“The Lost Mariner ” – The Consequences Of Alcoholism

The Lost Mariner (2014) is really fascinating, even though it was a real tragedy for the main character. This is a story about one of the many consequences alcoholism can have on a person’s cognitive functions. In some cases, these consequences do not appear in the short term, but manifest themselves over time.

The main character in The Lost Mariner was a man named Jimmie G. People who knew him said he was intelligent, friendly, a good conversation partner and lively. At first glance, it did not seem that he had any special rarities. He was usually calm and loving.

However, he came to a nursing home with an enigmatic description that did not seem to suit him. He described this note as “helpless, insane, confused and disoriented”. Thus, it was obvious that he needed neurological treatment. Fortunately, Dr. Oliver Sacks was there to take over. He was a particularly sensitive and open man.

A revealing consultation

The first consultation with Dr. Sacks was completely normal. Jimmie G. talked about his past with great joy and enthusiasm.

He worked as a radio operator in the navy and had a position as a substitute in the submarines. It was a fact that filled him with pride and gave him wonderful memories.

The main character in The Lost Mariner had a lot of information about his hometown. He even offered to make a map and expressed joy for this place. In addition, he talked about his school, his love of mathematics and even remembered the phone numbers from his childhood.

What encouraged him most was to talk about the experiences in the navy. He told Sacks about the missions he once performed. In addition, he mentioned that he wanted to continue working there, but decided to enroll in college instead.

The neurologist noticed something very special about the way he told stories. When Jimmie talked about childhood, he usually talked in the past. But when he referred to the Navy, he pretended it was still happening.

The Lost Mariner and Memory

When the neurologist noticed these peculiarities, he asked Jimmie what year they were in. The patient was a little surprised by the question and answered: “1945, of course”. And added: “We won the war!” In light of this answer, Dr. Sacks asked how old he was. Again a little surprised, Jimmie replied that he was 19 years old and soon to be 20.

Jimmie was obviously confused. The neurologist took a mirror and put it in front of him. The intention was for the man to see with his own eyes that his hair was white and his face wrinkled, which means that he was definitely not 19 years old.

Dr. Sacks was eager to confront the patient, but the effect was surprising. Jimmie was shocked and did not believe what he saw in the mirror. He thought it was a joke or a nightmare. In fact, he even wondered if he had gone mad. For he did not match the image in the mirror in any way with the image he had of himself.

A revealing fact

The neurologist understood the confusion and diverted the conversation to other topics. He made Jimmie forget the mirror and the reflected image. Then the doctor went out for a moment.

When he returned, Jimmie was completely unable to recognize the doctor. It was as if he had never seen him. Thus, Sacks got an idea of ​​what happened.

The Lost Mariner is a movie that deals with a problem called “anterograde amnesia”. This problem is characterized by the impossibility of storing short-term memories. You remember everything that happened before the memory loss happened, but you can not remember what happened five minutes ago. That’s what happened to Jimmie.

As he researched his past, Oliver discovered that Jimmie had a habit of drinking a lot of alcohol over many years. It damaged his brain and generated a problem called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

A person who overdoses drinking alcohol may end up with this problem because alcohol alters the metabolism and the tapping body vitamin B1, which means that it ends up affecting the central nervous system.

The Lost Mariner speaks not only of a neurological strangeness, but also of a human tragedy. Not having short-term memory means having no life. Memory is a fundamental part of your identity, and not storing memories keeps you captive where time stands still.