Alcohol and the Brain

Like most kids in college I engaged in the pastime of drinking alcohol. I did not drink until I got to college. This was because I never went out in high school (once at Worcester Academy). The only prior time I had a sip of anything was on New Year's Eve. I found out in college you are expected to drink. Being on the baseball team I was expected to join in. My whole thing with drinking was not that I did not want to mess up my future before I got there. To be honest I saw what my brother was up to and did not want any part of it. I waited until my brain was mature enough to handle it, I guess. It also didn't slip my mind that girls attend parties. That was a bonus.

It is normal that people lose many inhibitions when drunk. Parts of the brain stop thinking and they forget what they are doing. I don't know much about this other than what people have told me. For me, being under the influence of alcohol has similar, yet different effects. My motor skills go down the tubes like everyone else but my mind, mainly the memory part, stays intact. I sort of realized this from my own experiences adn upon reading a ladies story that she could drink massive amounts of alcohol and not "blackout" helped put it all together. It was then I realized that my mind wants to hold the ability to be as in control as possible that it will not shut certain parts down even under heavy assault. This may seem like a joke. I assure you it is not.

In any day to day activity I like to be in control and when things take a dramatic turn south my mind starts to race a little and anxiety sets in. If I were experience a "blacking out" of consciousness of drinking I do not know what would happen. Not to brag but I think my personal 'record' is 15-17 drinks in a night. This would seem more normal if I wasn't 5'5'' 170lbs. Other than the memory ability I guess I have a really high tolerance. Even after that much I still remembered the conversations I had with people and where I was that night. I routinely tell others who have had too much what they were up to. Some things I have seen I have had to look the other way on.

You would think that by the way I am talking that I drink all the time. I don't. I don't even have a beer with dinner out with my parents. My goal was not to be an alcoholic. I don't have any aches or pains when I don't drink for a while. I went nearly all of this last summer without drinking. I did drink my last semester of school but since New Year's I've drank once. Even my hangovers are not normal. I usually wake up at 8-9am and feel reasonable. I'm not saying I'm going to go run a marathon. Everyone else is still asleep for a few more hours. The thing about my hangovers that may be typical (not sure because I have not researched it yet) is that I feel like doing nothing the whole day. Sort of a lingering depression if you will. That is really the only price I have to pay.

It might be that I have better self control than others. I don't ask people's drink count for the night. It could be more than my own, but I don't think I'll ask. I was thinking of setting up an experiment for myself, in a controlled environment of course. It would involved me, a bottle of whatever I chose to drink, a camera and some witnesses. I may also need a breathalyzer if I could get my hands on one. The goal of this test is to see how much I can handle before I either, blackout, vomit, or need medical help. I would also like to engage in several conversations throughout the evening to see how much I could recall the next day. This would be something that could get interesting.

Since I don't have a death wish this should not be happening anytime soon. That does not change the fact of how well I am able to control myself with alcohol and why. This has always been on my mind. So is this a way of life for anyone else out there who does not have AS? I really can't count on a lot of people who do because many have not been out with large crowds in a college party setting. Being around many people does tire my brain, as I mentioned in my previous post, but seeing them act like fools and having the ability to remember it makes it all worthwhile. I leave the camera work to other people while I roll my own version of priceless film.