“I woke up in a motel. I didn’t even know what city I was in. I ran outside and looked at my car checking for blood. I was afraid I might have killed someone and not even known it.”

“When I woke up, my wife was furious with me. She said I had acted like a complete fool last night and insulted our guests. I swear, I don’t remember what I said or did.”

“I lived in Wilkes-Barre in June 1972. I remember being in a bar, listening to the TV about hurricane Agnes and a flood warning. My next memory is being in Philadelphia a week later. I don’t know how I got there. My car was gone and I had no money.”

All three stories are true and describe one of the more terrifying things alcohol abusers experience. Technically it’s known as Alcohol Amnestic Disorder. More commonly it’s simply called a “Blackout.”

One of my former employees, a recovering alcoholic with 20 years of sobriety joked, “Alcohol made me break out in spots.”

“Break out in spots?” I asked.

“Yes, ” he replied. “I broke out in Reading, in Allentown and God knows where else.” He also said he occasionally broke out in handcuffs.

He never remembered how what happened - happened.

Blackouts occur when a rapidly rising blood alcohol level interferes with the brain’s ability to form new memories. The condition can persist for a period even after the individual stops drinking. Blackouts may last anywhere from a few minutes, to several hours and, in rare cases to a day or more. The person in the blackout retains all the memories they already have, and so might “appear” to be normal. They are anything but. It drives families and friends crazy because they’re certain the person is lying when they say, “I don’t remember.” or “I never said that!”

Crimes have been committed, or alleged. The person in the blackout has no memory and can’t say whether they did or didn’t do what they were charged with. Blackouts are not a legal defense. Many have gone to jail, proven guilty by the facts, yet unable to remember a thing. Others have been the victims of crimes with no recollection, or such poor recall of what happened, that the police have nothing to go on. Rape is often one of those crimes.

Blackouts are more common among people with alcoholism. However, they can and do happen to others. Binging at a party or drinking rapidly on an empty or near empty stomach are two such ways.

Blackouts need to be taken seriously. When they occur it’s a sign of an existing or rapidly developing problem and an assessment should be done.

“Breaking out in handcuffs,” or worse, is the last thing anyone wants to experience.