Antidepressants can change personality

Apart From Easing Symptoms, Drugs Can Even Turn People Into Extroverts, Say Researchers.

Taking an antidepressant can lead to significant personality changes, likely for the better. Antidepressants may go well beyond just easing the symptoms of depression; they may also make people less neurotic, US researchers said.

The study of people who took GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil, known generically as paroxetine, suggests the drug may treat factors such as neuroticism that make a person more likely to be depressed in the first place.

“Our data suggests that modern antidepressants work partly by correcting key personality risk factors of depression,” said Tony Tang, a psychology professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, whose study appears in Archives of General Psychiatry.

People who are neurotic tend to experience negative emotions and be emotionally unstable, often experiencing wide mood swings in a day. “It’s the basic tendency toward having negative emotions,” Tang said.

He said many studies have suggested that people who are highly neurotic have a higher risk of becoming depressed.

There is also some suggestion that people who are extroverts — those who tend to be both socially outgoing and have a more positive outlook on life — are less likely to become depressed, Tang said. Both personality traits are affected by levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which is the chief target of a large class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.

Tang and colleagues looked to see if the SSRI Paxil, also sold under the brand Seroxat, had any effect beyond just treating depression symptoms. They gave the drug to 120 volunteers with depression and compared their experiences to 60 people who underwent a type of therapy known as cognitive behavioral therapy and another group of 60 who took a placebo.

Their personalities and depression symptoms were assessed before and after treatment.

After 12 weeks, all participants saw improvements in their depression symptoms, but those who took Paxil also saw significant drop in their neuroticism, and a marked increase in extroversion compared with those in the other groups.

“Patients taking paroxetine reported 6.8 times as much change on neuroticism and 3.5 times as much change on extroversion as placebo patients matched for depression improvement,” the authors wrote. “Those are very dramatic, notable changes,” Tang said.

“At the beginning of the treatment, they were way out there. Their neuroticism was abnormally high. By the end of treatment, they moved back into the boundary of the normal range.”

He said many of the drugs in the SSRI class work largely the same way are likely to have the same effect.

Ian Cook of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, who was not part of the study, said the findings may cause some doctors to rethink their assumptions about how antidepressants work. “The conventional wisdom has been for many years that the changes in personality that one sees during treatment tend to be thought of as a reflection of getting the depression under control,” he said.

How to win a man’s heart

To win a man’s heart, one has to be understanding and kind. But to snag him and keep him as yours takes some effort. Here’s how to go about...


USE FLAWS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Your generous hips and wavy hair is what sets you apart from a sea of rebonded toothpicks. With a little bit of confidence, you can turn what is ‘unfashionable’ right now into something timeless and classic. In a time when identically layered and coloured haircuts are the norm, if a girl wears her black shiny hair down to the waist, it will immediately set her apart as a beauty.

NO NEED TO OUTSMART MEN

Given that you are well-read and abreast of current affairs, you don’t need to dominate every conversation, unless you like the epithet Ms-Know-It-All. An overly independent woman can be overwhelming and you are not giving the man a chance to find out more about you by himself.

SPEAK SOFTLY

Trilling loudly does not have the same appeal as soft conversation which forces the listener to bend towards you. It also gets attention as a conspiratorial whisper, goading intimacy. A shrill tenor, on the other hand, makes you want to run in the other direction. But since this means the man will have to lean towards you to get what you are saying, carry a mint and wear an attractive lipstick.

DON'T SCOFF AT ARRANGED DATES

You may think it contrite, but much good can come out of a match when the fixers know both people in question. Make sure you meet over dinner or brunch. A social setting will also let you gauge your date. If he is cheap about the outing, chances are that he may not be generous in other areas also.

PLAY HARD TO GET

Many women complain that casual dates end up in the bed. You need to exude a nonchalance, even if, and especially if, you are badly hooked. Don’t be available for impromptu dates and never reply immediately to a major commitment question. Always ask for time to think about it to show that you are nobody’s doormat.

LISTEN MORE, SPEAK LESS

Appear to be interested in what he’s saying. Not only does a man love being the centre of attention, it also makes you look enigmatic and mysterious. It doesn’t mean that you don’t display your conversation skills, but it’s more appealing when he asks you about yourself rather than you yapping on.

THREE’S A CROWD, BUT NOT FOUR

When he insists on having dinner with other people, show him you are game. Go out with others, but drop subtle hints about what a good time you are having so that he knows what he’s missing. Remember when Prince William and Kate Middleton broke up? Instead of sitting at home making blank calls to him, she went out and had a good time, making sure her smiling face and miles of legs were caught by the paparazzi. It worked. William crawled back to her and they’ve been going strong since.

CHARM THE PARENTS

While winning over a man, don’t forget to charm the people who count for him. Before securing her place in the Pataudi household, Kareena spent time bonding with Saif ’s children, knowing how much that would influence her relationship with their father. She’s also rumoured to have won over Sharmila’s heart. If your aim is a solitaire ring, turn on the charm for the people who will influence his decision to get you one.

KEEP OPTIONS OPEN

Don’t have any qualms about keeping your options open. You may be seeing each other three times a week, but you aren’t hooked, booked and cooked until you say ‘I do’. Hang out with other men. It may not be laudable behaviour, but it might get you lasting happiness in the long term. If not, it will at least make you more appreciative of the man you have.