Hi - I don't really have the energy to compose a post, but since this issue has been weighing heavily on me lately - I feel compelled to try to post anyway. For many years now - I've suffered from severe anxiety and severe depression - and I've taken several medications (over the years) to treat it. I'm convinced that I've suffered a steady decline in intelligence over the past several years. It distresses me to no end. I used to be a much more complex thinker, I could come up with more sophisticated thoughts and conversation (I'm not saying that I was anything close to a Mensa - but relatively-speaking, I was much better than I am these days). Writing on Internet messageboards used to come more easily - now I struggle mightily to put coherent thoughts/sentences together. My memory was much better, and I found it easier to be more articulate. (It's like my vocabulary has shrunk.) I had a lot more intellectual curiosity; now I just don't have the energy/motivation, not to mention the attention-span, to do many of the "intellectual" things I used to do. I just don't have any "mental energy", and I've suffered from horrible "brain fog".

It's so hard sometimes when I, for example - read Internet messageboards - and observe people being so witty, knowledgable, and intelligent - knowing that I'm nowhere near capable of such brilliant contributions.

And what's so hurtful and evil about this is that I based so much of my self-esteem/self-identity on my intellect - since I was so devoid in other areas (such as social competence). And now, what I relied upon to have some sense of self-worth is gone.

I suspect that the meds I've had to take for my mental illnesses may have a lot to do with my decline. I started noticing problems with mental-energy shortly after I started taking Effexor (I had taken Prozac and Luvox before this drug; either these previous drugs didn't cause too many cognitive problems, or I was not aware enough to notice). My mental decline accelerated whenever I tried to get off Effexor; each time I would try to do without the drug, then start back taking the drug, I was that much "dumber".

The generic Wellbutrin I'm taking now seems to be abetting this decline, too. It feels like with each day, more of my brain cells are being killed off. I'm worried that my "stupidity" is starting to show up in my eyes, my vocal inflections, and in my body-language; for some reason, people (sales clerks, siblings, etc.) seem to be treating me more rudely these days. I've been trying to figure out what has changed in me recently to cause people to respond to me in this manner - and this is what I've come up with.

Does anyone else feel that your intelligence has taken a nose dive due to mental illness and/or medication? I would appreciate any thoughts on this issue - thanks in advance.

This post has been edited by crossroids: Jul 11 2008, 05:29 PM

Crossroids,

Most definately! I don't think it has been permanent (or at least I hope so) but at times there's has been some sort of decline. I think I have stayed emotionally aware, and that is some sort of intelligence, but I lack for common sense and that can really suffer after a change a medication or a really low period. It can also come back, I also hope ;)

I'm not sure but I think if you lose interest then you lose awareness and maybe that can leave you feeling like you just don't get anything anymore.

What you wrote is clear and cogent and absolutely doesn't, to me at least, lack for intelligence. Maybe it's a self-esteem thing which leads you to comparison? This forum is one place in the world where no-one gets put down for how smart or intuitive or intelligent they are. So being at least free of other people's judgements might be of real help to you.

Gisele

since i started taking medication i feel like i'm less intelligent than i used to be. i don't know if it's a result of the medication or if i'm just preoccupied, but i've been quite absent-minded and a bit forgetful lately. when i was eighteen i got accepted into mensa, now i seriously doubt that i would. i don't even know if i should say "got accepted" or "was accepted".
some aspects of my thinking have become more focused however. i've been playing drums and guitar for years and recently i've become noticeably better at both and it seems to be because i can communicate better between my mind and my body. my mind has always run at a million miles per hour in every direction, going nowhere. now it seems to have slowed down but become more efficient, if you know what i mean. as for the intellectual aspects of my brain, i seem to go through spells (reading books or doing puzzles etc.) of being quick and very competent with good comprehension and understanding and then being slow and getting confused and unable to think straight. i'm hoping i'll get back to my best pretty soon and i don't believe that any medication would be available nowadays which could permanently reduce a persons capacity to think.

