Mental Decline caused by ADHD/Depression - Is anyone here experiencing this?

[PurpleParadigm]

Hi folks, I have stumbled upon this paper which thankfully was available for free on pubmed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520478/

For context, I am experiencing a very sharp mental decline, with memory loss and inability to learn new things being the core element of it.


Here are some key point that stood out for me from the summary:

• Prevalence and Persistence of Cognitive Disorders in Depression
  • Cognitive disorders frequently reported in depression include deficits in attention, executive functions, memory, and processing speed
  • Cognitive problems often persist even during remission of depressive symptoms, with prevalence rates of up to 94% during depressive episodes and up to 44% during remissions

• Pseudodementia and Cognitive Impairments in Major Depression
  • Some cases of major depression are characterized by prominent cognitive impairments, leading to the controversial condition known as pseudodementia
  • Pseudodementia (mental decline caused by depression) has not been integrated into current dementia classification systems
  • Depression is associated with a twofold increased risk of developing dementia, according to a meta-analysis study

• Cognitive Disorders as Core Features of Depression
  • Cognitive disorders should be viewed as a core feature of depression, separate from being merely secondary to it, and a cause of functional impairment
  • Cognitive symptoms in depression should be recognized as an important target for treatment
  • Reversible and irreversible cognitive deficits can coexist in depressed patients
  • Currently available antidepressant drugs have not demonstrated efficacy in treating cognitive disorders

• Cognitive Disorders across Different Mental Disorders
  • Cognitive disorders are now recognized across different mental disorders, including ADHD, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder (MDD)
  • Cognitive function should be a critical target for therapy in MDD, as it significantly impacts mental health-related quality of life
  • It doesn't always affect treatment decisions in practice

I hope this can help some folks at least validate their experiences.

 

[Pluto]

I think I relate to this a lot. I struggle to focus to read books like I used to. Feel a general sense of cloudiness and struggle with decision-making. Really wanted to attempt recovery, but it feels like it's become ten times as hard and I have a tenth of the energy.

 

[PurpleParadigm]

I think I relate to this a lot. I struggle to focus to read books like I used to. Feel a general sense of cloudiness and struggle with decision-making. Really wanted to attempt recovery, but it feels like it's become ten times as hard and I have a tenth of the energy.

I find myself in the same situation. As I grow older it becomes harder to deal with the depressive episodes, and recovery is made harder by the mental decline and frustration caused by it

 

[sorrowful]

i left school early, one of the reasons being i just couldn't focus or process information. strange for me because i used to do well as a child, and for the most part i was considered smart. so having such a sharp decline in my abilities was tough and i felt embarrassed as i knew i'd let people down. got worse when i decided to use drugs, can't remember things and extreme brain fog. takes me so long to learn anything new.

 

[dwindlingfirst]

Hi folks, I have stumbled upon this paper which thankfully was available for free on pubmed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520478/

For context, I am experiencing a very sharp mental decline, with memory loss and inability to learn new things being the core element of it.


Here are some key point that stood out for me from the summary:

• Prevalence and Persistence of Cognitive Disorders in Depression
  • Cognitive disorders frequently reported in depression include deficits in attention, executive functions, memory, and processing speed
  • Cognitive problems often persist even during remission of depressive symptoms, with prevalence rates of up to 94% during depressive episodes and up to 44% during remissions

• Pseudodementia and Cognitive Impairments in Major Depression
  • Some cases of major depression are characterized by prominent cognitive impairments, leading to the controversial condition known as pseudodementia
  • Pseudodementia (mental decline caused by depression) has not been integrated into current dementia classification systems
  • Depression is associated with a twofold increased risk of developing dementia, according to a meta-analysis study

• Cognitive Disorders as Core Features of Depression
  • Cognitive disorders should be viewed as a core feature of depression, separate from being merely secondary to it, and a cause of functional impairment
  • Cognitive symptoms in depression should be recognized as an important target for treatment
  • Reversible and irreversible cognitive deficits can coexist in depressed patients
  • Currently available antidepressant drugs have not demonstrated efficacy in treating cognitive disorders

• Cognitive Disorders across Different Mental Disorders
  • Cognitive disorders are now recognized across different mental disorders, including ADHD, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder (MDD)
  • Cognitive function should be a critical target for therapy in MDD, as it significantly impacts mental health-related quality of life
  • It doesn't always affect treatment decisions in practice

I hope this can help some folks at least validate their experiences.

Yeah, I definitely relate to this. My current grades are going downhill as I get more and more depressed, which just activates my ADHD even more. It's an infinite downward spiral, or just an endless loop.

 

[Sunny_flower]

Bro I used to be on this drug called Ritalin. It helped a lot by getting me thru my primary years and I was considered one of the smartest kids then. Then everything fell apart when I started high school. Even with my drugs, I was still struggling to keep up with the workload and focus until I was so burnt out that I failed all my exams. Then when they took away the Ritalin everything kept getting worse and worse. Until I failed and dropped out. Now here I am. I've lost hope. And now im looking for my way out......

 

[Krieger]

I relate to this for sure, any way to fix it or am I fucked?

 

[leap_from_life]

I used to be very intelligent and smart kid, when I developed schizophrenia and heavy depression I'm only dumber and dumber with every year