The Sober Butterfly Podcast

What Alcohol Really Does to Your Brain: Binge Drinking, Blackouts, and Holistic Healing with Dr. Sarah Nasir

• Nadine Mulvina

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Have you ever woken up with no memory of the night before? You’re not alone. In this powerful episode of The Sober Butterfly, host Nadine Mulvina—once a regular blackout drinker—opens up about the frightening reality of blackouts and explores what’s really happening in the brain with Dr. Sarah Nasir, DO.

Dr. Nasir is a board-certified Addiction Medicine physician, life coach, and holistic recovery advocate. She breaks down the short- and long-term effects of binge drinking and blackouts on the brain, how alcohol impairs memory and cognition, and what recovery looks like from a medical and holistic lens.

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation packed with valuable insight and empowering information—perfect for anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol or seeking deeper understanding of the science behind sobriety.

🎧 In This Episode, We Cover:

  • What a blackout really is—and why it happens
  • How binge drinking affects memory, decision-making, and brain function
  • The physiological toll of alcohol on your nervous system
  • Why some people blackout more than others
  • The truth about alcohol overdose and life-threatening risk factors
  • Why honesty with your doctor is a radical act of self-care
  • How the brain can repair itself in sobriety with the right support

🌿 About Dr. Sarah Nasir:
Dr. Nasir empowers women to navigate sobriety with compassion and clarity. With a background in osteopathic medicine and life coaching, she offers a unique perspective on addiction recovery that blends medical expertise with holistic tools. Her mission is to support women in reclaiming their health, confidence, and purpose.

📚 Mentioned Resource:
🧾 Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose – NIAAA

📺 Watch This Episode on YouTube:
🎥 Don’t forget to check out the full video on The Sober Butterfly YouTube channel which will premiere Sunday, May 4th.
👉 Subscribe here: YouTube:@thesoberbutterfly

📌 Stay Tuned for Part 2:
Part 2: Healing Through Faith & Holistic Recovery drops Sunday, May 4th. Dr. Nasir returns to discuss how spiritual wellness, emotional intelligence, and lifestyle changes support sustainable sobriety.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Sarah Nasir:

📲 Connect with TSB 🦋

  • Follow Nadine on Instagram @the.soberbutterfly @soberbutterflypodcast
  • Leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
  • Join our newsletter 💌  for sober travel, tips, and updates


Support the show

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services refereed to in this episode.

the-sober-butterfly_2_05-01-2025_070645:

Hello. Hello, beautiful butterflies and welcome back to another episode of The Sober Butterfly, your go-to podcast for navigating an alcohol free life with intention and joy. I'm your host, Nadine. And today's episode is especially close to my heart because we are talking about something that used to be a pretty normal part of my drinking life, we're talking about blackouts here, and Let me tell you guys, there is nothing funny about blackouts. There's nothing empowering or funny about waking up and not remembering what happened the night before, but yet that was the norm. Especially in, my late teens, early twenties, that was a part of the journey and. Not just myself, like my friends included, we would black out. And I'm just like thinking back to how terrifying that actually is. You know, the text messages, the conversations, the choices, trying to piece that all together, like a crime scene the next day is not living, it is merely surviving. I would even argue you're barely surviving at that point. So I've been wanting to get into sort of. Understanding more of the science behind blackouts, which is why I'm so honored to welcome today's guest, Dr. Sarah Nasir. To the show dr. Sarah is the perfect person to get into this topic of blackouts today because she has all the credentials and she breaks things down in a really palatable way, which I appreciate because sometimes I won't lie, the A DHD starts kicking in when people start getting super technical, but Dr. Sarah has visuals for us, so be sure to check out this episode on YouTube if you want to see some of those visuals where she really breaks down the science in, like I said, a way that is just. Easy to understand. And the more you know, the more you know, the better choices you can make. So this episode, by the way, is not to scare anyone. I'm not into fear mongering as a practice to get people sober. I, I don't think that actually has much of a lasting impact. I like to tell stories, which is why I have this podcast. But I do like to also understand some of the ways in which long-term heavy drinking and blackouts have an impact, and how they influence brain health. Some of those risks are very real, so I have to keep it real with you guys. But even as we unpack some of the short and long-term impacts, there is good news, butterflies, Our bodies and brains are so powerful and they're working so hard for us, and we learned in this episode that our brains and our bodies can actually heal with time, support and recovery. In this episode, Dr. Sarah also shares her osteopathic approach to addiction recovery. I know that's a mouthful. Basically, she approaches each person, she calls them patients because she's a doctor, so each patient as an entire being, and she really gets into holistic approaches and. Remedies or recommendations to help someone truly heal from the inside out and it's that brain body spirit connection. She also includes some other pillars or principles that she finds super relevant and helpful with helping us restore. Balance after maybe years of blacking out like me. so we covered a lot in today's episode, talking about why honesty or how honesty with your doctor matters and why it's important to share truthfully, why blackouts are a big red flag and what we can do to actually turn things around. And this is only part one of a powerful two part series with Dr. Sarah. And in part two, which will drop Sunday, May 4th, this Sunday we go even deeper. So we get into exploring the connection between faith and healing and how spirituality and self-trust can play a role in long-term recovery. Alright, let's get into this rich and honest conversation with Dr. Sarah Nasir.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Dr. Sarah Naer, welcome to The Sober Butterfly. How are you today?

