Disinhibition

Disinhibition can be described as the partial to complete loss of restraint in governing normal behavior and decision-making processes. It is manifested by impulsivity, poor risk assessment, and disregard for social conventions. Disinhibited behaviour occurs when one displays an increased aptitude to preform actions they wouldn't otherwise enact, including those dictated by societal norms. A person with drug-induced disinhibition experiences a decreased ability to concentrate on external social cues guiding appropriate behaviour. They will also experience a decreased ability to control and manage their immediate impulsive responses to the external environment.

For the most part, disinhibition simply allows one to overcome emotional apprehension and suppressed social skills in a manner that is quite controllable for the average person. In many cases the disinhibited individual may be unable or have a lack of desire to disguise some of their emotional responses, sometimes at the expense of politeness, sensitivity, or social appropriateness. Individuals who are disinhibited may come across as rude, loud, tactless or even offensive. This lack of constraint can be positive or negative depending on the group or individual, but this removal of social filter generally cannot be regarded as an alteration of ones views, but simply an increased ease at displaying how one already feels.

Disinhibition often occurs along with amnesia and the suppression of anxiety. It is a defining characteristic of alcohol and there are numerous reports of disinhibition occurring on benzodiazepines.

See also

• Subjective effects index
• Psychedelics - Subjective effects
• Dissociatives - Subjective effects
• Deliriants - Subjective effects
• Benzodiazepines
• Alcohol