Can depression and anxiety make you "stupid"?

[PetiteMamaNoel]

Does anyone else find that when they're going through an episode that they suffer from cognitive decline?

For me;

-I'm much slower in my thinking and sometimes unable to see the obvious.

-I confuse words and end up saying the wrong thing even though I meant to use another word to describe something.

-Following on from the last point. My FIL make feel stupid that I end up saying the wrong thing, as he likes to correct me all the time, because he can come up with something better. I get so nervous around him that I feel I better not saying anything when he's around.

-I find it difficult to keep up with the world and current affairs. I'm trying to look for employment at the moment and it's important that I'm commercially aware, but news doesn't interest me anymore. I've nothing interesting to say.

-I've become incompetent. I can't perform tasks as well as I once could. This stunts my confidence, especially as I'm looking for a job right now.

Anyone know how to get rid of this foggy, confusing way of thinking. Things are no longer clear. My head is a mess. I can't be the best mum to DD like this 😥

Even my writing skills suffer. I'm native English fgs

I'd say that's completely normal, you've got to much whizzing round your brain and something's got to give somewhere.

Definitely, I have a mild cognitive impairment- possible precursor to young onset dementia but more probably result of mental disorder and drugs used to treat it. I wouldn’t have known though, it’s more of a problem for people around me. Hope you feel better soon 💐

Absolutely! I’ve always been a big reader but when I was i at my most severely depressed, I couldn’t follow a book (or a conversation, for that matter) at all. It felt like all my thoughts were swimming through treacle

Yes definitely. When my brain is fizzy I struggle with my vocabulary and joining the dots. For example I would find it quite difficult to follow a recipe which sounds daft!

Something else I've noticed is that I know my mental health is going downhill when I pick up a weird combination of clothes to wear. I dress in a WASP manner normally - so you'd not expect to see my channeling my inner faerie with a scuba diver.

young onset dementia

Goodness that's worrying.

pick up a weird combination of clothes to wear

I do the same thing

Has anyone come out of it? If so, How? I'm desperate to get my brain running back to its sharp self.

Are you on AD’s, if so it’s most probably them.
If not it will be the stress of depression and anxiety.

Sometimes, whilst talking I can’t think of the word I want to say, it’s on the tip of my tongue and go round the houses to explain what word I mean. Very frustrating.
Another, is spelling! Simple words like. What. I think what what, even ask DP who looks at me sometimes like ughhhh

Your FIL sounds like a right charmer. Can you get your DH to have a word with him?

I went through a phase of having a bit of a stammer. Which obviously didn’t help the anxiety.
I also find it hard to make decisions. It’s like my brain just can’t keep up with the pros and cons of different things.
I swear I used to be smarter than I am. I can know the jist of some information but can’t remember the facts so I sound like I have no idea what I’m talking about.

Festivel

I have spoken to him. He just says that's his personality and that maybe he's right.

yes, I know things are going to go tits up mentally when I start forgetting things, I also get a bit of a stutter, and even the simplest tasks I seem to fuck up, I just think our brains get overloaded with all the stress and anxiety so tend to shut down maybe?

Yes
Cognitive impairment is definitely a thing - I've read quite a bit as it definitely affects me and I find it is one of the last 'symptoms' to go even after mood improves. Google will bring up lots of medical articles.

I definitely felt like that before I went to the GP about my terrible anxiety and depression. I was so "foggy" and stressed, I couldn't concentrate, memory was terrible and I couldn't make simple decisions.

I've been taking propanalol for about 8 weeks now and I feel so much better. I also had some time off work and made time for myself. Whilst you're not working can you take some time for yourself? Even going for a walk with earphones in for half an hour might help?

Have you been to the docs?

Yes absolutely. I think it's where your brain chemicals are out of balance and on top of that you have so many thoughts running through your head like a constant negative commentary and my attention span is shot to shit. I can concentrate for a minute or two if I narrate out loud what I need to do but anything that involves fully engaging for more than a few seconds is a bit hit and miss,

Yes, I feel so stupid at the minute. I keep making lots of little mistakes at work. I can’t seem to concentrate and am finding it hard to retain information. I feel like my mind is buzzing, there’s already too much going on to think logically and clearly.

Could have written this myself. Sometime I will have to ask someone to repeat what they said more than once because I hear the words they just don’t register with my brain

Have you been to the docs?

No, but I have self referred to therapy. That could take a while to be seen.

I self referred back in May, you're right there's a massive waiting list.

Maybe visit the GP if you feel able? I was reluctant to go and always found a reason not to, but it was the kindest thing to do for myself as well as my family. It really helped and as I said up thread, I feel much better and able to cope.

I really hope you feel better soon.

Yes. Brain too busy with other things (anxiety). Or thought processes slowed (depression). That’s my experience anyway.

Decisions, as mentioned above, I just couldn’t make them. Awful.

Definitely see the doctor and don’t rule out medication. I’d also recommended Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Read the Happiness Trap while you’re waiting.

So glad to have seen this - I am really struggling with concentration at work at the moment. I'm on SSRIs for anxiety and feel so much better since starting them, but my concentration is still pretty shot to bits. I find myself staring at the computer all day not doing much. Very keen to hear from others who have managed to sort it out.

I struggle to remember names - including people like band members of my favourite bands.. Since my period of depression ended. I felt like I was going mad for a while. I also had "fog". The fog has lifted since but my memory is still bad.
This aspect scared me and was something I wasn't expecting.
Note I did not take any AD's.
I also lost my confidence and feel I won't get that back either.