Antidepressants change personality, study suggests.

So I saw this headline, and I just had to click on it. I said "I'll bite"
Then I read the article.
What i found was the blog of Captain Obvious himself. Who funds these studies?

People who take antidepressants such as Paxil often say they feel less stressed and more outgoing, lively, and confident. Now a new study suggests it's not just because they're less depressed.

Maybe I have missed something over the years, but isnt that how it's supposed to work? The general idea behind the drug is to prevent deep depression right?

"Medication can definitely change people's personalities, and change them quite substantially," says the lead author of the study, Tony Z. Tang, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The findings show that "those changes are very important," he says.

Oh. Ok.

And the more drastic the personality shift, the less likely depressed patients were to relapse, according to the study, published this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Got it now.

When I was depressed (it was once, and only once, when I thought I was related to the president) I recall that the only thing I could think about was being depressed. I was lazy, didnt care about anything. It was hard to focus. I certainly didnt want to be around anyone, because I was crying alot and listening to The Cure, as well as eating twinkies. I didnt want people to think I was a sissy.

I would say this was all personality stifling. I mean, you dont want to do anything when youre depressed.
The job of the medication is to fix that.

Do you see the thought loop Im stuck in here?

Although the new study sheds some light on the relationship between SSRIs and personality, there is much that remains unknown about these drugs.

But we still give them to people, whats wrong with you?

Full article if you want to kill time

Thankfully, we have these guys that say it barely works at all. It states that eating twinkies and crying in the shower is just as effective. That prozac may not be any better than placebo drugs.

So where do you draw the line? What is everyone elses opinions on these drugs? Why do twinkies taste so good when youre sad?

[edit: I am awesome]



[edit on 9-12-2009 by InertiaZero]

These drugs are sick. They're not better than street drugs. Big Pharma is worse than the cartel beheading people in Mexico.

Agreed.
I throw humor into my threads, but the points are always still there.

Do we really need these drugs? Or do we need people to face their own short-comings? Therapy and creative expression is much more productive. You learn nothing by taking a "turn it off" pill.

I have a thread
HERE discussing that exact topic.

I guess Im just thinking alot today about the repercussions of not facing the facts, or who you really are.

reply to post by DocEmrick


oh come on, it's not like they're beheading anyone, they're changing them from depressed losers to people with fun personalities. I don't think anyone would argue thatthats a bad thing. The big Pharma companies and the rest of the NWO, are utopists. Who would be against utopia!?

Utopia?
wait, do they have "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and french fries in utopia?
I might have to change my mind....maybe we can have a drug for everything!!!
Oh........... we do.

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


Do some research on some of these drugs. There is no utopia for people who suffer from Depression. Depression is easy to overcome for the mentally strong. Weak people just subject themselves to drugs that drive them to suicide, murder, feeling worse, etc.

Look at drugs like Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse...people with "ADD." ADD is an extremely rare genetic disorder. But thanks to big Pharma, "doctors" are like sales agents. They have to meet quotas of prescriptions.

Oxycotin...there's a great drug. People will do anything for it. It's heroin in a pill.

ADD is out of control.
Those drugs are awful. Look at their chemical compounds, they are just a few molecules away from being bathtub crank. For the laymen out there, crank is "Chrystal Meth".

Salvia divinorum is natures anti-depressant. Users who have smoked this mind bending natural psychedelic have been said to have had months or even years long depression lift from their shoulders, people who have been addicted to the hardest of drugs have reported to never want the drug again...

Smokers quit smoking. Drinkers quit drinking. People with depression are cured.

It has been scientifically proven that Salvia does in fact increase a certain natural anti-depressant in a persons blood, and that further study of it's properties could wield tremendous breakthroughs in psychology and in treating depression without the need for pills.

Yet our governments have banned this plant in Australia and are trying to get it banned as a class A drug in all other countries.

I would suggest you all look up Salvia Divinorum. For those living in the United States, go out and buy some from your local store while you still can and smoke this stuff

Originally posted by DocEmrick
These drugs are sick. They're not better than street drugs. Big Pharma is worse than the cartel beheading people in Mexico.

