PERSONALITY CHANGE

Personality determines the usual way a person thinks, behaves, and reacts to everything in the environment. An individual's personality is fairly constant from day to day. It is influenced by family, culture, experiences, and biological factors. Unusual changes in behavior can signal a mental or physical health change.

Examples of personality change include:

confusion
delusions (false beliefs despite evidence to the contrary)
violent behavior
withdrawal
paranoid behavior (thinking "they" are out to get you) or
acting out in ways one normally would not

Changes in thinking and behaving can be caused by:

dementias associated with Alzheimer's, AIDS, strokes and other problems
a brain tumor or head injury
infection
alcohol or drug abuse
adverse effects of medications
depression, a traumatic event, or other stress
mania or
schizophrenia

Slow changes, such as those that occur in Alzheimer's and AIDS dementia, may be missed by friends and family. Sometimes it takes someone who has not seen the affected person for a while to notice a change. Anyone with a sudden or gradual personality change should be medically evaluated.

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

HIL File SYMP3223.rf2 VRS# 6462 Data Version 7.0