one’s body systems which we are not aware of until health problems occur or we are injured. So hopefully you will take time to think about drinking behavior and make some helpful changes.