The effects of addiction on personality have been known for quite some time. Several studies have been conducted that demonstrate the effects that addiction causes on an individual’s brain and on their personality. The specialists at our drug and alcohol rehab center are here for you to guide you through your difficult times, and to help you start the recovery process.
How Addiction Can Change Personality
The evidence is clear regarding the effects that addiction has on an individual at all times, not just on their behavior while they are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. For instance, cocaine, like many other drugs, causes long-term changes in the brain. Cocaine use often co-occurs with stress-related disorders. Research has even shown that when cocaine was given to test animals, the animals were likely to continue seeking cocaine and experience stress over it.
Similarly, chronic alcohol use results in a shift of behavior control away from the area of the brain that is used in complex decision making. This could affect learning abilities as well. All of these changes can potentially result in compulsive behaviors and actions. These could include:
- Driving under the influence
- Binge drinking
- Risky sexual behavior
- Spending money irresponsibly
However, there are treatment options for those who are ready to break free of addiction. San Antonio Recovery Center’s caring staff understands that personality issues sometimes do occur with someone that has addiction issues and that it occurs with any drug, including alcohol. Our drug and alcohol rehab programs offer comprehensive treatment.
Drugs That Cause Personality Changes
These include methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy or Molly), LSD, and certain prescription medications. When taken in large doses, these substances can alter your mood, behavior, and even your identity. In some cases, long-term use of such drugs can result in permanent changes to one’s personality.
Methamphetamine is an extremely powerful stimulant that has been linked to long-term changes in behavior, including compulsive and violent behaviors. MDMA (ecstasy or Molly) is a psychoactive drug that can also cause changes in mood, behavior, and identity. LSD is a hallucinogenic drug that can cause mental confusion, paranoia, and potentially psychotic episodes.
Certain prescription medications such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers can also alter one’s personality when taken in high doses or for extended periods of time. Therefore, it is important to use any substances responsibly. Also, it’s necessary to monitor your mental health closely if you are using drugs that could potentially cause personality changes.
Can These Personality Changes Be Reversed?
For most of those who struggle with drug or alcohol addiction, recovery cannot be achieved just through willpower. Instead, it takes a team of professionals to perform an assessment and to determine what damage or changes there are as a result of addiction and create a personalized treatment plan.
It takes the specialized expertise of a team of professionals to help get you started in your recovery. The more that you use cocaine, alcohol, heroin, designer street drugs, or any illicit substance, the higher the risk that you may experience personality changes, and even lifelong damage to your brain and to the rest of your body. Many individuals experience both substance use disorders and mental health disorders simultaneously. Therefore, they need the expertise of professionals with the experience to help individuals with these issues.
The changes in personality do not get better on their own. Neither does the addiction issues that quickly take over the life of a person. Professionals that help guide people into a detox program and then into a comprehensive program are here to help you get your life back on track and to get you started on a clean and sober lifestyle.
Begin Your Journey to Recovery Today
San Antonio Recovery Center is here for you no matter where you are in your journey to recovery. We offer comprehensive programs to meet the individualized needs of clients that need detox, inpatient or outpatient treatment, intensive outpatient, or other treatments and therapies. We also include family members in the treatment process, because addiction does affect everyone in the family. Our specialists have the experience to help the entire family during this time.
You do not have to experience the physical, emotional, or mental changes resulting from addiction alone any longer. Help is just a quick call away. That is taking the first step towards starting on a new road to a better life and leaving that old path behind you. Undergoing a comprehensive assessment is the next step towards living a life free of the drugs that took control over you and your life. Contact us right now at 866.957.7885, or contact us online. Get started on your recovery today when you call now.
