Do any of you remember when you were smart?

[Avril]

I can't explain this feeling anymore. I was always a smart person in class, honors, etc., but when the depression kicked in, I could barely think, last time, there was a Discrete Math exam and I forgot how to subtract on paper (with carry), and I realized how fucking dumb I got because of this. I'm tired. Will I ever be smart again?
FUCK THIS MIND FOG!! !

 

[aRose]

Yep. I have always been smart but my diseases have sucked the ability to utilize it from my marrow

 

[lpdsvm]

It's normal to forget some things if not practiced over time.
Some engineers forget things and use a calculator for simple things. Math is evil; it wants people to be fully committed to it.

 

[Alpacachino]

Part of it is just our mental acuity and memory fading with time. Happens to everyone. Also, depression is a different case altogether because it saps your mental energy. Hard to do anything after that.

 

[ScaredCutter]

It's normal to forget some things if not practiced over time.
Some engineers forget things and use a calculator for simple things. Math is evil; it wants people to be fully committed to it.

true, also my bf is really good at maths and he usually does it nearly everyday, i want to also be good at maths but im unable to keep up a habit of doing it often.

i dont remmeber if i was ever a smart person but, i was sometimes good at things but, i lost it because of how i wouldnt do it as much, lose the way of how to do it and be unable to reach to where i was at the time. maths is probably one of the most annoying ones since it feels like it must be embedded into ur brain. omg, but when people bring up how you were good at something and wonder why u became "bad" at it, really hurts.


oh yeah, when schools (usually just elementaries) do this grouping for subjects, id feel so destroyed because i was usually in the 2nd lowest/lowest group and it hurt, i remember trying so hard to just not end up in those but i was put into the LOWEST. it felt so insulting because i wanted to learn more, explore more but i was stuck learning the same shit i knew of.

 

[RosebyAnyName]

I barely remember anymore. All I remember is that I used to be able to read books and do math, and I did well in school. Now I can't read a couple paragraphs without zoning out, forget math, and I was immediately overwhelmed by a non-art course I tried to take recently. I wish I weren't so overwhelmed by anxiety, I know that contributed to a lot of my decline because it started as early as my teen years.

 

[finaldestination22]

It is well known, science proves it ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/18438/ )

Stress and stress related factors like depression etc literally makes you dumber and unhealthier in many ways. Saw it on my own

 

[Hvergelmir]

I forgot how to subtract on paper (with carry)

I'm in a math-heavy field, dealing mostly with linear algebra. I haven't subtracted on paper in something like 15 years.
I'd have to fiddle with it, to reinvent subtraction on paper, to clear an exam like that. I don't remember how it was taught.

The most important thing is to know what a subtraction is, fundamentally, and when to use it. For the actual arithmetic, my calculator will be more accurate than the best of mathematicians.

Will I ever be smart again?

Most likely, if you keep wanting to be. The brain is very adaptable. I don't think my own intelligence development has been linear, but rather up and downs, depending on mental state and frequency of intellectual stimulation.