Print: Psychotropic Drugs and Personality Change

Psychotropic Drugs and Personality Change

Written by: Fabio Piccini, doctor and Jungian psychotherapist, in charge of the "Centre for Eating Disorders Therapy" at the "Malatesta Novello" Clinic in Cesena. Works privately in Rimini and Chiavari. E-mail:

First version: 22 Jul 2008. Latest version: 29 Aug 2008.

Abstract:
I´m taking psychotropic drugs. Do you think they can change my personality, or my way of thinking? Or, can they change my brain?

Question:

I´m taking psychotropic drugs. Do you think they can change my personality, or my way of thinking? Or, can they change my brain?

Answer:

Even if this sometimes could be useful or desirable, psychotropic drugs unfortunately don't have the power to change the human brain. Mental disease, however, can actually change one's way of thinking, one's way of seeing and reacting to everyday life, or one's behaviour.

A mental disease (especially if chronic and untreated) can make people feel that their life is senseless or sometimes desperate.

On the contrary, drugs can never have such an effect. The proof is that you can have the same feelings even in people who never took any drug.

There are also other kinds of disease that can change the feelings an individual has towards himself, the others, or his/her life. For example endocrine diseases, or cancer, or AIDS can give such results.

Then you can clearly see that changes in individual behaviour can be attributed to the fact of suffering of a given disease rather than to the fact of taking a pill of a psychotropic drug.

As a result, if a qualified specialist prescribed you a psychotropic drug for any reason, my suggestion is to take it in the prescribed dose with no fear of brain damage or brain change. There is no risk of it.

More information

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Sources, references: http://web4health.info/en/answers/source/therapy-psycho-drugs-effect.htm



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