Although selfishness is an innate human behavior and most humans possess selfish tendencies , alcohol addiction can make someone’s behavior more self-centered and selfish. The most probable reason behind this excessive selfishness seems to be the need for alcohol at the consequence of an inconsideration toward others.
Unfortunately, alcohol-related selfishness can negatively impact one’s social life and make you look untrustworthy, unreliable, and self-centered. Apart from selfishness, alcohol addiction can also alter your personality permanently by damaging different brain areas.
Confidant Health provides Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) to help you cope with alcohol misuse. It also offers a virtual alcohol rehabilitation program to minimize the chances of relapse.
Understanding alcohol addiction and selfishness
Selfishness refers to the tendency to behave excessively or exclusively in a way that benefits oneself without considering its effects on others. Human sciences often term selfishness as an innate behavior and a cause of many social dilemmas. However, innate selfishness is mainly opposed by internal rewards, punishments, and social values.
Unfortunately, alcohol addiction can impact your mental health, making you excessively selfish and self-centered. Chronic use of alcohol can damage different areas of the brain and, as a result, produce multiple symptoms. For instance, long-term intake of alcohol can damage the memory centers of the brain, causing memory impairments. That is why alcohol addiction can make you forget conversations and promises you might have made.
How does alcohol misuse affect the brain?
Alcohol intake can affect the brain and behavior in various ways. It can speed up different brain areas' aging, leading to cerebral atrophy and damaging the limbic system (an essential part of the human brain). Moreover, chronic alcohol consumption can also affect the brain's cognitive, reasoning, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities.
Several studies indicate that alcohol intake can alter the functions of special chemicals (known as neurotransmitters) present in the brain. The proper functioning of these neurotransmitters is essential for many brain processes, such as memory-making, emotional responses, and cognition.
Does alcohol addiction make you selfish?
Alcohol consumption is one of the main factors that can exaggerate selfish behavior. When you develop an alcohol addiction, alcohol becomes the priority in your life. As a result, you may follow irrational and selfish behaviors such as lying, stealing, denial of alcohol misuse, and confrontation with family and friends.
Moreover, your interpersonal skills, emotional quotient, memory, and rational thinking may also decline in alcohol use disorder (AUD).