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Hi Nadine. I am doing well and thank you so much for having me on your show to talk to your butterflies. I am so excited to be here.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

I am so excited and honored to have you here and this is truly Dr. Sarah, an episode that I have been wanting to do for so long because as a former blackout drinker, I don't think I realized at the time just some of the long term and short term implications. Drinking, especially to the point of blackouts had on my overall cognitive health. And so I really would love to get into today's conversation around what actually happens to your brain during a blackout. So do you think you can help us clear up some of the misnomers misconceptions and just myths that we have around blackouts?

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

I will try my best and I hope that this makes sense to the audience, but it's a very good point that you bring up. Blackout definitely is something that a lot of people, I'm gonna say patients because. By the time I'm taking care of folks who are drinking heavily, they are, you know, ready to seek care and do something about the lifestyle that they've been leading because they're just tired of waking up groggy, waking up miserable, the withdrawal symptoms, not having any control over their lives. So I'm gonna say patient because we work together in that situation to figure out how to balance their chemical imbalance. And then also figure out how to, take care of them in a holistic manner so they achieve total recovery And blackout tends to be very common in these patients.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

I love so much of what you just shared. I'm wondering if a patient comes to you and they say, Dr. Sarah. I am struggling with my drinking and I need some help. What would, be a first step that you would recommend that a patient takes to assess or move forward with their overall health and recovery process?

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yeah, I love approaching the patient as a person with their whole story around them. Not just as a person who is coming in with a disease and so just prescribe them a few pills and that's it. They're gone. I love to work with people who have the drive to transcend and become a better version of where they are, because whether it's substance use, alcohol, or other aspects of life, we're gonna be. Faced with challenges in life anyway, help us grow. And so this is that type of journey. So I'm an osteopathic medical doctor, and that's where my holistic philosophy comes in. From the first day of medical school, we were taught the four tenets of osteopathic medicine, and I remember like two of'em, and then I forget the rest. Always I have to look it up. So the main things that really drive my mission and approach with patients is the concept that the body is a unit of mind, body, and spirit. And that the, body has an inherent capability to heal itself. And so, what that means is that. It has what it needs to fix itself, and that's why we get to go through life. When it starts to move away from that homeostasis, it starts to go into that diseased phase. And so when we're taking care of disease, it's not just like, oh, you're sick. Take this medicine. It's also about what got you sick in the first place and how can you not be. Sake again. And while you're recovering in the process of this disease, you know, what are the other elements of you that need to be addressed? So the founder of osteopathy, Dr. Andrew Taylor Steele, came up with these principles and now I at a few more of my principles. So he said, mind, body, and spirit. I also add social dimension. Financial dimension and aspirational dimension, the need to contribute. What do you wanna leave behind with your life as other dimensions that need to be addressed to help a person transition from wherever they are, whatever they're struggling with, to find that the sun in their horizon that keeps them moving down the path. So when a patient comes to me first, you know, the intake process is that. Trying to dive into what is the disease itself? Where are they, what other conditions they may be suffering with, and what is leading to that? What are the different areas that we need to figure out and regain balance, not just biochemically, but in life as well. And then over the next appointments over the year and sometimes years, most of the time years, rarely one year, you know, because it's much easier to break something than it is to fix something. It takes much longer. And so, it's that. Time that they want to give themselves. That's another quality that helps a person become successful is when they're willing to invest in themselves with all the resources they have. And time is an important one. So I hope that answers your question. I.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

