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Spending time around other people who drink heavily or have other substance use issues is likely to reinforce your own bad habits. Often, our friends’ attitudes influence us in ways we are not aware of.
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Who you spend time with has a big impact on your values, beliefs, and behavior. You also tend to spend more time with people whose substance use habits are similar to yours and people who can help you get drugs. You tend to push away the people who care about you and are concerned about your substance use. The more involved you get with substance use, the more it changes who you spend time with. However, excessive substance use weakens this area, making you vulnerable to emotional swings. When working properly, it moderates the emotional responses generated in the older areas of the brain. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for higher functions like self-control, attention, planning, and emotional regulation. What that aggression seems futile, it might collapse into sadness or despair.īrain imaging studies have also suggested that long-term substance use weaken the brain’s prefrontal cortex and it’s links to other parts of the brain, especially the reward centers that are excessively stimulated by substance use. Many people don’t realize that irritability and aggression are also common symptoms of depression. You feel like drugs or alcohol are basic needs that someone is denying you, so you become aggressive. This is especially true if you feel like someone is standing in the way of your drinking or using drugs. When you constantly feel anxious, you feel at some level that you are being threatened and are therefore more likely to lash out. This is often related to the anxiety and depression mentioned above. You may lose your temper easily or suffer from mood swings. Substance use often leads to emotional volatility. That constant feeling of hopelessness can lead to depression.
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They see how addiction is harming them and they want to quit, but can’t. Also, people with substance use disorders often feel a sense of hopelessness in the face of their addictions. When you’re afraid of withdrawal and you need to find some way to get drugs or alcohol every day, you may become anxious until you can actually meet that need. There are other ways substance use can lead to anxiety and depression. A similar change happens with other substances as well. This leads to more feelings of anxiety and agitation when you’re not drinking. However, your brain soon adjusts for this change, producing less GABA, and more glutamate. For example, drinking alcohol relaxes you at first because alcohol enhances the effect of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA and diminishes the effect of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. First, substances change the balance of your brain chemistry. However, addiction can also cause depression and anxiety. Typically, depression and anxiety come first, and someone develops a substance use disorder from self-medicating depression and anxiety symptoms. You may become depressed or anxious.ĭepression and anxiety often occur along with substance use. They may be concerned about getting into legal trouble or getting others in trouble. Second, they may be using illicit substances or illegally obtaining controlled substances. This usually indicates the user, themselves, is aware on some level that they have a problem. They might not approve of it at all or they might just think it’s excessive. First, they are often aware that their friends and family wouldn’t approve of their drinking or drug use. They may be wary others are trying to get information out of them, and may spend more time alone, choosing not to divulge where they’ve been or what they have been doing. They may become less talkative or more suspicious when people ask them questions. Someone with substance use issues often becomes secretive and takes more care to protect their privacy. A person’s job might tell you something about them, but not as much as what they do for fun.
#The notion of self in the journey back from addiction free
This is unfortunate because much of our identity is determined by how we spend our free time. It also means instead of spending your time building relationships, mastering skills, or creating something useful, you’re just spending your time drinking or using drugs. This damages your relationships for a number of reasons, largely because people don’t like being second to substance use. Whether you enjoy spending time with your family, playing golf, or rebuilding motorcycles, your other interests will gradually lose ground to substance use. One of the primary characteristics of addiction is that it becomes the most important thing in your life and everything else gets demoted. You lose interest in things you used to enjoy. Here are 6 ways addiction changes your personality.