How Addiction Changes Your Personality

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), more than 23 million adults in the United States have struggled with problematic drug use. For this reason alone, it’s important to understand the underlying causes of addiction, its relationship to other psychiatric conditions and how to treat it most effectively.

Repeated and regular substance abuse drastically alters your brain activity and tricks it into prioritizing drugs or alcohol over everything else. Because drugs or alcohol then consumes the brain, a person’s personality can change dramatically and may even cause mental health problems.

Prolonged use of drugs and alcohol destroys the brain. They flood the brain with feel-good dopamine and, once gone, leave behind an irrational craving for more. While not everyone will experience drastic consequences (like imprisonment) as a result of substance abuse, most addicts will experience extreme personality and behavioral changes.

Addiction-based personality changes

Common addiction-based personality changes include:

• Abusiveness
• Aggressiveness
• Dishonesty
• Fatigue
• Forgetfulness
• Impulsiveness
• Laziness
• Manipulation
• Mood swings
• Paranoia
• Restlessness
• Secrecy
• Selfishness

Erratic or impulsive behaviors and negative changes in your personality as a result of addition often have the following devastating effects:

• Social
  Frequent mood swings; erratic behavior and poor anger management can cause relationships to deteriorate.
• Professional
  Loss of interest, apathy and an inability to focus can lead to termination from work or expulsion from school.
• Legal
  Aggression, impulsiveness and poor decision-making can lead to erratic behavior, unnecessary risks and unlawful behavior.

At Alpine Recovery Lodge, we understand treating a substance addiction isn’t just about eliminating access to drugs or alcohol. It’s also about diagnosing and treating the underlying psychological disorders or diseases. When a person is struggling with depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder they are more likely to misuse, or become dependent on, alcohol, medications or illicit drugs.

To learn more about how addiction changes your personality, contact Alpine Recovery Lodge at 877-415-4060. We are dedicated to helping you find your path to recovery, and helping you each step of the way through individualized emotional, spiritual and physical healing.