Mental health and IQ loss

[telemark05]

I took a real IQ test 5 years ago and scored 128. I took another one about 2 years ago and got 115. Then I took another one 3 months ago and got 109. I don't fucking like this pattern. I've also noticed in real life and all scenarios that require intelligence that im getting dumber and dumber, and I don't even have common sense anymore for simple ass things. Im stupid as fuck in real life now. Like you wouldn't believe it. I know IQ isn't everything, but im even dumber at other types of intelligence. This makes me more suicidal because im a self aware idiot and feel like im not good for anything. Im so slow. Anyone with similar experiences?

 

[The Unanswered Q]

Couple of years ago IQ was around 120, now it's around 95. Also gotten dumber in basically every other way, struggle to do the most basic tasks.

 

[divinemistress36]

Yes, depression effects cognition it sucks

 

[Pale_Rider]

I think its just because you dont think as hard. Its still there. IMHO


Just not gonna do well on a test with subpar motivation.

 

[OhhDrugzZ]

I used to have an IQ of 120 and on my last test it was around 80. I was also forced to take a test that consisted of three parts: language, math and logical thinking - If I remember correctly, I skipped most of the test because I was quickly overwhelmed. And after I took the test the, the psychologists asked me If I was suicidal lol

 

[csdfghjjk_user]

I took a real IQ test 5 years ago and scored 128. I took another one about 2 years ago and got 115. Then I took another one 3 months ago and got 109. I don't fucking like this pattern. I've also noticed in real life and all scenarios that require intelligence that im getting dumber and dumber, and I don't even have common sense anymore for simple ass things. Im stupid as fuck in real life now. Like you wouldn't believe it. I know IQ isn't everything, but im even dumber at other types of intelligence. This makes me more suicidal because im a self aware idiot and feel like im not good for anything. Im so slow. Anyone with similar experiences?

Oh yes, tell me about it. I got a degree in mathematics. But feel stupider year by year. And last October I had some strange dementia-like symptoms and couldn't even write a simple to-do list and was forgetting what people were telling me constantly.

I felt like I lost my common sense too with it and it worried me a lot. Today I feel a bit better. But it's hard. I don't know what my IQ is. I felt even before I got depression v stupid in a lot of "common sense" situation where people made fun of me "how did u make it this far in life when u dont even know x or y or how to handle this??". And I try to tell them, for me maths was easy, but scheduling and organising things, impossible.

I felt even more stupid when I was at a mental health clinic. I struggled to take medication at the same time each evening (which even in my "healthy" days, I would struggle, which is why I felt taking the pill would be not an option for me). And they said, well if u can't or don't want to manage that, we might have to have a nurse checking on you. And I feel I struggle with the simplest things that "people just know somehow for whatever reason" but are a mystery for me.

 

[csdfghjjk_user]

I used to have an IQ of 120 and on my last test it was around 80. I was also forced to take a test that consisted of three parts: language, math and logical thinking - If I remember correctly, I skipped most of the test because I was quickly overwhelmed. And after I took the test the, the psychologists asked me If I was suicidal lol

Were u at that point?

 

[OhhDrugzZ]

Were u at that point?

I can't really remember (sorry, my memory is pretty fucked up), but I definitely thought about CTB. However, it has gotten worse (due to issues in my personal life and I kinda lost hope) and I'm now actively looking into methods. Yet I'm still back and forth about this in my head.

 

[undo445]

Yes. I am dumb as fuck and have been for quite some time.

 

[telemark05]

I used to have an IQ of 120 and on my last test it was around 80. I was also forced to take a test that consisted of three parts: language, math and logical thinking - If I remember correctly, I skipped most of the test because I was quickly overwhelmed. And after I took the test the, the psychologists asked me If I was suicidal lol

From 120 to 80 is crazy. Hopefully it all isn't permanent ❤

 

[BrokenMindAndBody]

I took a real IQ test 5 years ago and scored 128. I took another one about 2 years ago and got 115. Then I took another one 3 months ago and got 109. I don't fucking like this pattern. I've also noticed in real life and all scenarios that require intelligence that im getting dumber and dumber, and I don't even have common sense anymore for simple ass things. Im stupid as fuck in real life now. Like you wouldn't believe it. I know IQ isn't everything, but im even dumber at other types of intelligence. This makes me more suicidal because im a self aware idiot and feel like im not good for anything. Im so slow. Anyone with similar experiences?

Yeah, I was a lot more intelligent and clear thinking when I was younger. Years of hardcore depression and even psych meds, plus obviously drugs like alcohol and have utterly destroyed my cognitive function. I am officially getting older now, though. It's a shame. Tasks I could once complete in a matter of minutes or hours could now take days or maybe I don't even finish them. Or if I do finish them the quality is just not there. There's no drive or passion. It's gone.