It surely does, and hearing you talk already, I feel so assured in you sharing about your philosophies and what drives you to practice the type of medicine that you've just shared with us? I know that you can't go into that whole spiel with every patient, but that I think breeds trust and I think patients will feel more comfortable disclosing certain things that may be important in assessing. Some of the contributing factors as to what may be leading to some of these disorders or conditions. Because I feel like so often I won't speak for everyone, but personally I have gone through that intake process with a new doctor or a new physician, and you're being faced with that long laundry list of questions or that dreaded questionnaire, which is like,

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

I use that laundry list.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

As someone who is self-reporting. The dreaded question, like, how many alcoholic drinks does one have per week? And I remember being asked that question and immediately defaulting to, okay, what is the amount that I'm supposed to say? Because I don't want to raise red flags, especially as someone who is not on paper, considered unhealthy. Like my doctor looking at my vitals will be like, oh, everything seems okay. So when they're asking me these questions, it's like, I don't, I guess trust. The doctor, or maybe I'm just lying to myself and I don't feel ready to admit the question around, do you smoke or do you drink, and all these other things. This is before I got sober, of course. So my question for you, doctor Sarah, is. What do you recommend patients do in terms of sharing maybe the amounts of alcohol or substances they are imbibing if they know it's outside of the range so that they can actually begin to do the work long-term, back to your point, and making those real lasting changes in their life.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

I think the main answer will come from somebody who has succeeded in transcending alcoholism like yourself because in regards to like, what do they need to do is hearing somebody else talk about that, you know, normal to feel that shame, that guilt when you show up because having to face that, you know. Ugly side in the mirror, in many ways that you don't wanna look at, maybe that's something that you can share. But for my perspective, you know, as a doctor, when I talk with my patients, or even in my coaching situation what I tell my patients is that, you know, the first person that can help you in achieving what you want to achieve is you. Right, and so you have to transcend those limits to connect with yourself, become your friend, your own friend, because we can throw the best medicines at you. We can throw the best people at you, but nobody has the power over you that you do.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

That's very true.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

So if you show up and you're having to ask those, answer those questions, and it doesn't sit right in you, it's because your soul is so smart, you know that something doesn't feel right. Lean

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Oftentimes we know before we know consciously.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yeah.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Yeah.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

sit well here, that means that you are, it's not inc congruence with who you are and who

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Yeah.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

to be. And so if you're able to be truthful, the more truthful you are, the more help can be delivered to you. And yes, sometimes I've heard patients say that I felt judged when I mentioned that.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Yeah.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

who cares, right?

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Fair, fair point. I have a question for you, Dr. Sarah, so be honest. off the record, can you tell oftentimes if someone is maybe bending the truth a little bit? Because I think just default mode, if a doctor's asking how many, you know, drinks I'm having. Per week. And to your point, that shame or that judgment is playing in the back of our mind. Sitting in the other side of the, chair, can you tell if someone's fibbing or not telling the truth.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

So. Off the record, this is, we kind of tend to approach with a default that we're not gonna get the correct numbers. And sometimes we have joked about like, you know, some, if someone says you, oh, they're just smoking two to three cigarettes a day. Like at a few more to that. Yes. So I try to be a little creative when I'm asking the questions. I try to approach it in a different way than what the questions ask, like how many drinks you've had and et cetera. So when I'm asking my patients, don't ask yes or no, or one or two choice, like, you know. Pick one of these things. I try to open the space for the patient to tell their story because you can't fib for long. You know? The

