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Author Topic: Mind feels dull...
aragorn64
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And as far as I'm concerned, it should be sharp. [Frown]

So for maybe the past year I've felt like my mind hasn't been nearly as sharp as it should be. It doesn't feel like anything extremely major. I don't think I'm forgetting people's names, or important events or anything.

But it has felt...slow. While I remember important things, I'm more bound to forget smaller things. I also seem to be having an increasingly difficult time with being creative. Which affects tons of things. For instance, conversations. I find myself unable to be creative in conversing with people. I don't feel stupid, but I feel slow on the uptake. I can't seem to come up with fast responses, or intelligent sounding ones.

And for the past couple of weeks I've been having the weirdest time remembering words. You know how sometimes you have a word right there on the tip of your tongue? That's been happening a TON. And quite often I can only think of a less than satisfactory word to describe what I'm thinking. And the weird thing is, the more I try on concentrate on what the word might be, the farther it seems to slip from my mind. For example: the other day I had to open a thesaurus because the word I was thinking of was "charismatic" but all I could think of was "charming" (which didn't fit my description nearly accurate enough). I'm sure that happens to all of us, but it's been a recurring event for me.

Like I said, it's nothing major that I think would have any serious health problems associated with it. However, my comprehension seems to have slowed down, and my memory seems to not be nearly as good as it should be. It is annoying, and I do think it is interfering with my life.

I'm only 18. [Frown] This type of thing shouldn't be happening to me. Anybody have any ideas/suggestions/thoughts/whatever? It's possible that I might just not be stimulating my brain as much. I'm going to start trying my hardest to do more varied activities that should stimulate my brain in various ways. More physical exercise, more reading, more studying (erm, well that's actually for finals, but it can't hurt, right?), more writing. I'm hoping that if I start doing these kinds of things my mind will start clearing up a bit. Since just like anything else in your body, your mind requires "exercise" and stimulation in order to operate at its fullest extent, right?

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Phanto
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Have you been getting enough sleep? Have you noticed any other physical differences? Have you been feeling "down" lately? These symptoms sound like the could just be symptoms of internal feelings (i.e., you feel like you're not as good as usual but are or had a breakup or something). They also sound like some kind of neurologic or even hormonal issue.

See a doctor is my suggestion. This is clearly an issue that is bothering you and you want the best for yourself. And a good doctor mind you.

Note: I am not a doctor and none of my advice is meant to be taken as such.

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adfectio
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I've found this happens most to me when I'm stressed out. Never anything long-term, but having a week long brain fart is not uncommon when I've got finals coming up, or something big to plan for. So have you been stressed lately? Finals can be a real stressor, I'm a pretty laid back, low-stress guy, and even they can get me worked up.

If you really think it's something serious, then you should go to a doctor.

I'm not a big doctor person, so I would probably wait it out, try to read more, study more, even play video games more, particularly the ones that force you to interact with other people. Just something to get my brain active. Physical exercise isn't very high on my priority list, but on occasion it's a lifesaver.

The biggest thing, I think though, is to get out and do something. Sitting around worrying about it isn't going to help.

Just some personal thoughts.

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rivka
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quote:
Originally posted by Phanto:
Have you been getting enough sleep?

That was my first question as well. The way you describe your symptoms sounds exactly like sleep deprivation feels to me.

Good luck!

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aspectre
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Yep... 18 -> adult -> I get to choose how much I sleep -> too little sleep -> "The frontal lobe is the most fascinating section of the brain with relation to sleep deprivation. Its functions are associated with speech as well as novel and creative thinking. Sleep deprived test subjects have difficulties thinking of imaginative words or ideas. Instead, they tend to choose repetitious words or clichéd phrases. Also, a sleep-deprived individual is less able to deliver a statement well. The subject may show signs of slurred speech, stuttering, speaking in a monotone voice, or speaking at a slower pace than usual (6). Subjects in research studies also have a more difficult time reacting well to unpredicted rapid changes. Sleep deprived people do not have the speed or creative abilities to cope with making quick but logical decisions, nor do they have the ability to implement them well."
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krynn
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are you:
not sleeping enough?
drinking?
smoking?
stressed?
anxious?
overeating?

these all could be reasons why.

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Teshi
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quote:
More physical exercise
I would stress this as being particularly important. After getting enough sleep, and eating well, getting exercise- or just being "active"- can make a huge difference to your mind.

I know because as a student my lifestyle tends towards the inactive, and that makes everything in the rest of my life sluggish. Combine this with the inevitable lack of sleep caused by student hours and stress-related sleeping difficulties and all I'm good for is sleep and watching TV.

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krynn
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teshi has a point. staying active is a good way to keep your mind sharp.
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Itsame
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I don't mean to steal the thread, but the same thing is happening to me too. Just turned 18 in September... I feel like I know way more than I did a few years ago, but can't think of it as quickly. Maybe it's something about being 18. It means adulthood which means you aren't as sharp as when you were younger?


Edit: Example of a situation that now happens to me often: I make a phone call, then can't remember why I called. Or I remember that a certain day is important, but can't remember why. Or what I am supposed to do on that day. I called my brother yesterday and couldn't remember why. Turns out that it was his birthday.

