Anti-Depressant may change Personality
Have you ever considered the claims by celebrities, like Tom Cruise, or health care professionals that decry the impact of anti-psychotics and anti-depression medicine? Have we come to rely on Prozac, Paxil and the laundry list of "feel good" medication to overcome what generations of folks have dealt with without them? Or, is there a benefit reaped by those on the medication? Do doctors overprescribe? I am interested to know what you think. Drop me a comment.
The December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, 
reports Individuals taking a medication to treat depression may experience changes in their personality separate from the alleviation of depressive symptoms.
Two personality traits, neuroticism and extraversion, have been related to depression risk, according to background information in the article. Individuals who are neurotic tend to experience negative emotions and emotional instability, whereas extraversion refers not only to socially outgoing behavior but also to dominance and a tendency to experience positive emotions. Both traits have been linked to the brain's serotonin system, which is also targeted by the class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Read More Arch Gen Psychiatry.2009;66[12]:1322-1330. Drop me a comment on your take on this issue.