Yes, yes, yes!! Everything you wrote. Actually I made a thread about this very thing not long ago. It really got bad for me since the Lexapro. It was almost impossible to focus on or process what my prof's in college were saying.

I am now so absent minded and lacking in common sense it actually scares me and like you I also had a lot a of my (admittedly tiny) self-esteem wrapped up in my intelligence (it was all I had).

Actually, the difference between us would be the Effexor. It actually seemed to make it easier to just sit down and concentrate for me. I think a lot of this must be side effects of depression though, I mean I can't even sit down and read a book.

Somewhere, a long time ago I read something about depression impairing the growth of the hippocampus and/or long time scizophrenics and depressives having a shrunken hippocampus or something. I don't think it was a proven thing though, just a theory. "Impaired hippocampal neurogenesis"

Hi all.

Basic depression symptoms 101. Depression always, and sometimes severely, affects your cognitive functioning. Not just memory, but higher thought processes as well. Hence the brain 'fog', I feel like mine is full of concrete. It definately affects things like word finding and associations, which makes it hard sometimes impossible, to carry on an intelligent or witty conversations. Not to mention how you actually think when your depressed, you tend to spend more time ruminating on the past, so have less time to think newly and creatively. I know this is true for me, I spend so much time in the past I have little room for new thoughts, or thoughts that dont relate to my being depressed. It can be a pretty intellectually consuming process. When you are depressed you are so down that you are much less likely to even have the energy to think more 'intelligently'. Your concentration is also so shot that you cant stay with an idea or concept long enough for it to become complex or sophisticated. You essentially become 'out of practise' intellectually, but the more you start to use it again the better it becomes. As far as meds go its hard to tell, I think they may have an affect, but probably nothing compared to the depression. Finding good information on how exactly depression affects coginative functioning is hard on the web. I find my psychiatrist the most valuable tool in trying to assess this. I am currently extremely concerned about the same thing, my intelligence was also one of my most precious assest, and I have noticed a significant diminishment in my intellectual prowess since my depression has gone from moderate to severe. But, having been off meds for 5 months a little while ago, I didnt notice any change. I still felt as dumb as I did when on them. I have trouble now even remembering how some words are spelt. I used to get great marks for university grade theory essays, always 80% and over, now I can barely remember how to use punctuation. I have noticed as my depression has worsened so has my intellectual capacity, which makes me think that the more depressed you become, the worse your brain functioning. Which gives me hope that it will return to normal when I do. Remember the brain is a muscle, you dont use it, you lose it, and when depressed you certainly dont use it anywhere near as much as normal. I tend to find a good way to think about depression it that it is not just your mood that is depressed, it is all the other aspects of you as well, physically, mentally etc. Everything is affected, not just your emotions.

Good luck with the 'fog', I am considering taking a jack hammer to my 'concrete'

I remember your thread, glassbird

Depression makes me very dumb indeed. You've all described the symptoms well. But my brain gets sharper when the depression is under control - I can think more clearly, solve more complex sudoku's etc. So for me, it's not the medication that dumbs me, but the illness. Of course, medications that haven't worked have sometimes dumbed me down, but when I was last in remission, my intellectual side came back to me.

During my last stay in a psych hospital (in April this year), I took some sudoku's with me and could not even manage the very simple ones. That was a stark example for me. When I can get into the heavyweight ones again, I'll know that I'm better.

I'm nowhere near as sharp as when I was in my early twenties, at university, but some of that has been a "use it or lose it" thing, where I simply haven't used some of those skills for so long, it feels like they are gone. I like to think I've developed others instead...