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

That's, that's true.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

So

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

very true.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

the way I normally ask is, when is the last day you drank? You know, first I say these questions are not meant to judge you. You know, set the tone that I'm not here to judge you. This is a safe space. recovery is not something that happens instantaneously. It's a process. And so if I see like somebody needs a little extra talking, what these questions are gonna help me do is understand where you are, so then we can continue to trend the pattern. It's kind of like if you're trying to lose weight, you gotta stand on the scale and I gotta ask you the numbers, right? So then I'll ask things like, when was the last time you drank and in the past week, how many drinks you've had? Instead of like, How much drinks do you have at a time? I don't know. Just rephrasing the question sometimes makes it easier. And then of course, when the patient keeps coming back, over time they feel more safe and they're more willing to speak the truth and they get in the game that, Hey, we're trending this. I drank less this week than I drank before. So then they get excited with these measurable numbers as well.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

I love that approach and I think that you help so many people by first of all, framing from the beginning like, I'm not here to judge you. This is only to help you. it sounds so simple, but oftentimes if you feel as though you are just a number or someone's just checking a box,

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yeah.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

then you are less. Prone to being honest with someone And then beyond that, I've even had a doctor say to me, well, the CDC, not the CDC, but American heart associ, one of the different entities will be, they'll say something like, statistically, you're supposed to ingest blah, blah, blah as a woman per week. when I would hear that number, and I wanna say it was like four alcoholic beverages or something. In my mind at the time, that was very low and I was exceeding that number by like times five, truly, like I was having like 20 alcoholic drinks per week, so Exactly. Wow. So like when, when they would lead with that, like, this is what the recommendation is. Are you falling within that range? It's like, yeah. Uhhuh. No, no.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

I Don's.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Right, exactly. It's like, I don't, who are you who's listening to this? Are you gonna report me? So that, I think that is really true. And like, to your point earlier, yeah, it's hard to keep up the, the narrative, especially if you have rapport with your physician, I'm not gonna remember how many jokes I told you the last time six months later. So.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

I'll write it down.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Exactly, exactly. So I actually, you know, speaking in terms of like, quote, normal, so as far as I'm aware. Alcoholism is on a spectrum. So the alcohol use disorder spectrum, it's a range. And so going back to this idea of what is the, you know, quote or number or the quota of drinks, one is supposed to I by per week. I know that they have different ranges for different genders. Your weight plays a role, like all of these other factors come into play, but for the most part, one should not be exceeding. A certain number of drinks per week. Right? And so as someone who drank heavily almost daily, depending on the time in my life around the time that I quit drinking permanently, when I got sober, I was drinking prior to that every day. And so my question to you is, how does that impact the brain? I know that you mentioned. More than just the brain, it's the mind body, soul connection. And you also mentioned social currency and things of that nature. But in general, what happens when one binge drinks in excess on a consistent basis to maybe even the point of a blackout?

Nadine Mulvina:

And now a quick word from our partners.

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dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yeah. Short answer. it doesn't do well on the brain. It, it's not good because if you think about it, you know when you are sanitizing your hands and getting rid of all those germs on your, in your hands, you're killing them with alcohol. Right. And now you're putting that into your body. So while your liver is healthy and young and you have good, strong metabolism, your body does its best to get it out. But then when you start to drink faster than your body can clear it out, you start to have the toxins of the alcohol build up in your body. And so that's why at the beginning, alcohol feels. Happy. But then as you keep drinking and drinking and the speed at which you're putting alcohol into your body becomes more than how fast your body can clear things out. The toxic stuff starts to build up and it starts to damage your body And if you do it every day chronically or a, a frequent basis, then it starts to make more lasting damages. And to permanent changes. And so once again, going back to that concept of homeostasis, that's where it comes to our body is built with a range that it can operate in per optimally. when you start to fall out of that range, it starts to break down and it starts to malfunction. And our, our body is so smart, it starts to reset the threshold so it doesn't keep like, you know, sending you fire like alarms, like all the bad feelings you get. That's basically your body's alarm system trying to. Alert you that it's not doing well, it needs help, et cetera. But you know, I don't know if you've ever set your fire alarm off because you're cooking like something and it's burning and really there's no fire. It's just the alarm being stupid.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Yeah. Yeah.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