 

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Depression has messed up my brain even more than it was before, along with the medication. I can't watch TV, movies, or videos anymore. It's very hard to describe

 

[Archness]

Depression really jams all the neurons up. Sometimes it's like I don't have thoughts and am just idling all day forever. Had a moment where my memory was bad early, my memory was ALWAYS fucking awful, like I NEVER remember the names of classmates, very rarely. Also, slow thinking, not necessary worse, but really practically worse because in the real world, thinking is usually time limited rip.

In my case, autism came with all these stupid debuffs, and any talents might as well be useless /w various factors. Stress and low morale also lower IQ and thinking capacity, so it shouldn't be a surprise that feeling awful, hopeless, and outright suicidal would do that too. It's not really true brain damage.

Depression has messed up my brain even more than it was before, along with the medication. I can't watch TV, movies, or videos anymore. It's very hard to describe

Is it just the feeling that it's completely fake and disconnected with life?

 

[DarkShadows]

I have mental issues that make me more stupid. I can't express what I want to say properly and my mind is full of shit all the time. It's weird.

 

[Michelstaedter]

Don't overthink it. IQ is a number, a way of trying to quantify intelligence, even though it can be more than just intellectual. In society, numbers are attributed to wealth, to how many women you've slept with in your life, to how many years you've been working, and so on. I don't deny the importance of a number as something that can "measure" a certain phenomenon, but if we reduce it to numbers, everything will be confusing, pathetic, and people will have their self-esteem on the rocks (maybe it can be measured) and think they're worse than the worst...

IQ tests are standardized and often involve things related to logic and mathematics, but our emotions, ironically, escape logic and mathematics. It's not like you have to be a 10 to want to continue living and be happy, and a 6 to find your life sucks. Otherwise, I've always found it curious that people who seem happy often want to die or feel empty...

Well, regarding mental health and cognitive decline, it's clear that there will always be a correlation. After all, you can have a hurricane of thoughts and not have the mental clarity to reflect on something, solve problems, or understand situations that you normally have the mental acuity to address. Therefore, if you consider yourself to have depression, anxiety, or another disorder, this will naturally affect your abilities. Unless you're a genius, and in fact, it's said that many geniuses throughout human history have had disorders. In fact, I know people with some mental retardation who are able to reproduce a melody on the piano after just hearing it once.
IQ? Nope.

 

[iplayedmyself]

I used to be around 120 when i was younger, I was pretty bright and did creative stuff on par with guys much older than I was, I took an antidepressant and was trialed on other pharmaceuticals for social anxiety lol from the ages of 14 to 18 and I've finally dropped enough in intelligence to be around 90 iq now. I got neuropathy from the ssris withdrawal and horrific PTSD from what highschool was like for me on them. Also, I'm chronically fatigued, my life was pretty much ended before it even got started, I'm too much of a coward to ctb yet, I'd like to see how much of my intelligence and everything else I lost I could recover first. I'm sure life will never be enjoyable from this position onwards with my brain having been absolutely cooked by now but dying in such a damaged and feeble state is something I can't let myself go through with. I don't know why.

 

[moya117]

i can relate too much with you, though i dont officially get an iq test, i was a very and i mean a very fast learner and can remember things easily back then, now i struggled to even follow a simple instruction, my memory also got really bad that i can't remember how to even do simple math problems such as 123:8 or like that, yes, even though i le learn it i still forgot like 1 day later

 

[BrokenMindAndBody]

I used to be around 120 when i was younger, I was pretty bright and did creative stuff on par with guys much older than I was, I took an antidepressant and was trialed on other pharmaceuticals for social anxiety lol from the ages of 14 to 18 and I've finally dropped enough in intelligence to be around 90 iq now. I got neuropathy from the ssris withdrawal and horrific PTSD from what highschool was like for me on them. Also, I'm chronically fatigued, my life was pretty much ended before it even got started, I'm too much of a coward to ctb yet, I'd like to see how much of my intelligence and everything else I lost I could recover first. I'm sure life will never be enjoyable from this position onwards with my brain having been absolutely cooked by now but dying in such a damaged and feeble state is something I can't let myself go through with. I don't know why.

I believe medications like that set people down a very bad path. I had a bad time when I was 15 and didn't go to school for a week. I didn't shower either. It was probably the first time I experienced real depression. I was put on SSRIs and went down a very bad path since then. What it could have been was just puberty. Same with you. It's such a shame. I am sorry.

 

[Pluto]

 

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Depression really jams all the neurons up. Sometimes it's like I don't have thoughts and am just idling all day forever. Had a moment where my memory was bad early, my memory was ALWAYS fucking awful, like I NEVER remember the names of classmates, very rarely. Also, slow thinking, not necessary worse, but really practically worse because in the real world, thinking is usually time limited rip.

