Does depression ruin your thinking skills?

[anomaly0]

I ask this question mainly to talk about school/university experiences, but if you have examples outside of those, you can tell them.
I recently realized that when i started to get really depressed in high school, my ability to understand new things slowly started to degrade. I was always a quick learner but at a certain point i started to have problems figuring out new stuff, for example, i used to be good at math (even when it started to become hard), but as time passed by, i started to struggle to understand new notions and multiple lessons had to pass before being able to figure them out.
Do you have similar experiences?

 

[pyx]

yep, that and ADD set me up for failure, along with my parents leaving me to subject to the whims of the Internet

i am effectively a retard.

 

[identity0]

Yes, there is a strong and stable effect, especially on memory, shown in peer-reviewed medical studies

 

[LapseInTime]

A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y. If you have ADHD, well, now you're fighting at two different fronts. You're out of it, always tired, physically and mentally. As a result of the depression alone, I've felt that my memory has been declining; finding the right word is difficult, the brainfog is immense, I have started forgetting things. All I'm missing is a walking stick. Sometimes I look at the clock and can't figure out whether it's PM or AM; it takes me minutes and time feels surreal.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

What thinking skills?

 

[Praestat_Mori]

"Depression" - from a biological POV is a security mechanism of our brain to protect us when we're overwhelmed. The problem is - in nowadays world this is counterproductive. It causes us even more problems.

 

[_Gollum_]

YES, this is actually the thing that bothers me most about depression, as intellectual pursuits have been a major part of my life so losing that has been a huge hit to my sense of self. Everything just moves so much slower in my head, takes me so much longer, requires so much more effort for the same result. I've occasionally considered returning to university but tbh I don't know if I could handle it like I could when I was younger.

 

[Agon321]

I'm not a doctor, so I can't give a definitive diagnosis, but in my case it probably had an impact.
Of course I'm not sure if I have depression, because I'm cautious about self-diagnosis, but all symptoms indicate that I do.

I was never a good student, but when my mental illness started to get worse, my level definitely dropped.
It's harder for me to think when my brain is attacked by a fucking invisible "cancer".
Of course, depression also causes a lack of energy to perform basic tasks, so it's hard to find motivation to learn and gain additional knowledge.
At some point, the disproportion in the level of, for example, knowledge is noticeable between a sick person (for example me) and a healthy person.

 

[etherealspring]

yh i feel like i always have brain fog and it's so hard to focus. sometimes it's like i can never process any of the words im hearing. it was hellish in school and it's even worse as a student lol

 

[secretariat]

yup brain fog definitely or just feeling like a rod is stuck in my head. literally felt like my iq dropped 10 points

 

[CatLove56]

I ask this question mainly to talk about school/university experiences, but if you have examples outside of those, you can tell them.
I recently realized that when i started to get really depressed in high school, my ability to understand new things slowly started to degrade. I was always a quick learner but at a certain point i started to have problems figuring out new stuff, for example, i used to be good at math (even when it started to become hard), but as time passed by, i started to struggle to understand new notions and multiple lessons had to pass before being able to figure them out.
Do you have similar experiences?

memory issues are not uncommon for anxiety and depression. just a lovely little bonus for already feeling awful. Sorry to hear that. pretty much same boat. I have a hard time concentrating in general that's why I love talking to interesting people. They make it so easy to focus for better or worse.

 

[yabujin]

A bit.

 

[SweetItalianS]

It might have made my memory worse, but not majorly(the memory is mainly worse because I don't train it as I did in the school years xd) I feel like my intelligence is as sharp as it was tho

 

[Aimiya]

Definitely, don't have much more to add since it's basically a repeat of what's already been said, count this reply as a "yes" vote