we do sometimes is we go and we take the battery out. I hope no fire fighters listening to this, but we put it back, right? But, but until we have like all the smoke clears out and stuff, we take it off. So your body kind of like resets the threshold for alarming you. That doesn't mean that the damage stops. So over time it starts to shift and towards the damaged process. And so what happens is when you don't have this offending agent there anymore you know, the alcohol isn't there anymore to cause disturbance. All of a sudden your body starts to. Find itself in a wrong position. It, it's off balance when the alcohol is no longer there or other drugs as well. And so it's then it starts to give you the withdrawal symptoms as an alert that it's hurting, it's in danger, it needs support. And normally people take that as like, I'm just miserable without alcohol. Alcohol just will make it all disappear. So they drank more or other drugs as well. And so that, stops that that fills that chemical gap. However, further along, people are drinking more because they have other reasons why they got into alcohol in the first place. And in my patient population, it tends to be a lot of unaddressed trauma, like rape or abuse or you know, systemic discrimination, whatever it is. You know, things that they're trying to get away from. So they keep drinking, you know, the drive is to keep drinking to. Run away from the problem instead of solving it, which doesn't make the problem disappear. so, people will drink more than they need. And then that just makes the situation even worse. So it's like pushing and pushing until you fall off the cliff and whatnot. So I'm actually gonna share my screen if it's okay with you.'cause I think sometimes visuals are, more easier to remember and I'll share the,

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Absolutely.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

question you had asked about the drinking, how many servings of drinking is good and not good.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

I'm not a doctor, but I feel like no traces or amounts of alcohol are good for you. Is that a fair assertion? I.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

the best, that's the best way to go. And actually that's our spiritual practice as well. And you know, if time permits, maybe I can go into My faith. Because, you know, I think faith has such a powerful. in how we heal and stuff. But let me quickly go through what the standard drinks are because depending on what you're drinking, that also impacts how fast you become intoxicated, right? So normal.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Absolutely like the A BV, the amount of ethanol present in alcohol. That make sense?

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yes. It makes sense that you're talking about what's the amount of or concentration of alcohol

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Concentration,

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

varies, right? So, the standard drink, what is a standard drink? All this a standard drink. Okay, so, the 12 ounce of regular beer has the lowest amount of alcohol on the market, and then a shot of. Distilled spirits like tequila, vodka, whiskey, which is 40% alcohol. So almost half of what you're putting in a sip is alcohol. Basically. You just need a shot of it, right? And that's enough. So normally, what is the standard for men? It tends to be two drinks of wine equivalent. And

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

wow.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

for women it tends to be one drink a day. And then if you're talking about how much are you drinking in a week, you know, if you do the math, a man shouldn't be drinking more than 14 drinks in a week. And that's basically the definition of binge drinking as well. So the equivalence of drinking. 14 drinks in one sitting or for women, if you're drinking more than seven drinks in one sitting, that tends to make you go to binge. And once again, I'm talking about drink, like, you know, the table wine and less when I'm talking about seven to 14 drinks.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Wait, so can I ask a clarifying question, doctor, so as a woman, I should not be drinking. According to this table or the standard, more than seven drinks of, say, a wine or beer in one sitting or for the week, is it seven? Oh, for the week. Okay.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

And

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Okay.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

sitting is just one drink.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Oh,

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yes. But then when people are binging. You

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

yes.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

tend to go, like that's

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Beyond.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

they end up drinking. So, that's what next thing comes in is binge drinking is how much do you need to drink to raise your blood alcohol concentration to 0.08% or up.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

And that's the DWI level.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

yes, that's the one that they check for. That's the legal level of being under influence

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Got

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yeah.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Yes.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

And so next thing I wanna show,'cause you were talking about the, Blacking out. So I wanna show you a cute picture. Not really cute, but I, I like, it's, you know, it's, it's easy to see, but quickly the, the critical signs and symptoms of alcohol overdose because if you drink too much, this is what it looks like. You can, I. Be very confused. You'll have difficulty staying conscious. Un arousable. You might find yourself vomiting too much. Drinking can go to seizures. Shallow, slow breathing. So that's less than eight breaths per minute. So if you're with somebody and they're exhibiting the signs, here's the number. Maybe we'll test you on it at the end of the day. Right.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Stay tuned, guys.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yes, focus. And then your heart slows down because you know the alcohol is poisoning your body.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Mm-hmm.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

