Personality change

[Squawk 1200]

Is there a way to significantly increase personality traits of Extraversion and Openness to experience and at the same time, significantly decrease the trait of Neuroticism?

 

I am talking the Big Five personality traits.

May be via pharmacological means.

 

[DrmDoc]

Therapy! With a qualified mental healthcare provider.

[Phi for All]

With the proper diagnosis of the problem, I think the confidence gained with putting yourself out there helps with the worry and depression. A professional would be able to help guide you in this. IF a qualified mental healthcare provider thought medication was indicated, they're the only ones with the knowledge to prescribe it.

Therapy has shown fantastic results.

[Area54]

What worked for me was living through half a century. I can now do an excellent impression, in public, of a confident, self-assured, out-going individual. It's so good I fool myself almost all the time.

While perhaps therapy would be indicated and valuable for some, I recommend the carpe diem approach of Horace, or in the 'official' words of Admiral Farragut, in the Battle of Mobile Bay, "Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes".

[Phi for All]

6 minutes ago, Area54 said:

What worked for me was living through half a century. I can now do an excellent impression, in public, of a confident, self-assured, out-going individual. It's so good I fool myself almost all the time.

While perhaps therapy would be indicated and valuable for some, I recommend the carpe diem approach of Horace, or in the 'official' words of Admiral Farragut, in the Battle of Mobile Bay, "Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes".

Let me guess. You dread going out in public because of the expectations, but when you actually go out you end up having a great time with all those people. It turns out you ARE the kind of person people like to get to know. Who'd've thunk it?

[Squawk 1200]

But what to do if I want to switch from top 1% of most anxious and nervous people to top 1-5% people at the opposite end of the scale, i.e. extremely extroverted sensation seekers? 

 

I am 23 and up until 3 years ago I wasn't even able to go to a store that is 400 meters away from my house (even though I felt ok at school always) because my heartbeat would race so much that I needed like 2 minutes to calm dawn afterwards - and every noise stronger than usual (such as people shouting at each other) would exceberate it even further. Even when some stranger asked me something, I would be so exhausted afterwards that I would almost faint. From age 13 to 21 i never ventured more than 150m from outside on my own house and I can do it now only if the place is familiar and I NEVER feel completely at ease.

 

I am a preemie (a severely visually impaired one) and I have a familial history of mental ilness (my paternal grandmother - severe lifelong depression plus several lifelong anxirty disorders - generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and severe lifelong hypochondriasis at the top of that)

[DrmDoc]

One major rule of this website is for members to not render medical or mental healthcare advice other than direct inquirers to professionals near them with whom they can meet privately and personally vet. No anonymous advice you receive through sites like this should be seriously considered where the proper treatment of your condition should be your highest concern.  Seek professional help and advice only from well qualified mental healthcare providers whom you can meet personality and privately discuss your therapy options.

[coffeesippin]

Personality change can be difficult .. I long for absence from fear, yet in the very few times I've experienced it I wondered instantly if fear wasn't a good thing to keep me from doing stupid things, so quickly abandoned absence from fear.  Those absences happened suddenly .. I hope a gradual release from fear will be easier to accept.

On 2/26/2018 at 4:35 PM, DrmDoc said:

One major rule of this website is for members to not render medical or mental healthcare advice other than direct inquirers to professionals near them with whom they can meet privately and personally vet. No anonymous advice you receive through sites like this should be seriously considered where the proper treatment of your condition should be your highest concern.  Seek professional help and advice only from well qualified mental healthcare providers whom you can meet personality and privately discuss your therapy options.

I've found direct and remarkably helpful advice on the internet and in books.  I survived cancer without treatment after refusing treatment suggested by two urologists neither of who warned me of potential side effects, but the Canadian Cancer society told me the surgery (TURPS)  could have spread the cancer.  That was 225 years ago I have no cancer today with no medical treatment.   Internet information on Plantars Fasciitis and Bone Spurs saved me a $400 shoe insert plus a lot of suffering on a useless foot cushioning device because two doctors said I had Plantars and no x-ray was necessary, but I finally INSISTED insisted on an xray that showed a Bone Spur .. treatment for each was different and had I followed the doctors' advice I could have aggravated the Bone Spur and caused it to grow.  Both doctors seemed to gauge their opinion merely on my age, 70, not on my general health and physical activity, hiking, canoeing, camping, etc.  I looked at the xray, the location of the spur, made my own shoe insert, walked mostly on the front of my foot for six weeks, and am spur and pain free.  The internet has much top notch professional information.