WTF? Antidepressants are NOT intoxicants. What is the purpose of street drugs? Only one. To get people high in different ways/shapes/forms. If you think antidepressants do this you are completely mistaken.

[edit on 9-12-2009 by Pandy13b]

Originally posted by DocEmrick: These drugs are sick. They're not better than street drugs. Big Pharma is worse than the cartel beheading people in Mexico.

I for one suffer from severe depression. I was once able to control my depression. But as things in my life scattered around me, I found myself lost and not be able to motivate myself to overcome the depression.

When you get to a point like that, you see no light. You don't see the positives in things and an emotional wreckage occurs within your mental state. Everything about you becomes dull, weak, negative and this of course effects your mood.

I was prescribed Wellbutrin and it was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me. Your brain chemistry can get very much so out of wack if your depressed. (Many route causes) Anti depressants help you to equalize your (serotonin) and other levels to help you go back to how you were. Yes there are side effects and suicide is one of them.

But Quality doctors will require you to have counseling to talk about the route cause of your depression. So while you are on the medication your being able to rationalize and get your mind together properly while going to therapy. Also, mandatory checkups to ask you about your mental state.

Some of the comments are appalling to hear; DocEmrick "Do some research on some of these drugs. There is no utopia for people who suffer from Depression. Depression is easy to overcome for the mentally strong. Weak people just subject themselves to drugs that drive them to suicide, murder, feeling worse, etc."

Comments like these obviously are selfish. You can clearly see he/she thinks it can be easy to overcome. Obviously, they don't know what sparks the use of an anti depressant. They don't live around what you see, nor do they think like you. They probably haven't been around abusive relationships or parents. So please don't listen to these comments.

I for one have been around abuse my whole childhood physically and mentally. When your exposed to that you WILL have no self esteem, you will be severely depressed, you will feel as if your not worthy or not any good. And you WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL IT. In my particular case I was the sane one. I stuck it out through years of abuse. I had to emotionally shut myself off to just get by.

I'm sorry but once you go through that as a child. You can't just flip a switch to make everything better. Modern day medicine can be very helpful! If you take the proper productive ways while you are being treated, you can over come something that has and is taking a toll on your LIFE.

I'm no longer taking an anti depressant. I no longer have depression and I am completely cured.

Call it money hungry pharmaceuticals all you want. But don't ruin it for the ones who truly need help and to the ones who it has helped. Until, you've been in a life like mine or anyone else, you have no ground to walk on.

I'd like to hear what's your method for over coming depression. Where are you in the medicine making department? Yeah, there maybe a CURE for something that has no side effects and they are keeping it secret. But if it's not released what good does it do me?

These addictions to prescriptions such as Oxycontin. That's a severe problem I'd admit. But what are you really complaining about? Someones addiction? Or the medicine that helps many people everyday.

As for Salvia and Cannabis; These are not legal everywhere but are good cures for many problems. Salvia has been proven to be an anti depressant, even my University has done some studies on it.

But right now most people have and will do the legal thing unfortunately. There are just so many blockades for smoking cannabis such as loosing your job and jail. People just don't want to risk it. Not to mention all the bad propaganda about recreational drugs.

*Edit for Salvia response*




[edit on 9-12-2009 by OpenYourHead]

Originally posted by OpenYourHead

Originally posted by DocEmrick: These drugs are sick. They're not better than street drugs. Big Pharma is worse than the cartel beheading people in Mexico.

I for one suffer from severe depression. I was once able to control my depression. But as things in my life scattered around me, I found myself lost and not be able to motivate myself to overcome the depression.

When you get to a point like that, you see no light. You don't see the positives in things and an emotional wreckage occurs within your mental state. Everything about you becomes dull, weak, negative and this of course effects your mood.

