The Risks of Reduced Inhibitions & Substance Use
Inhibitions play an important role in regulating human behavior and promoting safety. They act as an internal control system that stops us from acting on every impulse, instead allowing us to evaluate situations and respond appropriately. However, substance use can impair inhibitions, leading to risky behaviors with potentially severe consequences.
It is critical to understand how substances affect inhibitions and what dangers may result. With this knowledge, steps can be taken to manage substance use responsibly and mitigate associated risks. This article will provide an overview of inhibitions, explain how substances impact them, and discuss the array of risks posed by reduced inhibitions, including sexual, violent, legal, and social problems.
What Are Inhibitions?
Inhibitions are automatic or learned constraints on behavior. They operate unconsciously to prevent inappropriate, dangerous, or socially unacceptable actions.
a. Natural Inhibitions
Humans have natural, innate inhibitions wired into the brain. These instincts stop us from responding reflexively to every impulse and desire. Instead, they allow the rational, thinking parts of the brain to evaluate potential actions.
For example, we may experience a flash of anger during a confrontation but our innate inhibitions stop us from physically lashing out before considering the consequences.
b. Learned Inhibitions
In addition to natural inhibitions, we develop learned inhibitions from societal and cultural norms. These behaviors are considered inappropriate or unacceptable and are suppressed.
Learned inhibitions can vary significantly between cultures but often relate to violence, sexuality, substance use, and social interactions. Failing to inhibit these behaviors can damage relationships or cause legal punishments.
How Do Substances Affect Inhibitions?
Most psychoactive substances affect inhibitions by altering neurochemical pathways in the brain. They interfere with rational decision-making circuits, making it harder to suppress impulsive urges and evaluate potential consequences.
a. Effects on Neurotransmitters
Many substances mimic neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and GABA to activate reward pathways. But they overwhelm neural circuits, preventing balanced communication between brain regions.
Chronic substance use can even permanently alter the brain's wiring, weakening rational control over more primal drives. This chemical imbalance reduces self-control and willpower.
b. Prefrontal Cortex Disruption
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) regulates complex behaviors like planning, self-control, and inhibitions. But research shows substance use can damage PFC cells and inhibit its functioning.
With an impaired PFC, instinctual urges and rewards are prioritized over rational considerations of safety, ethics, and potential consequences. This effect is most pronounced with alcohol but applies to various substances.
Risks & Dangers Caused By Reduced Inhibitions
When inhibitions become impaired after substance use, the consequences can be far-reaching. The loss of behavioral control poses threats to health and safety, not just for the user but also for loved ones and the broader community.
a. Sexual Problems and Assault
Lowered sexual inhibitions are a well-documented outcome of substance use. This can lead users to engage in risky behaviors like:
Unprotected sex with multiple partners
Higher risk of contracting STIs and HIV
Increased rates of unplanned pregnancy
Additionally, predators may target intoxicated individuals and exploit their reduced inhibitions to commit sexual assault or rape. Studies suggest alcohol is involved in over 50% of campus sexual assaults.
b. Violence and Aggression
Releasing inhibitions against violence is strongly linked to substance use. Intoxicated individuals are more likely to initiate fights or react aggressively to minor provocations.
The loss of control also makes substance use a major risk factor for domestic abuse and marital violence. Data indicates it plays a role in 40-60% of violent crimes involving intimate partners.
On a larger scale, the FBI reports that 37% of homicides involve alcohol use by the offender, victim, or both. And it can become a deadly mix combined with access to firearms
c. Driving Under the Influence
Driving requires complex coordination and judgment - skills impaired by substance use.
The effects of intoxication on reaction times, concentration, impulsivity and risk-taking have tragic and predictable consequences on the road. In 2020, 11,654 people died in alcohol-related crashes in the US, accounting for 30% of all traffic-related deaths.
