Understanding the Link Between PTSD and Alcohol Abuse

The person on the other end of the line fills in hilarious shenanigans that occurred, while the person who got drunk cringes, and a laugh track is heard in the background. While it might seem funny on a television show, this character has experienced a blackout, and in the real world, that’s not something to laugh about. Even SNRIs, including venlafaxine, have shown effective outcomes for this condition. They perform both serotonin and norepinephrine uptake, particularly at higher dosages. At times, physicians also recommend taking medicines to treat specific PTSD symptoms, like prazosin for nightmares.

What are alcohol-induced blackouts?

This includes understanding cultural attitudes towards mental health, recognizing culturally specific expressions of distress, and incorporating culturally appropriate healing practices into treatment plans when appropriate. As many as 55% of women and 38% of men in the military have been targets of sexual harassment. And more than one fifth of women in the VA health care system report experiencing sexual assault. These sources of trauma, known as military sexual trauma, is also a common factor in veteran blackout drinking. Excessive alcohol consumption impacts the hippocampus, leading to long-term memory impairment and cognitive decline.

When Blackouts Signal a Bigger Problem

It’s usually because they’re not used to drinking (especially in high amounts), leading to accidental blackouts. Trauma psychiatry is only in its infancy, partly because of resource limitations and poor local constructs for PTSD hindering treatment seeking 39. The nation’s specialized psychiatry and addiction treatment facilities are concentrated in the major cities and serve patients from across the country. The social acceptance and abuse of alcohol have terrible consequences for many people. The more common type, a “fragmentary blackout” occurs when someone has spotty memories for events with gaps in between them. At the first sign of these symptoms, take them to an emergency room for immediate treatment or call 911 if you were also drinking.

The Link Between PTSD and Alcohol Addiction

• You’ll also be able to connect with our licensed Reframe coaches for more personalized guidance.
• However, this relationship was not demonstrated with significance among veterans who had more severe PTSD symptoms.
• Serenity Grove is a premier source of personalized care for adults who have become addicted to alcohol and other drugs.

Other factors influencing blackouts include body weight, metabolism rate, hormones, and genetics. Determining such risk factors is essential to reduce alcohol risk and deliver educated drinking habits. When you experience memory loss, you are vulnerable to accidents or injuries that can harm your health. Everyday experiences of racial discrimination were also linked to alcohol-induced blackout, more strongly than drinking quantity.

Individuals with PTSD were more likely to report mood disorders, anxiety disorders, SUD, and suicidal behavior than respondents without PTSD. Also, respondents with PTSD were more likely than those without PTSD to have co-occurring AUD, after controlling for sociodemographic factors such as age and race. However, this association was no longer significant when the analysis controlled for other co-occurring mental health conditions in addition to the sociodemographic characteristics. From a clinical perspective, better understanding of the correlates of blackout may help inform and tailor intervention efforts. Data from this study suggest that racial discrimination and drinking to cope may be especially relevant for blackout in diverse samples of Veterans, in which case screening for and preventing these experiences becomes a priority. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) prompts and incentivizes annual alcohol screening for patients using the AUDIT-C (Bradley et al., 2006).

Lifestyle Quizzes

This measure has demonstrated validity in assessing discrimination (Shariff-Marco et al., 2011). Participants indicated if they identified as male, female, transgender, non-binary, other, or preferred not to respond. As noted in Table 1, only two participants chose an option other than male or female. Results were the same including and excluding these participants, so all participants were retained in analyses. Handling and preventing PTSD blackouts might seem daunting, but with the right knowledge and continual professional guidance, it’s a journey that can be effectively managed.

Break Free from Addiction

You are more likely to experience a brownout when you binge drink or consume more than four drinks for women or five drinks for men in a short amount of time. For those seeking addiction treatment for themselves or a loved one, all phone calls are confidential and are available for 24/7 help. Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center.

This durable comorbidity has been found in large, small, representative, and targeted samples. U.S. surveys, such as the St. Louis sample of the ECA,8 the NCS,16 and the NESARC,23 have consistently found relationships between alcohol problems and PTSD. Certain types of crimes, however, are more likely to occur with intoxicated witnesses, such as intimate partner violence, sexual assault and violence at bars. drug addiction treatment When you pass out or faint, you experience a temporary loss of consciousness.

Women, however, are twice as likely to develop PTSD and are 2.4 times more likely to struggle with alcoholism as a result. Women are also more likely to experience  a number of deeply impactful traumatic events such as rape and sexual abuse and often turn to alcohol to cope. Some studies suggest that alcohol consumption can increase the likelihood of the development of PTSD in women, due to the increased likelihood of  exposure of traumatic events that occurs as a result of alcohol abuse. Despite the burgeoning research on blackouts, few studies have examined blackouts among Veterans, and even fewer have included diverse samples (of Veterans or civilians). However, a number of studies have found that Black and Latinx individuals experience more social consequences of drinking than European Americans (Witbrodt et al., 2014, Zapolski et al., 2014, Miles et al., 2019). According to Minority Stress Models (Meyer, 2003), socially oppressed groups face daily stressors (e.g., stereotyping, exclusion, and isolation) that can cascade into chronic stress and subsequent stress-related health problems.