I just listened to NPR's Fresh Air interview with Sarah Hepola, author of the memoir titled, Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget. If you drink to be a more bold, brash, funnier, or sexier you, in other words, to quell social anxiety, then this could be a listen that helps you swerve off of the road to addiction (or a read that helps, but I haven't read the book yet so I can't recommend it). Important fact: Blackout refers to memory lapses due to excessive drinking. It does not mean passed out or unconscious. If your friend tells you how funny you were last night but you don't remember? You might have experienced a blackout. Unhealthy, yes. Dangerous? Could be.
Click here to listen to Fresh Air's Terry Gross interview the author.
--Sandy Andrews, PhD
Clinical Psychologist
Austin, TX