Drug-impaired driving also poses a serious public health problem, but the exact number of fatalities is unknown due to data limitations. Beyond the horrific cost to lives, driving under the influence also commonly leads to license suspension, vehicle impoundment, large fines, and jail time
How Alcohol Can Impair Judgement
While various substances affect inhibitions and self-control, alcohol is among the most common. Understanding its neurological impact provides insight into the consequences of reduced judgment across many substance users.
a. Effects on the Brain
Alcohol affects multiple regions of the brain involved in judgment, decision-making and behavioral control. As blood alcohol content increases, executive functions like problem-solving, attention, planning and memory become increasingly impaired.
Simultaneously, more primal neural circuits take over, prioritizing pleasure, rewards and aggression over rational considerations.
b. The Role of Judgement Impairment
With executive control functions disabled by alcohol, judgment is clearly compromised. Individuals cannot accurately assess risks, evaluate future outcomes, or select appropriate behaviors.
Instead, disinhibited impulses dominate decision-making. In the moment, bad ideas can seem reasonable. But this poor judgment leads to regret, danger and harm as intoxication fades.
Why Does Alcohol Impair Judgement and Lower Inhibitions?
There are complex biological and psychological mechanisms behind alcohol’s ability to reduce inhibitions and impair judgment.
a. Biological Processes
On a biological level, alcohol enhances the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA and interferes with glutamate receptors.
GABA promotes relaxation and disinhibits behaviors normally kept under control. Simultaneously, disrupted glutamate reduces cognitive faculties and further diminishes behavioral restraints.
b. Psychological Factors
Psychologically, alcohol triggers dopamine release that generates euphoria and intensifies reward-seeking behaviors. Drinkers are less bothered by things that might normally provoke inhibition - like risk, anxiety, or social disapproval of their actions.
Expectations also play a role. The belief that alcohol reduces inhibitions can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Conclusion
Inhibitions serve an important purpose in promoting safe, ethical, and responsible behavior. However, substance use can diminish inhibitions and self-control.
Without full control over impulses and rational decision-making faculties, the risk of negative consequences increases substantially. The potential for legal, medical, financial, and social problems threatens health, relationships, and quality of life.
Fortunately, understanding the risks allows for proactively addressing substance use problems before major harm occurs. Seeking treatment and making lifestyle changes can help regain control and avoid dangers associated with loss of judgment and inhibitions.
pH Wellness is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Riverside, California, that specializes in caring, compassionate treatment. To learn more or receive a free, confidential consultation, call us now at 844-549-2488.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)
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Lowering inhibitions means reducing restraints against behaviors that might normally seem inappropriate, dangerous or taboo. This allows people to act more freely based on impulse without fully considering consequences.
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Effects of lowered inhibitions can include risky sexual behaviors, aggression or violence, driving under the influence, inappropriate social comments or actions, and other behaviors one might typically avoid.
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Research shows alcohol affects brain regions and neurotransmitters involved in judgment, decision-making and behavioral control. This reduces one's capacity to rationally evaluate situations and suppress impulsive urges.
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Examples include engaging in casual sex with strangers, getting into arguments or fights, streaking naked in public, or making hurtful or embarrassing remarks to friends while intoxicated.
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Inhibitions can be both good and bad. Good inhibitions prevent dangerous, unethical, or illegal behaviors. But anxiety, shyness or overthinking can also inhibit positive behaviors. Some inhibition is healthy but too much or too little can be problematic.
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Yes, alcohol is well-documented to lower inhibitions against behaviors someone might normally avoid. Even small amounts can reduce self-control and rational decision-making capacities.
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Primarily dopamine. Alcohol and other intoxicating substances activate dopamine reward pathways. Dopamine provides feelings of pleasure and relaxation that can override rational control circuits in the brain.
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Someone with very low inhibitions could be described as uninhibited, outgoing, bold, impulsive, extroverted, or risk-taking. In extreme cases, they may seem reckless, inappropriate, or unable to control their behavior.