it seems that cognitive decline is a rather common feature of sz.
does it define sz? are there people with sz without it?
when i was really sick i could hardly think at all. in my case it was quite bad – the cognition i mean.
how do you feel about this aspect of sz? it made me feel like a total ‘goner.’
judy
Hmmm, I mean, my memory’s not what it used to be.
And also, the disorganized thinking defos affects cognitive performance.
I’ve tried fish oils to help with brain function, but all they gave me was shiny hair 
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I’ve lost a bit of intellect for sure but I’m more street smart dealing with all the associated stuff that comes with it. I think it’s commonly reported that psychosis is like a 5-10 point iq drop. I’m not sure how accurate it is but I think it’s common to lose some cognition.
I truly believe the meds help. Trouble is our technology isn’t based on anything but some barbaric chemistry really. So much we don’t know about the brain and sz and more targetted medications really are needed.
I like to say we are in the ball park. Things like dopamine are involved we know but there’s other interactions etc that we need to understand…we are just in the cheap seats at the moment.
i was in school doing well at one time and all of a sudden the symptoms crept up… and the thinking stopped and i couldn’t get it going again.
judy
I got to 13 or so and my math went south. I was a top 5% student till then. I gravitated more to art and english/language…but I started to lose insight into comprehension. I ended up going to University but I had many a problem and flunked out…It was a long journey.
rogueone. i understand you totally on this one. me similar experience. now i try to get myself some self education. i really wanted to learn and be an educated person. it still bothers me a whole lot that i have such a lack in many areas where i should be educated i have to remember not to blame myself or call myself an idiot… judy
I’ve thought for a while (i could very well be wrong) that social interaction contributes to cognitive health. Particularly healthy social interaction. Unfortunately that is in short supply among schizophrenics I think.
that’s a very interesting idea. aside from my family and this forum i haven’t any social interaction.
how about others here?
judy
I think it’s great nowadays that schizophrenic people are encouraged to pursue further education . That wasn’t always the case. When I was dxed with schizophrenia, in 1975, it was seen as the cognitive ‘kiss of death’. When you’re told repeatedly that doing x will ‘overtax your brain’ it becomes very easy to buy into that, and back away from anything remotely intellectual. Especially so if your self confidence is already shot to bits.
From 1st psych admission in 1975 to getting online in 1996 I had very little intellectual stimulation. That’s not to dismiss my wife as being unintelligent . She wasn’t ‘book learned’ but had a depth of practical intelligence that I, and many others with schizophrenia, lack. Until she developed vascular dementia she was the one guiding us safely through life’s stormy seas.
Thankfully my overall cognition has remained stable. However that’s more to do with luck than anything I’ve done myself.
I have about that much too. I think social interaction can help some, but some afent gifted that way no matter how hard we think about it.
Yeah, me too.
1515
I talk to friends but I feel dumb bcz of sz, my short term memory really sucks. Cognitive problems started 2-3yrs before my sz diagnosis. I read that cognitive symptoms are an indicater of how well we function and our quality of life.
My friends don’t help my sz or cognitive symptoms, when we talk I often repeat what I am talking about as I forget that I already said that, then my friends tell me that I told them that many times lol
I did very well, I’d say extremely well on cognitive tests 3 years in my illness without the prodormal period.
I was still having symptoms so I wonder if I will improve because I function better or do worse because the illness is now chronic
You guys gave me a great idea. I will do a battery of cognitive tests again with the same psychology, 3 years later just for curiosity 
I keep missing these memos.
I had some issues while I was psychotic because I was in University and couldn’t concentrate while writing exams or listening to the professor. Now that I am on meds and stable it’s not much of a problem anymore, I don’t feel like my cognition has declined. My memory is a little worse now than when I was younger, but I am also older now so maybe that is why.
As someone with both SZ & ASD , it’s complicated . The ASD part results in quite a large IQ >>>>>> adaptive functioning gap.
My cognitive functioning declined quite a bit, after my psychotic break in 2019. I had to drop out of school and I had to start working part-time instead of full-time. Eventually, I had to stop working altogether, in June, 2021.
I interact with my mental health workers, my one, irl friend, my hired people, my fellow volunteers, my family, my neighbors and all you guys on Sz.com