This is interesting I've noticed brain fog to an extent, but more so sarcasm. I've always been kind of had a sense of humor, but in the past few years I've noticed a much more sharper wit. At first I would think things and then SAY them w/out being able to contain my thoughts, not at all like tourette's syndrome but for example I'd be on an elevator and in front of all the people on the elevator I'd say something like 'is this thing ever going to go' and they'd just blankly stare at me, reasonably so. But now I have it more contained, but sometimes I think of something so funny to say in response to someone that I can't even figure out where it came from, so I've tried to use it to my advantage in that co-workers think I'm amusing at times, but it still surprises me now.

"Does anyone else feel that your intelligence has taken a nose dive due to mental illness and/or medication?"

Hi, this may be waaaaaay off base, I apologize in advance if you think it is, but I've experienced the exact same feelings, like I lost a great deal of my intellect over the years and I once attributed it to medications or to some brain damage from taking so many overdoses in my time. When I felt like I was really losing my mind, really stupid and couldn't get my thoughts together to save my life, my therapist FINALLY diagnosed me with ADHD and it's so weird that at the late age of 37 or so, my brother has it, that I was finally diagnosed with it. The medications for the disorder really opened up my world and I once again could think and have intelligent conversations, the whole deal. It's just a thought anyways. I would check it out with a shrink, psychologist or therapist and see if that's the problem. I really felt stupid and like I was losing my mind right before they diagnosed me with it. I hope that this helps. I mean, meds can negatively affect our thoughts, etc. But there also might be something they're missing with you. darkshadow. PS. There are at least 6 types of ADD/ADHD, which aren't all well known. Some people don't experience the hyperactivity for example. Some do. It's all a matter of figuring out the right type and diagnosing it. Good luck.

That was a well written, thorough, and grammatically correct post. So you have not lost that much mental capacity.
But, I do feel the same way about myself. Sometimes in a conversation I just get stuck on a word. That may be more due to social anxiety, I am not sure. Even online I get stuck sometimes. Thank goodness for spell check and online dictionaries.
Lately I have been reading more. There is not much on TV. My favorite show, LOST, has a "book list" associated with it. It seems that since I have been reading books I have less trouble coming up with words. I also thought about getting one of those "exercise your brain" games. There is probably something similar online.

(BTW spell check count = 2 just for this short post. I would never of made a good typist in the old days when you had to use correction tape.)

I started having problems with my memory and being foggy brained. It got worse and worse till I went to my pdoc and told him of some specific situations. He decided to take me off one of my meds and I am now back to normal. I also read where sometimes the memory impairment can be permanent. Dont know if this is true or not, but I would suggest telling your doctor of your symptoms and see what he thinks.

I think depression itself makes memory and cognitive functioning more difficult. At the same time, I think meds can also do this as well.


So I don't think its an easy answer as to how to correct it....but I do think its temporary.

Good luck!

My brain often feels tired. Add to that menopause ..... I know what items are but the words don't come to mind or the wrong words spring out of my mouth. It's OK when I'm with other meno-babes but if I'm in mixed company ....... .... my anti-depressant makes me tired++ so sometimes it is an effort to even smile ......... it is NOT lack of intelligence, but lack of energy!

Yep- I could have written your post. I won't relate it to the meds I'm taking though, as I've only started taking them in April. Depression, battling it, being debilitated by it... it has definitely compromised what I used to consider my "identity". I used to be intelligent, that was how people referred to me, that was how I saw myself. Usually I put my foot in my mouth when I speak, I don't write anymore, I don't have the patience to read, and I lack the self-confidence to talk about anything with other people. I used to feel like at least I had a lot of potential- but I've lost that. I'm sure a lot of that is the drinking I did to self- medicate before being actually treated. I just relate to your feeling. The way I used to identify myself is gone. Even though I know schooling/degrees are not the be-all end-all (logically) it really hurts to know that all of my peers have gone on to be surgeons, lawyers, accountants, etc... and these are people who used to think I was the "smart" one. And I sit at home, not working, not able to use the phone or form complete sentences in person. I hear you.

I think my intelligence is the same. Depression just makes it hard for me to concentrate or care about things.