In my case, autism came with all these stupid debuffs, and any talents might as well be useless /w various factors. Stress and low morale also lower IQ and thinking capacity, so it shouldn't be a surprise that feeling awful, hopeless, and outright suicidal would do that too. It's not really true brain damage.



Is it just the feeling that it's completely fake and disconnected with life?

Yes, chronic derealization and constant depersonalization, my heart. And I can't watch movies or anything, I'll never be able to again. It's terrible. It's completely destroyed me

 

[Archness]

Yes, chronic derealization and constant depersonalization, my heart. And I can't watch movies or anything, I'll never be able to again. It's terrible. It's completely destroyed me

I hear you. I guess it's a weird for of Clarity, kinda like when you run one of those old Arena Shooters like Quake on the lowest settings. Everything's muddy, blurred to hell, AND flat, but in a way, the environment is much more clean and clear to see.

Everything's blunted so much. Sense of self and thoughts. Maybe I could suggest something interactive like a game? I always enjoyed those and it seems to help because it can be more interactive then real life. I guess that could say alot about life for people like us but I digress.

 

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Oh, thank you so much, darling. I'd love to. Living with this is a nightmare, especially with the cognitive decline. Depression, anxiety, and amnesia. Yes, it can be alleviated somewhat. But it's so chronic it's frightening. I experience derealization and depersonalization all day long, sometimes I just give up altogether

 

[Bblconsumer]

IQ is a bogus stat, but cognition does change after depression and other conditions, its not permanent.

 

[Ashu]

Yeah, I was a lot more intelligent and clear thinking when I was younger. Years of hardcore depression and even psych meds, plus obviously drugs like alcohol and have utterly destroyed my cognitive function. I am officially getting older now, though. It's a shame. Tasks I could once complete in a matter of minutes or hours could now take days or maybe I don't even finish them. Or if I do finish them the quality is just not there. There's no drive or passion. It's gone.

And yet this is well written.

I have mental issues that make me more stupid. I can't express what I want to say properly

It's worth mentioning that you did just now, so your mind isn't totally full of shit all the time. I know how it is.

 

[22yearsbroken]

I can agree that there is an impact.. ive done degrees just for fun as i never got to do them when i should of .. physics, chem, maths...now i struggle so bad i cant remember half or it and find it difficult when it used to be just so easy.. but there is a corelation between IQ and EQ...

High intelligence (IQ)= Low emotion(EQ)

I belive as IQ falls The Emotional Quotient rises..and we no longer see the analytical side and our emotions become the the main focus in our lives.

 

[sancta-simplicitas]

The results of IQ-tests vary greatly, both from test to test and from day to day. It depends on several different factors, such as how well you've slept and eaten, if you have some kind of infection, I think even what time of the day you take it.

That being said, stress can definitely damage cognitive functions. It can also heal, since the brain is able to mend itself to a great extent. Three years ago, my cognitive functions were so damaged I could barely form a correct sentence, neither in English, nor my own language. I forgot words in the middle of conversation, needed to relearn how to spell (which dunked some humbleness into me since I used to be a grammar nazi). This year I've so far had three articles published in a web magazine. It's definitely not as easy as before and sometimes I'm so frustrated I want to scream, but it's possible and I never thought it would be.

 

[matchalavendercake]

i never knew what my actual iq is.. but with how badly my mental state went, the same probably has been happening to me without anyone knowing ^^"

 

[Hotsackage]

I mean you learn it back, a bit, but ya,i feel ya. Also long live Layne.

 

[Aergia]

It really fucking sucks. I haven't taken any formal (i.e professionally administered) tests but I don't need to to know mine dropped years ago with the sudden onset of my chronic derealisation and other MH problems—it's been very clear to me that my "g"/problem-solving/mathematical-logical abilities have worsened. While it's not really the worst aspect of my psychopathology I do find myself mourning what could have been a lot.

Some people in this thread are saying that such a loss isn't permanent. Of course mental health impacts cognition but that is essentially the same thing as telling someone that recovery (in an MH context) isn't impossible for them. Doesn't always apply and isn't always well-received (with good reason). My MH has only grown worse over the years and the same applies to the concomitant cognitive deficits.

 

[yxmux]

i had the opposite effect for some reason. 2012: 107; 2020: 120; 2025: 137. yet it feels like i've become slower in navigating life and doing anything productive or worth a damn over time.

my subscores have also become very asymmetrical though. on my most recent test, i had a 133 PRI vs 116 VCI and a 150 PSI vs 119 WMI, so i'm guessing there's a lot of "cognitive bottlenecking" leading to a functional slowdown? my doctor never seemed to make it clear to me, but he did address the "clinically significant" asymmetries. i'm feeling more lost as to what is actually happening to me; major depression symptoms didn't appear to be consistent with my cognitive profile. neither did autism or adhd apparently. i was still noted to have "dysthymia" and "other spec. attention deficit" which i dont know about