# Will it change my personality?



## clouddead (Oct 24, 2009)

I'm going to have to start taking medicine for my depression. Not really for my SA, as I have slowly learned to cope with that by myself since it wasn't that extreme to begin with.

I'm mainly starting meds because I cannot for the life of me, pull myself to go to school. I'm basically being pressured by everyone around me to take meds because no one believes my depression. But I read that it sometimes changes your personality? It's already enough that my depression has already altered my personality quite alot in the past 3 years.


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## TiMeZuP (Sep 30, 2009)

Thats very debateble. Personality and disorders are really the same thing. Both the result from brain chemistry. One decade we call it a "normal personality" and the next decade its a disorder. Depending on the meds your taking, you won't have any major personality changes.


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## db0255 (Jul 20, 2009)

The only SSRI that I have heard of that changes your personality is Prozac. It's the only one that has proven to change personality also. I'm not talking about, you feel less depressed. I'm talking, you feel like a different person kind of personality change. Something that other people will say happens on other drugs, but if you read Listening to Prozac you'll see the difference.


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## tutliputli (Feb 22, 2009)

db0255 said:


> The only SSRI that I have heard of that changes your personality is Prozac. It's the only one that has proven to change personality also. I'm not talking about, you feel less depressed. I'm talking, you feel like a different person kind of personality change. Something that other people will say happens on other drugs, but if you read Listening to Prozac you'll see the difference.


In what way does Prozac change your personality? For the worse?

When I first took medication it made me way less sensitive and fragile, and much more relaxed/chilled out. In that way it changed me, but those things were good, welcome changes.


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## MissMay1977 (Oct 25, 2008)

I don't believe Paxil has changed me but my behavior has changed. I believe Paxil relieved my anxiety so I can be the person I truely am. My SA is about 80% relieved, therefore I am more outgoing.


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## kev (Jan 28, 2005)

It is my opinion that antidepressants can change your personality, and I think there is some evidence to back that up. However, depression can also cause changes in "personality" It's a fuzzy area, distinguishing depression from personality. 

I don't think antidepressants cause permanent personality changes though (you can always stop taking them if you don't like the changes they have caused). I've heard of one therapist who stopped taking antidepressants because she started caring about her patient's problems less. It's a personal decision.

However, if you need meds, you need meds. The changes will probably be for the better. If you are worried about "negative" personality changes, you might just tell your therapist and/or family your concerns and they can let you know any changes they've noticed. An outsider can detect personality changes better than you can by yourself (drugs have a way of altering your self-perception).


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## DB85 (Nov 12, 2009)

Effexor made me more on edge, and because of that, my personality changed a bit. I was more bitter and angry, and likely to lash out on people. Hopefully I'll be better off without it. I was taking it more for depression than anxiety.


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## db0255 (Jul 20, 2009)

Yeah, let's distinguish behavior change from personality change. Prozac has proven to change personality and behavior, not just behavior. If you take a benzo, I'm sure you'll see your behavior change, but it doesn't give you sense of self or anything like that. Prozac gave me a new sense of self, different personality, etc.


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

I've experienced personality changes from most meds I've taken. To name just a few meds & changes: benzos made me a more laid back and chilled person. SSRIs made me a more optimistic person. MAOIs and stimulants made me less introverted. They didn't make me a different person entirely but they did change my temperament. Think of it as a more happy/relaxed/outgoing/etc. version of you.

Having said that, benzos' changes were less personality and more a drugged feeling. SSRIs' and MAOIs' changes were more integrated in personality and positive, compared to the negatives of benzos. Just my personal experience though.


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## pixies (Oct 28, 2009)

kev said:


> It is my opinion that antidepressants can change your personality, and I think there is some evidence to back that up. However, depression can also cause changes in "personality" It's a fuzzy area, distinguishing depression from personality.
> 
> I don't think antidepressants cause permanent personality changes though (you can always stop taking them if you don't like the changes they have caused). I've heard of one therapist who stopped taking antidepressants because she started caring about her patient's problems less. It's a personal decision.
> 
> However, if you need meds, you need meds. The changes will probably be for the better. If you are worried about "negative" personality changes, you might just tell your therapist and/or family your concerns and they can let you know any changes they've noticed. An outsider can detect personality changes better than you can by yourself (drugs have a way of altering your self-perception).


