personality change

[neverthesame]

ever since I had my psychotic episode my personality has changed. I used to be bubbly and outgoing and now im always depressed and never interact with others.  Will my old personality ever come back?

[TylEulenspiegel]

  I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this issue.

  I've heard many bipolars say that it sometimes takes them quite a while after an episode to get back to what, for them, is normal.
  And by 'quite a while', I mean even about a year, for some.

  Another thing you must take into account is if you have had any medication changes that were possibly made because of the episode, or even aside from it.
  Sometimes, a side effect of some meds can be a worsening of the very symptoms that it's supposed to be treating.

  At any rate, I hope you are sharing your dissatisfaction with your doctor and perhaps exploring other possible treatments than you are now receiving.

  I hope you're happy and back to your old bubbly self soon!!!

[weaver71]

I agree with Tony, I return to my base self, that's what I call it. I will say, before I dealt with other issues, it was very difficult to find my base self. Each stressed I overcome, each problem I solve makes me feel more like 'myself.' I still go off the deep end, severely at times, but I have found that I am recognizing my happy-go-lucky self returning faster and more often. I am even scared to get too happy, I'm afraid I won't notice the mania coming. I get happier and happier until I am spun. I think I used to punish myself, mentally/emotionally for having an episode. Acceptance of myself remains difficult, but I work on it daily. I think you will find your bubbly self again, maybe focus on triggers and coping skills, it may help you naturally return, that is helping me. I have never taken meds though, there may be a better option, this is merely what I am trying.

[tonyw1966]

Exactly what happened? With mental problems no one can give you a definitive answer, because no one really knows a lot about brain functions. We can give you our experiences. If this one episode caused such big problems then there must be a bigger underlying cause. Generally when people have episodes it does eventually get better, sometimes it takes medication. I am not a doctor, but I have had mental and physical problems for nearly half my life. All I can tell you is they call it a Medical Practice for a reason. Doctors don't know nearly as much as we think they know. Today it's mostly about prescribing medication and not treating the underlying cause. We are living in the 'quick fix" generation of pill poppers. It's unfortunate but, in my experience, which is very extensive, with all forms of doctors, it's almost always the case. Cardiology is an exception, wonderful doctors who fix the underlying problems. Send a friend request my way and we can chat privately.