Anyone experienced getting dumber?

I was thinking about working out, before I even started taking this. I’d like to be able to just punch someone in the face, if I need to, and they get scared and run if they don’t hit the ground cold first. I saw a diagram that said I have the body type to be fighting bears in the mountains, if I worked at it right with weightlifting.

Over 45 years I’ve gotten both dumber + smarter. I,m happy enough with the trade.

I want to be so intimidating that I don’t need to punch anyone. Much better when they flee after one look at you.

Pixel.

I scored an average iq of 154 in middle school. By high school i skipped 2 math classes and took multiple math classes a year so i ended up finishing every math class i can take in high school by sophmore year. I won 1st and 2nd in the creative writing (fictional short story)contest, 1st in the persuasive essay, and 1st and 3rd in poems. That said, by senior year i had to take 3 english class at once because i failed them all. I felt ok by senior year so i finished, but recently i had to take a semester off college because i was worried about my mental health.

To be honest i still think i can be smart when things run smoothly. I don’t think i got all that dummer. Rather, things just got harder. As far as some of these thing go i feel like I’m doing a good job.

Sometimes I think I have declined a bit… Surely, my episodic memory isn’t what it used to be, but besides that, I think it has more to do with confidence for me. In writing for my studies, every now and then I have this experience that I can barely start a sentence. Not so much because of lack of motivation, but it is as if there is to much uncertain for me to start somewhere. I think of a phrase to write, and before I have even gotton to write it down, prblems show up: exceptions, objections etc. Maybe this is a good thing, for it makes one think more thoroughly. But it can be actually debilitating. I mean, you have to be able to start somewhere… At times it is like a global skepticism/distrust infects all writing. Things that should be commonplaces now, after having studied the topic for some years, I cannot write down just like that. As soon as I recall something I had learned, distrust affects it and has me end up having second thoughts on the matter and go and check. This may seem good academic practice, but like I said, it is hindering me in writing.

Another thing, also related to confidence I think, is that as soon as I have finished a paper, and read it, it seems just so… dull. I often have this idea that my academic papers haven’t got much substance to them. In the sense that when I read my writing, I quite often get the feeling that the phrases are either complete truisms, or do not fit in, do not make sense, even not grammatically speaking.

Those pretty much sum up my experiences of cognitive decline. But these are my experiences… My grades show I’m improving over the last few years, so it seems to be a matter of perception here.

Hmmm. I don’t think I could get any dumber than I am now.

i graduated 4th out of a class of over 900 seniors in HS.–despite only attending school about half the time as SZ was making its appearance and I was too sick to attend often. I attended college on a full academic scholarship. in my early 20’s i went through psych testing while being floridly psychotic. The doctor told me that i showed evidence of a ‘formerly prodigious intellect’–i mourned over the world ‘formerly’.

slowly i recovered until in my 30’s i was doing well and my intelligence appeared to be improved. Then in my 40’s i had another major episode that actually went on for three or four years…and i had 15 ETC treatments. i don’t know if it was from the ECT or from the meds or the illness, but my intelligence was profoundly hampered., i have only recovered a little bit. i have not regained my ‘former’ intelligence.

This is one of the most painful effects of this disease for me. My intelligence was a huge part of my identity. now there is a hole in my psyche where this trait used to exist. Sad.

do u mean slower? the meds have that effect on u. it slows down ur thinking process… i can no longer do simple additions and multiplications.

@Turnip I have noticed that my cognitive abilities are much affected by stress. Lower concentration, lower level of retention of incoming info or lower level of processing info comes in place when I don’t feel well, like now… yesterday on seminar I hardly followed the discussions and different activities, basically because I didn’t really understand what is going on… otherwise when I feel ok everything is fine. Although my pdoc said after my last episode: “imagine you are in a lift. You used to be able to reach 20th floor but every psychotic episode affects that ability and after every one you can reach lower and lower floor”. this metaphor was used in relation to my cognitive abilities when many years ago told him that I feel my abilities had declined. I was depressed back then when I heard him! But I proved him wrong. I didn’t give up, ok, it took me several years to recover completely but just until recently I felt I have reached my full potential. And I know I can do it again. Brain is very plastic and can be trained if under appropriate stimuli. It just needs time. And yeah, I don’t know much about meds but I believe some of them have a huge impact. Talk maybe to your pdoc about your feeling…

Maybe. Now that I’m thinking about your question, it might be that in a way I was spoiled. So maybe now that things take much longer, I give up too quickly in frustration, which makes me feel like I “can’t”. Will have to try to remember this notion the next time I’m dealing with it and see.

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Some cognitive decline is to be expected, as we get older (age)

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Oh nah dude, I already got that down perfect. I can scare the ■■■■ out of anyone, I know how to act crazier than anyone else I’ve ever come across. I just want to be able to back up my psychological tactics with brute force, if I have to. :stuck_out_tongue:

@Turnip don’t be to harsh to yourself. You are not spoiled, it is really difficult to adjust to our reality living with this disorder. Things I used to do in a past I can’t do anymore due to its negative consequences (especially relying only on myself, not needing help from anyone…). That is why I said on the forum that sometimes I just feel tired and fed up. Fortunately I have VERY supportive partner. He is my “carrot”; believes and encourages me 100% either if I success or fail. I think I am quite fortunate after all. Be good and understanding to yourself. Take care and good luck.

I was really bright and used to love debating too. I used to see it as mental wrestling and I was good at pinning my opponent. Now I shy away from debates, etc. I get a panicked feeling when someone asks me, especially in a challenging way, about something. I have to read things many times over now with no guarantee that I’ll understand anyway, and I tend to get jumbled when I try to explain something. I still have remnants of intelligence, but not the sharpness.

I had an experience the other day along these lines. I was asked to count backwards from 100 by 7’s. I honesty couldn’t get my mind to work. I was so pissed off about it that it was a nagging issue for the rest of the day. I’ve never believed I was below average intelligence and that day, when I really couldn’t get my mind to function, I realized maybe I am well below average. It’s a sorrowful thought…My motto has been for the longest time “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid”…Now, I should probably come up with a new one, given I might very well be stupid.

Backwards by sevens??? Why? Maybe your brain rejected the idea because it’s pointless. :grin:

I don’t know why that was the number…it was part of a yearly psych eval.

When I was growing up, people saw me as the brightest person they knew. Not any more.

Jayster

I have trouble counting. I have trouble counting. memory problems. I lose track.