Sian Ferguson is a freelance health and cannabis writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. She’s passionate about empowering readers to take care of their mental and physical health through science-based, empathetically delivered information. Although NPD can’t be cured, someone with NPD can change their behavior if they’re willing to put in narcissism and alcoholism the time and effort, according to research from 2018. With both conditions, the benefits of therapy depend on your willingness to work on yourself.
Can People With Alcohol Use Disorder Recover?
- Suggest that the alcoholic narcissist seek professional help to address both their addiction and narcissistic traits.
- It’s common for narcissists to try to regain control after a separation.
- Narcissism is a personality disorder that may cause individuals to display grandiose and self-involved behaviors.
These overlapping traits can make it hard to distinguish alcohol misuse from narcissism. By Michelle PugleMichelle Pugle writes health articles for award-winning websites, as seen in Healthline, Verywell, Everyday Health, and Psych Central. She has a Master’s degree, undergraduate degrees in English and Sociology, a diploma in Holistic Herbal Therapy, and is trained in mental health first aid, anti-violence work, and peer support work. Reach out to loved ones you trust who can walk with you through the recovery journal. If you have NPD and AUD, finding support can be challenging because they are two separate disorders with two separate treatment approaches.
- Another difference between normal cycles of relationships and abusive cycles is actually solving the problem and working together to avoid pitfalls in the future.
- These abusers often behave within specific patterns that cause harm to others, including life partners and work colleagues.
- Everybody can benefit from speaking with a therapist, regardless of whether they fit the criteria for a mental health condition.
Take Care of Yourself While Recovering From Narcissistic Abuse
You may, for example, ban your partner from drinking around you or refuse to give them money knowing they’ll only spend it on alcohol. Dealing with an alcoholic is demanding, and coping with a narcissist is far from easy, so when you combine the two, you have a real challenge. They will fabricate stories of victimization or exaggerate minor issues to gain validation and emotional support while using their drunken state to excuse their behavior. While on a drinking binge, a narcissist may start fabricating stories to secure the attention and sympathy of those around them. If they’ve just started dating a new partner and are still in the love-bombing phase, they’re likely to become even more vociferous about their love and admiration for that idealized person. Narcissists think they’re better than everyone else and even that they’re unaffected by the effects of alcohol abuse due to their inherent superiority.
Identifying and Recovering from Narcissistic Abuse
When people have a mental health condition that co-occurs with a substance misuse disorder, such as AUD, doctors may refer to this as dual diagnosis. A 2019 study looked at the link between narcissism and alcohol consumption in a questionnaire of 345 college students. Both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism were predictors of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 22.6% of people with a personality disorder may also have a substance misuse disorder.
- Writing became my refuge—a way to process my emotions and connect with others who’ve faced similar struggles.
- Contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at victimconnect.org or thehotline.org.
- Remove yourself from harmful situations, and seek assistance if needed.
- Freezing can have some benefits in certain situations, but it doesn’t help much when you can escape from danger.
- And once you do leave, healing may seem like a distant possibility.
Narcissists base their self-worth on the praise and attention of others, and when they fail to secure it experience depressive symptoms like shame and isolation, which they seek to drown in alcohol. Studies suggest that “narcissists have higher cortisol and cardiovascular reactivity in socially threatening situations” and experience more stress. When intoxicated, they may use alcohol to dominate others, manipulate situations, or maintain a sense of superiority. They may therefore use alcohol as a form of medication to cope with those negative feelings. Alcohol acts as a lubricant, making the vulnerable narcissist feel more at ease in social situations that may otherwise seem overwhelming.
AUD Prognosis
This shouldn’t come as a surprise when considering why people are driven to drink. For instance, they tend to demonstrate a lack of empathy and are prone to anger, irritability, and impulsivity outbursts. Grandiose narcissists are highly concerned with their self-image and how others perceive them. However, beneath their outward appearance of humility, they still prioritize their own needs and desires above others and struggle with empathy and genuine emotional connection. Vulnerable narcissists, on the other hand, suffer an underlying sense of insecurity, hypersensitivity to criticism, and fragile self-esteem.