Relationship Blackouts? Would heavy drinking + PTSD cause my partner to blackout abuse?

[LizzyCat]

Help me understand - would heavy drinking + PTSD cause my partner to blackout during an episode in which he was physically violent towards me? He claims he has no recollection of the abuse. Zero. He did not in any way appear to be reliving or reenacting a memory. He was interacting with and raging at me. He claims that PTSD is to blame. I’m having a hard time believing him. FYI we are currently separated and there are legal protections in place for me and kids.

 

[Friday]

Easily. Alcohol alone can & does cause blackouts. No PTSD necessary.

Not remembering it happened doesn’t mean it did not happen.

 

[Teasel]

He claims that PTSD is to blame

Is he sorry? When you talk about it with him does he seem sad he hurt you?

Even if he did black out because of alcohol / ptsd or both, he oughtta apologise for hurting you.

 

[EveHarrington]

PTSD could make it worse, but look at it this way. He is the one who chooses to drink. Maybe it is PTSD + alcohol that causes these episodes, but so what? The key is that he is making this choice. Many of us abstain from drinking because it makes PTSD worse.

 

[BigLittle]

If I drink heavy then I blackout. If I dont never had a blackout. Both with complex trauma.

Do the math

 

[Sweetpea76]

PTSD doesn’t cause anybody to raise their fists and beat somebody. It’s a broken stress response. How somebody reacts to that stress is a choice. PTSD doesn’t *make* anybody physically abuse, sleep around, lie, steal, or use substances. That’s somebody’s decision.