I agree with all of this.

I was on an SSRI for about 8 years straight. It definitely tweaked a few things about me but I was still very much me. It was actually the improved me in most ways, I was happier and more confident so I'm more likely to tell jokes and be more fun to hang around when I'm happy than when I'm not. It doesn't turn you in to a different person, it just tweaks your mood which I suppose could be classed as personality, but it's still you.

I love SSRI's I think they are life savers. The only problem is the side effects and the fact that your body gets used to them and they become less effective in time.


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## db0255 (Jul 20, 2009)

Other drugs don't change personality, but Prozac can change how you interact, think, feel and navigate the world. It's really a weird experience. You know it's kicked in, not because of any tangible anxiety/depression/social anxiety change, but because your way of interacting with people is different, almost a perceptual thing. This is NOT common at all however, and if you're going to take Prozac, you're more than likely not going to find this as an effect. 

Also I'd say that the majority of members on here haven't experienced what Prozac can do, and therefore really don't know "personality change". Look up "prozac, personality" on Google, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Look up any other drug along with the search term personality, and you're not gonna find anything.


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## kev (Jan 28, 2005)

db0255 said:


> Other drugs don't change personality, but Prozac can change how you interact, think, feel and navigate the world. It's really a weird experience. You know it's kicked in, not because of any tangible anxiety/depression/social anxiety change, but because your way of interacting with people is different, almost a perceptual thing. This is NOT common at all however, and if you're going to take Prozac, you're more than likely not going to find this as an effect.
> 
> Also I'd say that the majority of members on here haven't experienced what Prozac can do, and therefore really don't know "personality change". Look up "prozac, personality" on Google, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Look up any other drug along with the search term personality, and you're not gonna find anything.


That's interesting. I googled what you said and I see what you mean, but I still don't buy that prozac is the only culprit (although maybe it is the worst of the bunch). My guess is there haven't been many studies done yet on the other drugs. Lack of evidence isn't proof. And I don't think even experts are in agreement on how to distinguish between personality and mood. Some psychs tend toward personality disorder diagnoses while others tend toward mood disorders. It's not exactly a hard science.

SSRI's other than prozac are also known to cause aggression and/or violence in a small percentage of people, even people who aren't prone to violence otherwise. Admittedly, it's a small percentage, but it's definitely real for those who experience it.


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## db0255 (Jul 20, 2009)

kev said:


> That's interesting. I googled what you said and I see what you mean, but I still don't buy that prozac is the only culprit (although maybe it is the worst of the bunch). My guess is there haven't been many studies done yet on the other drugs. Lack of evidence isn't proof. And I don't think even experts are in agreement on how to distinguish between personality and mood. Some psychs tend toward personality disorder diagnoses while others tend toward mood disorders. It's not exactly a hard science.
> 
> SSRI's other than prozac are also known to cause aggression and/or violence in a small percentage of people, even people who aren't prone to violence otherwise. Admittedly, it's a small percentage, but it's definitely real for those who experience it.


Good point, Kev. Listening to Prozac contains all the distinct personality traits that Prozac changes (again, these are in good responders, not just people who've had Prozac work for them; case in point, I found that Prozac did all these personality things for me---cosmetic psychopharmacology---but I know others who didn't respond at all, or who've had success just not my success.)
Also, there is some evidence that imipramine, and some MAOIs do the same thing, although not nearly to that degree.

Mood might affect things like irritability and other "personality" traits, but at the same time there are vast differences. When I think of the time-dependency of these things, I think of feeling/emotion<mood<personality. Personality traits such as self-esteem, risk-taking, sensitivity, compulsiveness, extraversion/introversion are all touched by Prozac in that small minority.

But you have great points, I think it's just that I've lived the Prozac experience that I'm so quick to say that other meds don't do anything for personality...


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