I was prescribed Wellbutrin and it was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me. Your brain chemistry can get very much so out of wack if your depressed. (Many route causes) Anti depressants help you to equalize your (serotonin) and other levels to help you go back to how you were. Yes there are side effects and suicide is one of them.

But Quality doctors will require you to have counseling to talk about the route cause of your depression. So while you are on the medication your being able to rationalize and get your mind together properly while going to therapy. Also, mandatory checkups to ask you about your mental state.

Some of the comments are appalling to hear; DocEmrick "Do some research on some of these drugs. There is no utopia for people who suffer from Depression. Depression is easy to overcome for the mentally strong. Weak people just subject themselves to drugs that drive them to suicide, murder, feeling worse, etc."

Comments like these obviously are selfish. You can clearly see he/she thinks it can be easy to overcome. Obviously, they don't know what sparks the use of an anti depressant. They don't live around what you see, nor do they think like you. They probably haven't been around abusive relationships or parents. So please don't listen to these comments.

I for one have been around abuse my whole childhood physically and mentally. When your exposed to that you WILL have no self esteem, you will be severely depressed, you will feel as if your not worthy or not any good. And you WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL IT. In my particular case I was the sane one. I stuck it out through years of abuse. I had to emotionally shut myself off to just get by.

I'm sorry but once you go through that as a child. You can't just flip a switch to make everything better. Modern day medicine can be very helpful! If you take the proper productive ways while you are being treated, you can over come something that has and is taking a toll on your LIFE.

I'm no longer taking an anti depressant. I no longer have depression and I am completely cured.

Call it money hungry pharmaceuticals all you want. But don't ruin it for the ones who truly need help and to the ones who it has helped. Until, you've been in a life like mine or anyone else, you have no ground to walk on.

I'd like to hear what's your method for over coming depression. Where are you in the medicine making department? Yeah, there maybe a CURE for something that has no side effects and they are keeping it secret. But if it's not released what good does it do me?

These addictions to prescriptions such as Oxycontin. That's a severe problem I'd admit. But what are you really complaining about? Someones addiction? Or the medicine that helps many people everyday.
-------------


Well said. It boils my blood when people say all you have to do is "be strong, get over it" etc. I often wish I could give these people the depression experience. They would quickly realize beyond a shadow of a doubt whether this is something one can "snap out" of.






[edit on 9-12-2009 by OpenYourHead]

[edit on 9-12-2009 by Pandy13b]

I have studied this area very thoroughly, and the studies cited here are prejudicial. I cannot tell you how these simple little pills change lives.

There are people who have spent the majority of their lives exhausted, irritable, lonely, and unable to complete school or keep a job due to their depression. After five or six days, they are up and about, looking for work, calling friends for lunch, looking after their grooming, and laughing with the rest of us, wondering why the hell they didn't go for help sooner.

The depression you described is a simple situational depression, or "the blues", and these do resolve on their own. (Oh, my boyfriend broke up with me, and I'm so depressed). Crying in the shower does help these transient/situational depressions.

But the true clinical depressive disorders are not something to be minimized or simplified. Major Depression, Bi-Polar, and Dysthymia are major mental illnesses which respond to pharmacotherapy extremely well. I hate seeing people living their lives curled up in a ball in front of the television because they are too stubborn to try a medication, or have the belief that they "don't work."

Add: Nobody hates the drugs companies more than I do. But credit where credit is due.

[edit on 12/9/0909 by ladyinwaiting]

Originally posted by ladyinwaiting
I hate seeing people living their lives curled up in a ball in front of the television because they are too stubborn to try a medication, or have the belief that they "don't work."

Add: Nobody hates the drugs companies more than I do. But credit where credit is due.

[edit on 12/9/0909 by ladyinwaiting]

Well put

No one has answered why twinkies taste so good when you are sad.


All kidding aside, I think the point I am trying to get across, is that these drugs should be used as a last resort. After therapy doesnt, after personal rehabillitation fails.
The first 20 or so years of my life were a nightmare. I was prescribed these drugs more than once. They had negative effects on me. My mood elevated, but my head was foggy. So I switched to the lower levels, like prozac and zoloft. They had no effect. I quit taking them, and worked out a plan for myself.
Now Im fine.

