I black out almost everytime I drink. I am not an alcoholic.

There is no such thing as an alcoholic (outside of someone who physically needs alcohol to survive, true addiction, not dependency), the word only exists to argue about the degree of alcohol being a problem in one's life. I blacked out all the time in college, luckily didnt get in too much trouble over the years. 5 years later I still have a world class borderline photographic memory, it's really just a game of chance though I wouldn't suggest it.

If you feel alcohol is a problem. Stop drinking completely. Or drink VERY moderately, like 1-2 drinks. If you're not capable of doing that, it doesn't mean you're an alcoholic (lol) it just means you're probably a thrill seeker/risk taker at heart, the 1-2 drinks have you a little inhibited and you let your guard down and go for more. Just understand all of this and hope maturity and luck keeps you out of any serious trouble. I wouldn't be concerned about any serious health consequences from getting wasted once a week for a few years. Maybe 50% or more of college students do it for 4 years straight.

At what point, did your repeated bad decisions such as consuming a liquid in a container become out of your control? You do realize you are not an alcoholic but have zero self-control and simply can not stop drinking a liquid out of a container. There is no such thing as an alcoholic. There is such thing as physical alcohol dependence. Thats about it. If you're not physically addicted to alcohol you just have very poor self-control and do not learn from your mistakes. Just stop drinking, there you go, boom no longer in alcoholic, but you cant because you do not have enough self-control to stop ingesting a drug.

Totally agree with You! I also do not have an alcohol problem and barely drink. I also don't crave it, ever. It (blacking out) has happened to me as well with drinking very little alcohol. I believe it has something to do with the health and sensitivity of my body and the way it breaks down the alcohol.

Thank you and kudos to you for standing up for this girl, as I too hate it when people judge but have no idea what they are talking about and are not even listening to the facts that are being represented. Instead they put their own personal spin on it... Unfortunately, it's just way easier to judge than to actually listen to people...

Thank you Matt whoever you are, I love how you broke that down and explained it, NICELY. Without judgment or ego.

Hands up

When was the last time you've done research on alcoholism?

Some people are medically predisposed for black outs. I black out a ton. I could drink a whole pint of vodka in one night- and remember everything, or I could have 2 shots and blackout. And my doctors know I’m not an alcoholic.
Your brain is made up of chemicals and electric (nerves).
Here’s why I blackout easily:
Migraines- I’ve had migraines my entire life. They are caused from a disturbance in both the chemical and electrical activity of the brain. 

Seizures- They’re are 40 different seizures. I have atypical absence seizures. The best way I can explain, is… it’s like a VHS tape that got stuck for a quick second. Or maybe the opposite déjà vu. You missed about 3 seconds of reality. Other people just think you’re pausing to think of something. Seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. 

Bipolar- Gives you times of depression, and mania. I have cyclothymia. It makes me a loose cannon. In one day, I can have manic state,-- I could be SO excited to go to the grocery store. Later that day, I could go into a depressive state, and if you offer me a trip to Disney, I’d be annoyed you even asked. So, people just think I’m a moody be-otch. Bipolar is caused because the chemicals of the brain travel at different rates. Sometimes it’s quick, sometimes it’s slow.

All three are effected by outside “triggers.” Predictability is out the door.

Alcohol- Effects the electricity, and slows it down.

Blackouts- Happen because the brain is overloaded. The brain starts to shut down. It protects long term memory, and the body stops registering short term data. It doesn’t STOP the functions of your body, it’s not registering what’s happening from second to second.
I’m not going to make any judgements on alcoholism, but it you’re blacking out, you could drive a car because you don’t remember you were drinking. You could get alcohol poisoning because you forgot how much you drank.. those are all drinking problems.
My advice is that you try to be mindful of yourself. Try to identify medical issues you’ve never paid attention to before. Start a list, and take it to you Dr… take it to ALL your doctors, even if it’s not their specialty.
I still drink—like once a week… but I don’t drink unless I have a baby sitter. Someone who won’t get too drunk to watch you… or take advantage of you. I try to drink with just a couple of people at my house to reduce stimuli. Something as small as loud might be that one thing to push you over the top. Pay attention to how you feel before you start drinking. Bad day? Hungry? Have a lot on your plate? DON’T DRINK. And if you know your head isn’t right, and drink anyway… go to an AA meeting instead.

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I wish I would've seen your post before I wrote a book.

I couldn't agree with everything you said!! I have the exact same symptoms which only started happening a few years ago! No matter how much how fast how slow what type -nothing matters. It happens every time I drink yet my friends are none the wiser because to them I am acting like myself! What gives?

