In my drinking days I would occasionally wake up with no recollection of what had happened the night before and would have to rely on my friends to tell me what I’d been up to. I guess we’ve all been there at one time or another. What actually happens is that the alcohol stops the brain from forging new memories.

During the blackout the brain is effectively shutting down and it is a time when the drinker should really start to look at his or her problem. During these episodes there is a great chance of the alcoholic doing damage to themselves or to others. Violence is very common during blackouts as are sexual mistakes, abuse and outlandish behaviour.

Why the alcoholic experiences these things and still continues to drink is beyond me now.

I feel inclined to think that once the blackouts start to occur it really is time to do something about your alcoholism. Studies have shown that blackouts are likely to be caused by gulping ones drinks, which suggests a desire to drink as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Do yourself a favour and do something about your drinking if you are experiencing blackouts, it’s your body telling you that enough is enough!