Does anyone feel their getting dumber the more depressed they get?

[Silent Forrest]

I've only realised as the years go by with this depression. that never lets up but only grows more and more everyday, that I've become more dumber.
Tasks that would of been easy to do in the past, now seem so much more complex and harder.
I don't think I shower for like a week at a time; neither do I change cloths for a similar time period. I cannot remember the last time I actually shaved properly, like maybe 4-5 or months ago.
I don't have much concept of time any more, like when I think it's Monday it's usually Thursday or something.
I avoid going out and socialising with people like the plaque; the only time I interact with other people is if I need something, like food, medications or have to talk to doctors or psychologists.


I really wish countries around the world would properly consider, treatment resistant mental illness as highly as terminal illness or old age for voluntary euthanasia.

 

[KiraLittleOwl]

I can't think straight

 

[Foresight]

Most definitely. I think anxiety/depression is horrible for your brain and the rest of the body. I also think I read that not socializing is bad for the mind too. That's how social of animals we are. Without any interaction it damages our physiological states. I'm harshly agoraphobic so I understand and found this out the hard way.

I don't want to offer any snake oil solutions but what helped me was a bit of outside time and sunlight exposure if you've been denying yourself that, stimulating or relaxing music, and pqq&ubiquinol combo for supplements. Not the most affordable though.

It's hard not to be sad about the decline our mental health puts us through. I agree that mental illness can absolutely be fatal. I've lost some of my vision from my agoraphobic habits. Eyes, brain, digestive system, cardiovascular function, the endocrine system, etc. Pretty much every ounce of our body is suffering with us as the mental illness persists. I've recovered some of my health back though in recovery.

 

[Gloom]

i think so. school was harder when i was depressed and i used to be so good at essays and writing but now i just sound plain stupid (evident from my posts). my parents tend to call me stupid more often when im depressed. anti-depressants help me get tasks done but even then i dont like how they make me feel. i yearn for good mental health treatment, millions of people are dying and suffering because treatment is given too late or not at all.

 

[eternalflame]

Yes, i do.

 

[Suicidebydeath]

Yes, I know of others that feels the same way. It seems to be a common theme.

 

[Lost Magic]

yes, I know the feeling.

 

[FuneralCry]

I do think as the years go by I get more and more tired of everything. I have never really been very intelligent in the first place though, I am simply not meant for life in every single way. Existing is torture in my opinion and of course the option of euthanasia should be available. It is cruel trying to force people to live against their wishes and trap them in lives of unbearable suffering.

 

[whatevs]

It's well established that anxiety or depression either kills neurons or makes the chemicals which encourage neuronal growth/repair more scarce. At any rate, you don't need scientific validation when it's common sense that prolonged strain will damage or erode a system.

The healthy, shiny, happy people out there are setting the world on a dark as fuck path though, so they are insane as well, they are just insane in the future if that makes sense, and enjoying comfort at the expense of what will come. I reckon that a lot of the mentally ill people are sensing something is wrong before then.

 

[ImsooDone1N]

I definitely feel myself getting dumber or just, the more depressed, stressed & lost in life I get, the more foggy/cloudy things become. Then when my severe anxiety is added in, it becomes all hecktic/frantic/confusing & thoughts jumbled up & twisted. I Can't think straight or remember everything or much of anything. I agree that prolonged stress isn't good & is gonna cause me to wear out much sooner than I would w/out the stressors. I have been in a near constant panic attack state this entire year alone.

I know it's effecting my health negatively & seriously. Loosing a lot of weight, having more medical & health issues. I'm at the point where if things continue to get worse I won't be able to function at all (and things are getting worse each day it seems). Plus I've absolutely No support (not that I expect anyone to care), so naturally things are continuing to get worse. Hopefully I will be dead soon.

 

[outrider567]

Well, unlike you, I take a shower each day(sometimes twice a day), but I do get absent minded due to depression, find I put things in the wrong place in the kitchen sometimes this year--One time I found my bag of Spinach in a utensil drawer

 

[ueo]

I'm the same way, I just can't think at all anymore. Family makes fun of me for it and calls me lazy. Maybe I am. But everything is so much that I just break down crying at the smallest tasks.