that the skin gets clammy, they're sweating they're just really dull who response. Basically everything in their brain is just shutting down, down, down, down. And then that includes their body temperature starts to drop because everything in the body is shutting down. The heart is basically shutting down. It's not pumping. And if you have no blood flowing. You are not like you're moving to away from living. So basically that's what the slow heart rate, the slow pulse, all those are indicating as well, right? The brain is shutting down. When you're not having good responses, your heart is shutting down as a slowing down. So, so many organs are being impacted. And then when there's the vomiting happening, your GI system, your gut system is trying to like purge it out to protect you. So all these things that your body's trying to do to keep you alive while it's being damaged. So owe it to our bodies to take good care of it. It's, it's such a, such an ally for us.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Absolutely. I've experienced a lot of those critical signs, unfortunately in my many years of drinking, binge drinking to the point of blackouts, how many drinks on average? Would you say somebody would have to ingest to start experiencing some of those critical symptoms slash binge drinking, or does it vary per person

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

it varies per person because it depends how your body has changed itself.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

like tolerance? Mm-hmm.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

tolerance is one. Genetics is one.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Okay.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

because some people like you know, the East Asian population, they tend to have, They don't tend to have one of the enzymes,

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

to metabolize alcohol.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

yeah. Exactly. And so they are ready to tap out. Like, you know, the jokingly in this media, they say like, oh, they can't hold their alcohol basically. So,

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Mm-hmm. I wish I didn't have the enzyme or had the enzyme or whatever that genetic factor is

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yeah, but you know, you're here, you're on the other side. Next question you asked is, how many drinks do they need? If you remember the picture that I showed you, how the alcohol concentration varies and

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

right.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

drinks, that if I just give you a number of how many drinks you, if I say like, oh, you can have three drinks of such and such, you know, two drinks of the, of the beer. But then if you go and you drink two shots of vodka, your blood alcohol concentration is gonna be totally different.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Got it.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

question is more about. At what blood alcohol concentration do you see the different types of changes in the body rather than how many drinks is safe as'cause? As you said, zero drinks is the best number to drink.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Absolutely. I understand that now, and it just alarms me so much to think about. My past self and how much I chronically been drank, and how I'm still standing. We're sitting here to talk before you today and to anyone listening at home. I think one of the main symptoms I. I experienced after blackout drinking was the short term memory loss.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Mm-hmm.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

I know that one of the critical symptoms you mentioned was losing consciousness or sometimes I wouldn't quite literally lose consciousness. I would be, I. Here awake, but there was no one, you know, the lights aren't on, basically. So I could be sitting here or slouching over or talking to you, and then I have no recognition the following day as to what happened, what we discussed. And so those moments I think were the most jarring for me when I'm being given feedback about what I did or my behaviors. And I have literally no idea what anyone is referring to or talking about. So. In terms of how the brain functions, and I believe like the hippocampus, am I making it up? Or hypothalamus is responsible partly for short-term memory. Can you explain to us a little bit about what happens for people who may be blacking out? In terms of losing that consciousness or not being able to recall what happens to them. Because I so often think that's where the shame can come into play, where it's like, you don't know what you did, you don't know what you said. You don't even know maybe how you were affected or what happened to you, but yet you're left with the remnants of dealing with, you know, the consequences. So yeah. Can you talk to us a little bit about the memory loss,

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

of

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

I think that's the scariest part of blackouts, at least for me.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

For sure. The brain area that you're referring to is hippocampus. That's our

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Okay.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

center.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Mm-hmm.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

and you know, amygdala is with the emotions and the emotion and the memory tend to go together. So basically the more your blood alcohol concentration increases, the more different areas of your brain starts to shut down. Because the way that the alcohol works is it potentiates the power of the inhibitory, hormone in our body known as gaba. The GABA is basically an inhibition, like when you have more of it, then things start to shut down. And so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go through this arrow that you're looking at because as the concentration rises, the more impaired you start to become. And I can't imagine like. Blackout sounds really scary where you don't remember like what

