Do antidepressants change personality?

The use of antidepressant drugs is indicated for the treatment of mood disorders. of mood since they can produce changes in the emotions, behaviors and thoughts of a person. Psychiatry has studied in detail the incidence that these psychoactive drugs have on the physical and mental health of those who are going through moments of personal difficulty. Over time, various approaches have attempted to counteract the symptoms of various clinical pictures due to the difficulties they represent in daily life. In many cases, antidepressants allow the intensity of each manifestation of a pathology to be reduced. In short, this is generated by certain modifications that are made in the central nervous system, allowing better brain function.

In this Psychology-Online article we will explain if antidepressants change personality.

Index

1. Can taking antidepressants change personality?
2. What happens to your mind with antidepressants
3. How a person who takes antidepressants behaves
4. What can antidepressants cause?

Although the intake of antidepressants produces mood swings after a long time of use, there is no conclusive evidence that they change a person's personality. Personality is a relatively stable and consistent characteristic of a person, including long-term patterns of thought, behavior, and emotions.

It is necessary to mention it to avoid major confusion because these drugs are usually administered to address mental health disorders. The absence of antidepressants can cause the symptoms of a clinical picture to return, sometimes seen as part of the person's personality. In this sense, the patient could consider that her personality has temporarily changed with the intake of antidepressants.

The mind makes some modifications in its neuronal functioning due to the effect generated by the components of antidepressants:

• First, they produce a improvement in information processing coming from external stimuli because they act on the neurotransmitters of the central nervous system. In this sense, a regulation is caused in the synaptic connections that occur in the different neuronal circuits.
• On the other hand, it generates increased productivity in specific regions, such as the cerebellum and thalamus. The cerebellum is involved in voluntary body movements, while the thalamus is responsible for sharpening the degree of perception of the body's senses. In this way, the production of serotonin, a hormone linked to mood regulation, is increased.

In the following article you will find more information about Neurotransmitters involved in depression.

The supply of antidepressants can denote a number of behaviors that are visible in a person. Here we will see the most relevant:

• stable mood: People who take antidepressants tend to experience a progressive decrease in feelings of sadness, worthlessness, apathy, and disinterest in worldly activities.
• anxiety decline: It is common to see a person with a greater degree of tranquility compared to previous periods. In anxiety pictures, a reduction in symptoms is generated that allows a greater perception of the immediate environment.
• more realistic perspective: This means that a person who takes antidepressants can understand the situations around them in a more objective way, without the presence of a state of anxiety that invades them. In this way, elements of reality are taken and it is possible to use them in a favorable way.

In this article we explain How to tell if an antidepressant is working.

Antidepressants can produce a number of main effects that can manifest both at the start of treatment and after a prolonged period. Here are the main side effects of antidepressants:

• Stomach ache: stomach problems such as vomiting, diarrhea or nausea, among others.
• dizziness: loss of body balance is another of the most frequent side effects that appears. In short, the person can present episodes of spatial disorientation that can be mild or moderate.
• sleep disturbances: sleep patterns could be modified when antidepressants are introduced in psychiatric treatments. This can include both insomnia and hypersomnia.
• Increased psychomotor arousal: feelings of restlessness, agitation, increased heart rate, palpitations, body tremors, among others.

It should be noted that the presence of any of these side effects should be temporary and disappear in a few days or weeks. In the event that they continue over time, it is important to go to a medical consultation so that the person is treated by a mental health professional and evaluates the particular case. On the other hand, one should not resort to self-medication, since the intake of antidepressants must be supervised.

This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Do antidepressants change personality?, we recommend that you enter our category of Personality.

• Heerlin, A. (2002). Antidepressant pharmacological treatments. Chilean Journal of Neuro-psychiatry, 40 (1), 21-45.