Everyone has a reason for the way they act, and an alcoholic narcissist might tell you a perfectly good reason for why they should drink, whether or not those reasons are justifiable. They might view their problem as a personal shortcoming or a failure that they are embarrassed to open up about. Narcissism involves difficulty accepting fault for one’s mistakes.

Moderators such as positive or negative affect or reward sensitivity might affect the strength of the associations found in this study. In addition, future research could include more ethnically diverse samples to determine if the associations found here differ for students of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Diagnosing co-occurring disorders can be difficult because the two conditions often affect each other and have overlapping symptoms.

Alcohol misuse vs. alcohol use disorder

A narcissist cares little about the people around them, friends and peers alike unless they somehow contribute to the narcissist’s life. Admiration, constant praise, attention, and gifts are common themes. In that case, often, the narcissist will create situations to satisfy their need for attention and validation from others. Narcissists may initially seem friendly and outgoing, but under that façade, they can’t form genuine connections, even with people who are closest to them.

We are often victims of our narcissistic personality, struggling unaware of the varied unknowns of our narcissism until it is far too late. By the time we realize the damage we have caused, the lines between appropriate behavior and narcissism https://ecosoberhouse.com/ become blurred. And we don’t even recognize unhealthy patterns or problems in ourselves anymore. Even so, the healing process for problematic drug use, alcohol addiction, and even a dual diagnosis can be rather complicated.

How Does Alcohol Affect a Narcissist?

People treated for addiction are more likely to have a personality disorder. Alcoholism is used to describe the chemical and psychological dependence on alcohol that are alcoholics narcissists a person may have. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5)  uses “alcohol use disorder” as the official term for alcoholism.

Today, some of these addictions go unrecognized in a person’s life, like a tendency to binge drink alcohol on the weekends. And in other cases, where addiction is more severe, a person may relent to the need for special treatment. The current study explored the relationship between narcissism and alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, problem recognition, evaluation, and problem expectancies in a college population. Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism differentially predicted all five of the outcomes. 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.