These drugs are a last resort. You wouldnt give someone a defib-shock just because of heart palpatations. You dont medicate someone without trying all other options first.

Salvia- Ha, talk about a trip! Whoa! Benneficial? Maybe. Mind expanding? Definitely.
I also believe that '___' has benneficial properties, when used correctly, and with the right individual.

I can't tell you why twinkies taste so good when you're depressed - I never tried them. ;-)

But depression is a disease that changes people's personalities, so the whole purpose of antidepressants IS to change the personalities back - at least to some extend.
Depression may have multiple causes - personal experiences/traumatic personal history, or an imbalance in neurotransmitters. Or both. Antidepressants can take care of the neurotransmitter imbalance, but they won't work if there are other causes, that cause the depression, or that keep unbalancing the neurotransmitters. Therefore they work for some people with depressions, but don't work for others.

They did work for me. After a few days I felt thicker skinned, and I was motivated to sort out the other issues I had - which I couldn't have done while I was deep in the dump. And after a few weeks with my chemical crutches I felt strong and balanced enough to go without them.

But every person is different, and so is every depression. What works perfectly for one person and their depression may have absolutely no effect on another person and their depression. It's up to a good psychiatrist to find the therapy that works for this particular patient. And unfortunately, for some patients nothing works - yet.

Medical sciences are still very much in their infancy, and we are not even near to understand the complex organism, which is called the human body. Especially when it comes to the human mind - and its disorders. So it's no surprise that our therapies are not 100% sucessful. But should we refuse a therapy only because it does not help everybody with that disease? If they help some people they still have their purpose.

reply to post by Thinkerbelle


Right. As long as they are not the first option. As a society, we use drugs as a crutch.

Youve never had twinkies!!??? That, in itself, is depressing. God only knows what is in them, but they are delicious.

i guess it depends on the person and the exact medication being prescribed, but anti-depressants don't always turn people around and make them happy, exciting people.

I don't know about changing one's personality, but they certainly can have an effect on your overall mood. They are more a coping thing than a cure. You take anti-depressants and you will still get down at times and experience other negatives of depression. You won't necessarily be more cheerful, energetic and happy to get up and do things.

What the anti-depressant tablets will do is make you feel more patient and less irritable. You don't have as many bad voices in your head talking you down and trying to make everything negative. You might start to appreciate the small things that you do have and think less about the things you don't.

After being on pills for a while, it's easy to forget how you used to be before. For most people, there is a BIG different between their overall mood before and after taking anti-depressants. There are people who react badly to medication and can sometimes end up worse than they were before. But this represents a minority.

[edit on 23/12/2009 by Dark Ghost]

Anti depressants are very dangerous, users usually have to be tapered off the drug or there is a serious risk of dying. They are powerful mind altering chemicals that can severely alter your brain chemistry(for the worse). The real cure is a simple change in diet, the only reason people get depressed is because there so mind f'ed from there diet of fast food and other processed crap

I always get a kick out of watching the healthy people post about prescription drugs. healthy people who do not have to rely on drugs to live a normal fulfilling life should mind their business and thank God that they are healthy instead of needlessly attacking drugs which they do not need.

For all you people who do not have to rely on narcotics of any kind; ask yourself what life would be like if you did? What if you were involved in an awful accident or had a genetic condition which left you in chronic pain? Would you want a healthy person taking your meds away? The meds that allow you to live your life? What the hell does a healthy person have to do with me and my predicament? People seriously need to get off their own nut, and step back when the issue doesn't concern them.

Heaven forbid there are drugs which help people get out of bed in the morning. Heaven forbid that there are companies that profit from it. Wake up people! The world isn't perfect. Ilness and pain happen! There are drugs to alleviate and deal with it. If you do not need to use them, do not attempt to blindly tell someone who does that they're making a mistake. Live your own life.

[edit on 8-1-2010 by spinalremain]