Has anyone noticed some RM"s who came back with EXTREME personality changes?

I attended YM with a guy that was one of the craziest sumbitches ever (in a good way).

If you wanted fun, you hung with this guy (it was literally sex, drugs & Rock'n'Roll).

When he returned, he had this weird look in his eyes and his countenance was completely different.
He looked fanatical yet totally calm. He just scared the shit outta me.
I haven't seen him since, as I no longer lived in the area.

Another guy I used to get into fights with, came back as the nicest motherf**ker on the planet. And he stayed that way.

I'd like to hear others experiences with this RM change.

I was fairly shy before the mission. That's no longer the case.

I respected authority before the mission. That's definitely no longer the case.

I had poor standards of evidence before the mission. That's absolutely no longer the case.

Otherwise I made it through pretty unscathed..

I think I became more crazy. I mean, I am out there sometimes.

I know a guy who was pretty straight laced before the mission (he is one of the reason I went, cool dude). When he came back he became a mini dictator and authoratative asshole. No one wanted to be around him, at all. He ended up marrying a chick whom is more controlling than him and a down right 1st class bitch.

Since being married to her, he has mellowed alot.

Probably from bearing so much heartfelt HeartSell(TM) using the sing-songy voice Jesus prescribes.

We had a rule at BYU, among my friends at least, that we wouldn't date any guy until they'd been home from a mission 6 months. Because not only did they change a lot on their mission, but they changed a lot that first 6 months home. While they adjusted back to real life and got their feet on the ground. I noticed this not just at BYU but even with senior missionary friends of mine and my parents. A lot of them are almost intolerable to be around for months after they get home.

I also dated a guy who swore he'd never wait for a sister missionary - not because it was too long to wait but because the girls he'd known that served missions all changed for the worst after they returned. I don't know what he meant by that and he wouldn't elaborate but having seen some of the craziness in the sister missionaries on my mission, I kinda get his point. I think I stayed more or less the same except that I get anxiety attacks now and again. They are lessening a lot since I left the church though. I don't think I changed much because I was a few years older when I left on my mission and knew who I was a little better. I didn't let them push me around as much as some sisters and didn't let them define me as much. The anxiety attacks came entirely from having someone always there, 24/7, no down time. I would not go on a mission today if I thought there was even a chance I had to live with members. That would send me over the edge. I don't know how missionaries deal with it.

My step son was quiet, funny, fun to be around.

After he got home, cranky, bossy,arrogant, self righteous,preachy,judgmental, by the book, no sense of humor. Nobody can stand to be in the same room with him.
He married someone who acts the same. I say act, because that is what it appears to be. A big act.

My brother was really cool and I was close with him before his mission...he was laid back and normal. He came home from his mission and in less than a year married the daughter of a 'perfect seminary' teacher. The girl he married..I would have never thought he would end up with. They have been married for a little over ten years. We ceased being close after his mission and last time he called me was two years ago. He called me in regards to ask me about my church records because the records people had contacted him when I moved and of course was still too afraid then to tell my family that I wasn't a believer.

When my missionary came home from his mission...I was still a believer-- he couldn't talk to me. We would sit in awkward silences for long periods at a time. Then two months later we just stopped hanging out. No explanation attached. I would say to him.."We can't talk to each other" The mission had warped him into a false world and made him act like someone he just wasn't. He had that blank stare that someone else mentioned above.

I could have never gone on a mission and made it out whole...that's for sure. For all you return missionaries out there...kudos and may you get your real self and sanity back..then some- completely. I know I would be a lot more mad than I already am at the Mormon church if I had given it two years of my life in missionary representation.

I still don't have a personality. I am still a city without walls. People come and go at will and walk all over me.

One of my younger brother's best friends... pre-mish, he was hilarious... you know, trying to be a good mormon boy but not perfect.

Post-mission, he messaged me on facebook one day. I asked how things were going and he said "Awful. I feel so useless. I've lost the mantle."

Apparently, years later, he still acts like that. He's turned into a pompous, depressed, self-righteous little mofo.

Pisses me off.

my brother in law was pretty normal before he left on his mission. he came back a zombie and has been that way ever since. its been 30 years now.

I constantly felt my personality,individualism and uniqueness was constantly under attack when I was on my mission. So basically I took that as an affront and made every effort not to conform. When I returned home I just resumed my life as if I had never been exposed to that brain washing youth camp. Yeah I learned some good organizational and social skills that have served me well, but anyone who knew me, knew I hadn't changed. The good news is having delved myself into church doctrine it expedited my exit from the church.