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Yeah.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

transpired in your life, right? So yeah, when you have zero 2.05% of blood alcohol concentration, so this is basically I. You are not legally drunk yet, right? You start to see mild impairment, like your speech can be a little slurred. You start to have a little memory problem. Your attention is like a little unfocused. You might have a little uncoordination and you start to feel that, relax. And you feel sleepy. So a lot of times people say like, oh, I couldn't sleep. I needed to relax, so I started to drink. You know, and that's normally where it starts when people are self-medicating with alcohol. then when you go up to the next level, 0.06 to 0.15%, so you're now in the legal alcohol you know, intoxication limit. You basically have more impairment you start to feel more relaxed. You know, this is also still in that range where people drink for the intended pur intended purpose. But you are now entering the risky phase of alcohol where the tolerance will start to develop. The more you do it, you might find increased risk of aggression because, you know, in the center of the brain is the primordial part of the brain. There's prefrontal cortex in the brain. That's your judgment system. This is where you are and deciding and you're in control of your body. But anything more that posterior, I'm like trying to not use medical words here. That's where the more, basic intuitive survival you know, primal. Survival instincts lie. And so basically in this level, at the 0.06 to 0.15, the connection between your judgment center and your automated center starts to kind of get more relaxed. So the connection starts to loosen up. So that's why you're feeling relaxed. However, in some people who are just, you know. Do give it their best to not get aggressive. You know, they become aggressive because now that fight or flight aspect of the, the control over that fight or flight is slowly going away. Right? And so more is that speech memory, attention coordination balance is further impaired because this is happening all the way in the back of your head in the cerebellum area. The coordination. So even those connections between the brain pathway are now being impacted. if you're driving, if you don't have that good coordination and you have impaired attention span, this is where drunk driving and accidents happen. So increased risk of injury to self and others, and memory starts to go out. you go to the next stage of alcohol. What's the word? Impairment. Intoxication. Sorry, that's the word I'm looking for. Alcohol, intoxication. Point one. Six to 0.3. This counts as severe impairment. This is where you basically have lost most of your control over how you talk. I. you remember, how you move, what you're paying attention to, how fast you can react. So like if you need to protect yourself, you lose it. This is the blackout phase. Okay, so blackout gaps in memory. Your judgment and decision making are dangerously impaired. You are basically, if your body is a. Vehicle. That's kind of how I use the example of the body when I'm talking with my patients, is that your body is like a car and your soul is the one that's driving it. Your awareness, your consciousness that's driving it. So now you're basically removing you from your body, and now it's like being behind a car and you are not holding the steering wheels, you are not controlling the brakes and the accelerator. Right? And now just the thought of Tesla and the automated

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Right,

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

But you know, even that haying right

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

right, exactly. Stocks are plummeted anyway.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Yeah, that's a different discussion we can have on a different day. But basically your automated driving system is gone. You are no longer at the wheels, and your body is just like, oh, I guess it's time to like check out,

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Right.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

So all this is happening, and this is basically the level of poisoning, alcohol poisoning because now the vomiting is starting and slowly you move towards what's called syncope or loss of consciousness, like passing out. It's not just blackout where you, you're not in connection with your memory. It's also that you actually pass out, your whole body passes out because the inhibition has like depressed everything, like the operation's so, so low. The factory's shutting down and so then it, if you keep going past that, you know, 0.31% to 0.45% alcohol concentration in your blood, you are

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Fatal.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

risk

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Fatal.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

life. Yes,

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Yeah.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

putting your life at danger. So one, you lose consciousness and overdosing and. know, it says like, basically all of your vital life functions are being impaired at this time. this is not where your body wants you to be. Your body wants you to be healthy, living, thriving, growing, taking care of it,

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Yeah.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

It's only one body that you get. And so when they say your body is your temple, it's so much more than that. So much more than that.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

That's been so helpful, Dr. Sarah.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Of course.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Thank you so much for sharing that, and I will drop everything in the show notes for folks listening at home. This episode is also available on YouTube. However I wanted to go back to this idea of homeostasis and the body regenerating or repairing itself with time. I'm imagining binge drinking over the course of many years is not good for you, but is there, you know, a silver lining at the end. Are we able to repair some of those damages that we've done cognitively to our brain? Because I know some people do suffer from short to long-term memory loss if they consistently binge drink, for many years. So just wondering is it possible for the body to repair some of those damages, rewire or rec circuit, some of those neurological I guess. Defects that we've created from not taking care of our bodies or our vessels.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

