No matter how you look at it, drugs change a person’s behavior. People use drugs to alter their state of consciousness, and in doing this, their behavior changes as well. As far as the drug user or drinker is concerned, these changes in consciousness are positive enough to justify continuing to use.
Drinking and drugging tend to ‘loosen you up’ by reducing inhibitions. Reduced inhibitions can be enjoyable, but they can also create risks and dangers. Our inhibitions serve to keep us acting within an acceptable threshold; reducing these inhibitions can push you past the threshold. Sometimes people can act so irrationally that they decide to stop using drugs entirely with the help of drug rehab San Diego.
What Are Inhibitions? How Do Substances Affect Inhibitions?
Inhibitions are a sort of mental wall that prevents us from acting out spontaneously.
Inhibitions can be healthy by preventing us from acting out spontaneous sexual or violent urges. However, inhibitions can also be unhealthy, such as those caused by chronic anxiety or social withdrawal.
The latter type of inhibition is the type that people wish to overcome by using drugs and alcohol. Instead of putting in the necessary therapeutic work to overcome one’s inhibitions, drugs and alcohol provide a short-term and immediate solution.
Unfortunately, sometimes these substances work too effectively for reducing inhibitions. They don’t just eliminate anxiety, for example. They’ll eliminate anxiety as well as one’s ability to discern what sort of behavior is acceptable and what isn’t.
Risks & Dangers Caused By Reduced Inhibitions
Drugs and alcohol can reduce inhibitions to a level that is outright dangerous. These dangers may affect the individual who is using substances, or they may affect those who are in close proximity to them. Reduced inhibitions can lead to social, legal, sexual, and domestic problems.
Here are a few examples of problems caused by reduced inhibitions.
Sexual problems and assault
Sexual inhibitions prevent us from acting out on the sexual urges that we feel throughout the day. If we didn’t have sexual inhibitions then we would be like animals, risking life and limb in pursuit of sex regardless of the outcome. Reduced inhibitions can allow people to behave this way, increasing the likelihood of rape and sexual assault.
Legal problems
Inhibitions also help keep us within the confines of the law. Many laws are not in accordance with our natural instincts and desires; our inhibitions allow us to avoid acting out these desires in order to avoid legal problems. Drugs and alcohol can reduce these inhibitions, increasing the likelihood of legal issues.
Social problems.
Alcohol is a good example of a drug that reduces social inhibitions. After a few drinks, people lose their ‘filter’ and begin to say things that they would otherwise keep to themselves. This can easily spark confrontations and even violence.
Conclusion
If your drinking or drugging is causing you to lose your inhibitions, you may want to reconsider your substance use. If you continue to live unrestricted then you’re bound to encounter problems with other people or the law.
If you’re having difficulty overcoming these problems, don’t hesitate to reach out to drug rehab in San Diego.