 

[Shivali]

Yes

 

[outatime_85]

I am not smart and was never smart to begin with, but since humans are said to need social interaction, which I do not do, I would have to think my cognitive functions are declining at an exponential rate, since I am long-term depressed and long-term isolated, etc.

 

[Fadeawaaaay]

cells that fire together wire together… Once you shut down you're basically just killing brain cells until you get to the point of no return

 

[SuicidalSheep]

I feel like I get dumber by the month

 

[hellispink]

I think that I become more useless as time goes. I used to think of myself aa an efficient individual and also disciplined. Now all of that is gone to ashes. For me everything is a burden. It could be making meals, cleaning or washing myself, it is so exhausting and pointless. I have read somewhere that depression at long term affects one brains and our capacity to think straight, take decisions, and also how efficient we are when it comes to doing stuff. My brain is sick and almost dead.

 

[ge0rge]

for sure. i relate to everything everyone has said, and i do feel like i am losing cognitive ability with each passing day

 

[September Salt]

It's insidious. The depression just crowds out everything that's good like a parasite. I feel like my brain's just a husk now.

 

[jitendrabagaria786@]

Same with me. Showering feels like a huge task to me and I actually get afraid of showering.

 

[veryhappyhuman]

I feel you. It seems unbelievable to me now, that less than a year ago I used to hold down a decent job, that too while living in a foreign country. Now it feels like merely thinking about anything actually hurts my brain and I'm forced to stop immediately. I used to live in a house by myself and managed to keep it clean but now I can't even keep my bedroom clean. Trash keeps piling up because literally every time I go out I somehow forget to take it out (despite constantly reminding myself of it). It's like I'm on some kind of drug that's the opposite of a steroid.

 

[przeciwwymiotne]

I think that I become more useless as time goes. I used to think of myself aa an efficient individual and also disciplined. Now all of that is gone to ashes. For me everything is a burden. It could be making meals, cleaning or washing myself, it is so exhausting and pointless. I have read somewhere that depression at long term affects one brains and our capacity to think straight, take decisions, and also how efficient we are when it comes to doing stuff. My brain is sick and almost dead.

Me too, it's dreadful, I don't even feel myself anymore, I'm still alive but I'm not me, just some leftovers from my former self
Yeah it's absolutely true. I used to believe I can reverse all the damage but after 4 years, I don't think it's possible. I'm sad that nobody saved me. Sad that I didn't save myself when I had chances to.

 

[Achlys]

Yes. The thought of the academic year beginning in a month's time is daunting and honestly terrifying. As it is, I can hardly get myself to eat food once a day, let alone doing laundry or cleaning my apartment (among other basic responsibilities). How I'll manage to study and concentrate on academics is beyond me.

 

[whatevs]

Well, unlike you, I take a shower each day(sometimes twice a day), but I do get absent minded due to depression, find I put things in the wrong place in the kitchen sometimes this year--One time I found my bag of Spinach in a utensil drawer

Yep. I put the crackers in the fridge the other day.

 

[waitingforrest]

Yes. But I am burntout to the point I don't care anymore. Smart or not, I'd still be miserable from existential dread. I don't know what the point is of trying if I will still be alone in the end, coming home to a empty house.

I think many of us feel less cognitive as the days go on. Like the brain just stops trying.

 

[przeciwwymiotne]

Yes. But I am burntout to the point I don't care anymore. Smart or not, I'd still be miserable from existential dread. I don't know what the point is of trying if I will still be alone in the end, coming home to a empty house.

I think many of us feel less cognitive as the days go on. Like the brain just stops trying.

True, the brain is like "i can do nothing all day and still survive? Aight I'm never putting effort in again" and it's so hard to stop that

 

[8evergo]

Ohh yeah my Konzentration going worst and my Energie is zero and you become leasy

 

[AstroV]

Depression and social isolation contributes to cognitive decline doesn't it? I'm not in a very good spot

 

[Hurt]

Yes. I've been pretty dumb lately.

 

[nightnightnitrite]

Severe depression(like most of probably have since we're all on this site) is linked to brain damage and forgetfulness. It feels like such a haze and even I forget how to interact in a normal social way with others even if it's something I need. I tend to keep my head down and answers polite but minimal as much as possible. You're not crazy, you're spot on and I'm sorry you're experiencing that as well<3