I'm drinking 4 or maximum of 5 times in a year or less. However, I experienced all of these strange things. It started 7 years ago, at first i thought maybe it's just a normal effect until I experienced it every time i drink until early this year. It is weird because people will tell me that I act so normal the whole time. I do conversation, like I'm not intoxicated at all. and then when I wake up the next day. I can't remember anything. there was this one time that I can't remember what I did for like 2 hours, for an instance I'm having a conversation around 1:00 am then somewhere in between I lost track and can't remember what I did between 2:00 or 3:00 am.. and awake and having a conversation at the table at 3:30 am.. it sounds strange i know. but it happens. i stop drinking shots, I decided to drink wine instead.

Okay but you people telling her this has to mean she's alcoholic should stop. Like, she might be, but it doesn't have to be related at all. I don't drink much, I drank once in January and blacked out. I drank once more this last weekend and I blacked out. I didn't drink much, some various sh*t, sure, but not much. I went from tipsy and 100% in control, sitting on a bed waiting for a friend, to waking up next morning, apparently having functioned pretty well for a whole, up until suddenly throwing up at some point and falling asleep, without having any idea that even happened. And I'm definitely not an alcoholic, I'm 17 and drink a couple times a year. I don't drink too much when I drink. But I've always had this problem with blacking out (not remembering what I did while intoxicated).

I don't know what it is, some people mentioned allergies and I dunno. But blacking out doesn't have to be related to alcoholism at all.

Reading all this has made me realise we're all In denial alcohol is responsible for this,I blackout everytime I drink and like everyone else get worried about it. I've just realised it's about choices,drink and put up with all the c**p that goes with it or don't drink and don't put up with all the c**p that goes with it. Is it that simple ?

May be you have an alcohol allergy.

I have a very similar experience with alcohol. I'm also a 19 year old female, but I only drank a handful of times before I turned 18. I also only drink about 1-4 times per month. I've always been more of a pothead than a drinker. However, last year I lived on a college campus and drank multiple times a week, & never had any problems with blacking out. My memories would be fuzzy & out of order, but I still had recognition of where I was & what I was doing. The first night I blacked out was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. I was taken advantage of by a 32 year old at a party who I had never met or heard of before, & the worst part is my friends just let it happen because they said they had no idea that I was blacked out (they're no longer my friends). After this night, I stopped drinking for a month. I tossed around some thoughts that maybe he drugged my drink, since this had never happened before. I had had a good amount to drink that night though, but like I said I had never blacked out before so I wasn't really sure what to think. Sure enough, I started blacking out more & more often & from less & less drinks. The worst part is, friends tell me in the morning that I was still drinking during a time I can no longer recall. Now, I can't get drunk without blacking out, & it's frustrating! When I do drink nowadays I'll just have 1-3 drinks & stop. But sometimes I just miss getting drunk with my friends & having fun memories. I wonder if I damaged my brain too much during the time I was drinking multiple times a week, but that only lasted like 2 months. After seeing this post I actually looked up on google how to prevent blackouts, & they pretty much all said the best way to prevent them is to take your time. If you're taking shots, wait at least 20 minutes in between them. Make sure you're drinking a lot of water before & while you're drinking, & definitely don't drink on an empty stomach. Also drinking mixed drinks instead of shots & taking small sips should help. Alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks. I'm going to start using these tips actually, & hopefully it works!! Hope this helped

I feel like I have a similar problem. I used to drink a lot, but now drink 1-2 times per week, 1-2 drinks. If I have anything more, I seem to experience some degree of blackout. I found this discussion wondering if it might be normal aging/hormonal (im female in my 40's) or if possible to develop an allergy. The girl posting was looking for help/info; fixating on whether she is an alcoholic or not is just judgemental and annoying and doesn't answer her question. She seems intelligent enough to know that if she didn't drink, it wouldn't happen (we all do) but she was asking if anyone had any insight into WHY it might happen. So kudos to those who answered it appropriately. Im just going to ask the doctor next time I go.

Honestly, I wouldn't start with your family doctor. I would start with a drug an alcohol therapist--. They study-- at great lengths what alcohol does to the body. Then I would see a certified naturopathic physician. They would probably ask questions about symptoms that you didn't even think might be related. They both will recommend tests that your doctor should order for you... for a 3rd opinion... someone who practices traditional Chinese medicine would help... try Xue Fu Zhu Yu Wan. When we get older, our metabolism slows down. I'm almost 40, and the Xue Fu Zhu Yu Wan speeds up blood. It helped with a lot with random annoying complaints.