Do Antidepressants Change Personality?

Although taking antidepressants produces changes in mood after prolonged use, there is no conclusive evidence that they change a person’s personality. Personality is a relatively stable and consistent characteristic of a person, which includes long-term patterns of thought, behavior, and emotions.

Thus, when in doubt as to whether taking antidepressants can change personality, we must conclude that They only interfere with the symptoms of the mood disorder for which they have been prescribed. Sometimes, these clinical manifestations are seen as part of the patient’s personality, so the patient could consider that his way of being has changed temporarily with the intake of antidepressants.

The neural functioning of the mind is affected by the components of antidepressants. We see its effects below:

• Improves information processing of the environment, because they act on the neurotransmitters of the central nervous system. In this sense, the synaptic connections that occur in the different neuronal circuits are regulated.
• Increase productivity in specific regions, such as the cerebellum and thalamus. The cerebellum intervenes 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.

The provision of antidepressants can denote a series of visible behaviors. Here we will see how a person who takes antidepressants behaves:

• stable mood: People who take antidepressants experience a progressive decrease in feelings of sadness, worthlessness, apathy, and disinterest in worldly activities.
• Anxiety decline: It is common that after taking antidepressants the patient feels calmer compared to previous periods. In anxiety disorders, these psychotropic drugs help reduce symptoms and allow for 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 being overcome by a state of anxiety.

If you want to check that taking antidepressants is having the expected effect, in this article we explain how to know if the antidepressant works.

Antidepressants can produce a series of unwanted effects, which can manifest both at the beginning and throughout treatment. Below, we show you 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 side effect of antidepressants. Simply put, the person may experience mild or moderate episodes of spatial disorientation.
• Sleep disturbances: The introduction of antidepressants in psychiatric treatments could affect sleep patterns and cause conditions such as insomnia or hypersomnia.
• Increased psychomotor arousal: sensations of restlessness, agitation, increased heart rate, palpitations or body tremors, among others.

It should be noted that the presence of any of these side effects it should be temporary and disappear in a few days or weeks If they continue over time, go to a mental health professional to evaluate your particular case. Furthermore, if you experience any of these symptoms, it is important that you do not resort to self-medication, since the intake of antidepressants must be supervised by qualified personnel.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor 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 Personality category.