This answer applies not only to, alcohol. Dependence or substance use disorder, it applies to everything, like all chronic diseases. So that's

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Yeah.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

disease question. Our body is is amazing if it has the resources, the right resources it needs, and it doesn't have the stress of having to protect itself against a threat because that's what heavy alcohol use is doing. It's threatening your body's and, and ability to live. Our body is constantly trying to go for the optimal, most efficient route of being safe and growing. So as soon as you stop putting in offending agents in your body, and I'm gonna say offending agents, because it's not just alcohol, as I mentioned, it's also nicotine, it's also

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Mm.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine,

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Mm-hmm.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

I'm a visual person, so imagine that there was a disaster and like a wildfire. That's very common in California. In New York, it's probably, you know, the snow storms that just really damage everything. In some areas it might be flood or tornadoes, but basically any natural disaster that happens, right? It just destroys and decimate everything. And as soon as it stops. The offending agent stops increasing in damage, that's when the recovery and the rebuilding starts. So depending on how much or how bad the damage is, and if it has destroyed something that's irreplaceable, know, things that are irreplaceable are not gonna come back. If it's something that can be put back on track with, you know, now coming back to the body's communication, diet, exercise, lifestyle, and as well as rehabilitation.'cause if you think about a stroke, when a person can suffer a stroke and become paralyzed on part of their body, sometimes it, the d the damage is so bad depending on how, how big the area is. Right.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Mm-hmm.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

it dictates how much functionality you can get back, but people get at least something back if they try to go back and retrain their body. Other factors that go into play is, know, how long have you been using how old you are, because the longer you use, the more the permanent damages tend to be, or you don't have as much left. To recover because the damage is so much more when you're older. The natural process is that it's harder to heal just naturally. However, you know, people who are really on top of it and they go on these really you know, observant and strict lifestyle to help them. Heal and regain them, their bodies, they can get a lot more back than the average person who doesn't. For example, people who have really bad heart disease, plaques in their blood vessels. If they strictly, you know, do the low salt, high fiber vegetarian diet, they tend to actually reverse the atherosclerotic plaques. On their blood vessels. As well as diabetes, you know, if you create the lifestyle that controls your blood sugar, but intensely adhere to it, it is possible to reverse. But sometimes the damages that are done will persist if

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Mm-hmm.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

permanent and unchangeable. So it really depends. But for the most part, as soon as you stop putting that poison in the body.

the-sober-butterfly_15_04-22-2025_181806:

Mm-hmm.

dr-sarah-nasir--do_2_04-22-2025_151807:

Your body starts to detox and heal itself, and if you continue to work with it and help give it what it needs, you'll probably get more back than if you just be like, I'm not drinking anymore, I'm done.

the-sober-butterfly_3_05-01-2025_071704:

Okay. That was powerful. And I wanna give a huge thank you to Dr. Sarah Nasir for dropping so much wisdom, compassion, and science back knowledge in today's episode. Whether you're newly sober, sober, curious, or have years in recovery, I hope this convo. Left you feeling inspired because your brain and body are capable of healing, especially when you stop numbing and start nourishing or replenishing. And if you've ever experienced a blackout like I have, I want you to know it does not define you. It is simply a wake up call, and you just need to keep listening to your body, right? These are signs, these are not even signs. These are quite literally alarms. And so we have to tap into that inner voice. You guys know I love to talk about my intuition. We all have it. Listen to that inner voice and start taking steps, incremental steps toward awareness and change. Don't forget part two of my interview with Dr. Nasir. We'll be out Sunday, May 4th. This is where we talk about faith, healing and holistic wellness. So mark your calendar, or better yet, just hit follow so you don't miss it. if you loved part one of this conversation, please take a screenshot. Tag me on your stories on Instagram at the period Sober Butterfly. I love to see it. I love to hear your feedback and support or if you have any aha moments. Also feel free to DM and share those with me Okay, butterflies. I love you so much. Stay soft, stay strong, and stay sober. I'll see you this Sunday for part two of this convo. Bye.