Mental Health

Tools & Resources

Font Size

Changes in behavior

A change in how a person acts is called altered behavior. A change may include:

Confusion.
Disorientation to time and place.
Unusually aggressive or combative behavior.
Lethargy, unexplained sleepiness, or the inability to arouse a person from sleep.

Altered behavior can be caused by conditions or substances that may affect the brain, such as:

Recommended Related to Mental Health

Hoarding: More Than Just a Mess

Judith Kolberg is accustomed to walking into cluttered homes. As a professional organizer, the Decatur, Ga., woman helps clients straighten messy closets, tame stacks of paperwork, and bring order to their chaos. In the past 25 years, she’s also entered the homes of about a dozen people who could be diagnosed as hoarders - and countless others who came close. “It’s a pretty sensory experience, let me put it that way. There’s obviously the assault on your eyes of the quantity of the clutter, then...

Read the Hoarding: More Than Just a Mess article > >

Prescription and nonprescription medicine.
Drug and alcohol abuse or withdrawal.
Electrolyte imbalances.
Exposure to toxins, such as carbon monoxide, arsenic, or lead.
Lack of oxygen to the brain.
Head injury.
Seizure.
Abnormally high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or abnormally low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Infection, especially in older adults.
Mental health problems, such as anxiety disorders, depression, or psychosis.
Blockages in the blood vessels in the brain, such as in a stroke.
Bleeding in the brain from a head injury or stroke.
Destruction of brain tissue by a tumor.
Pressure on brain tissue by a tumor or swelling.

Changes in behavior may be sudden, such as those caused by a stroke or head injury, or gradual, such as those caused by a tumor or swelling in the brain.

By	Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Steven L. Schneider, MD - Family Medicine
Last Revised	October 12, 2009

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: October 12, 2009

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.