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Dragon
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I think the only way it's related to age 18 is that there's more required of you, more stressing you out, and less time to sleep. Biologically, being 18 wouldn't have that drastic a shift. Just because the US considers you to be an adult doesn't mean your body needs to suddenly slow down.

quote:
Originally posted by adfectio:
I've found this happens most to me when I'm stressed out.

This is the case for me as well. I haven't experimented with the possible benefits of increased exercise (because spending time in the gym when I could be practicing or studying tends to make me more stressed) but stress definitely slows down my mental processes. Most recent examples include locking my coat (with my keys in the pocket) in my locker in the music building, stranding me there without my books for the next class until I could find someone to unlock it for me. Of course, this only made me more stressed, and made finding a solution to the problem way more difficult than it needed to be.

What helped the most for me was to take some time and talk about what was stressing me out and how to either eliminate the stressor, fix the situation or think about it differently. I'm still a bit stressed about finals, but my mood is definitely lighter, which helps my brain a lot. It's like how people with test anxiety tend to do worse on tests - their brains are using up energy that could have gone towards solving the problem by worrying about the outcome.

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Mike
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Something like this happened to me when I was about that age, though perhaps not to the same degree. I think the sharpness of my teenage years was partly an illusion. I've since learned strategies that more than make up for any loss of quick thinking. I might not be as quick as before, but I'm a lot smarter and more accurate. I expect I will continue to get slower and wiser as I age. [Smile]

Oh, and I'll echo the staying active thing as well.

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Launchywiggin
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I don't think it's JUST sleep deprivation, either. I noticed a huge dropoff in my abilities to acquire and retain colossal amounts of information when I got out of my teens. As a child/teen, I read faster, retained better, and formed ideas quicker than I do now (at 23). I haven't had nearly as many "breakthroughs" since then, and my language hasn't matured much either. This shows especially when I'm learning music at the piano. It takes much longer for me now than it did back then.

Oh well.

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Dragon
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Part of that is actually brain development Launchywiggin - during adolescence your brain has the same sort of growth spurt as it does during infancy.
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Pegasus
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quote:
Originally posted by aragorn64:
And for the past couple of weeks I've been having the weirdest time remembering words. You know how sometimes you have a word right there on the tip of your tongue? That's been happening a TON. And quite often I can only think of a less than satisfactory word to describe what I'm thinking. And the weird thing is, the more I try on concentrate on what the word might be, the farther it seems to slip from my mind. For example: the other day I had to open a thesaurus because the word I was thinking of was "charismatic" but all I could think of was "charming" (which didn't fit my description nearly accurate enough). I'm sure that happens to all of us, but it's been a recurring event for me.

This also started happening to me pretty regular about a year ago, and hasn't gone away. At least every day I can't think of an obvious word. I feel like every time I learn something new, I forget something else. I finally decided to stop being bothered by it. [Smile]
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Starsnuffer
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I'm nearly 18, a highschool student, and so live with my parents. I find that if I use the computer within sight/hearing of the tv and attempt to pay attention to both things at once, which I inevitably do, my attention span throughout the day is worse... It's just an interesting observation I've had that when I try to multi-task like that it affects me even throughout the next day and such.

On the same note I feel that if I've been reading I'm much more articulate than normal and my writing tends to take on the tone of whatever it is I've been reading lately. Fun stuff.

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Sean Monahan
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quote:
Maybe it's something about being 18. It means adulthood which means you aren't as sharp as when you were younger?
As someone who's almost 40, this statement made me laugh. [ROFL] Ah, you young 'uns.
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Icarus
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I felt that way after seven years of teaching middle school. After teaching high school for six years, I feel I've regained my sharpness. Sometimes you just need to work out specific mental faculties.
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JonnyNotSoBravo
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Maybe it's a tumor.
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sylvrdragon
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IT'S NOT A TUMAH!

At the age of 24 (25 in 8 days), I feel sharper than ever before, though I have my dumb days. Although I don't think "quick" was ever my strongest point.

In retrospect, in most of the conversations where I feel that I'm being particularly witty, I realize now that they're usually common subjects for me, and that I'm generally using rehearsed lines that I've used a dozen times before (just maybe not with the same people). Perhaps you're just out of your element lately. For me, it takes a little bit to 'test the waters' so to speak, and get a feel for a new line of thinking.

To be more specific, I work with a girl that I generally talk to all night long on the days we share, and I always felt that I was at the top of my game with her. I was always making her laugh, and she, me. Then one night I realized that all the jokes were basically the same. She would leave an opening, and I would make a flirty innuendo and we would first laugh at the comment, then laugh about how she left the opening.

The night that I realized this, I decided to give it a rest for a while. Sure enough, she asked me repeatedly that night if anything was wrong and if I was feeling all right (sincerely, not jokingly). The truth is, I was really quiet that night because I was trying to think of something else [non-superficial] to talk about, and coming up with nothing.

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Starsnuffer
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Yeah. I have a hard time striking up conversation with just anybody, so long as I can't make it revolve around school or something. It's always depressing to realize that you have no idea how you start genuine conversations with those you have such conversations with, and that you therefore don't know how to have a genuine conversation with most people. (Maybe I'm just weird though).
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aspectre
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Throw out your cellphone. Or at least don't use your cellphone for several hours before bedtime.
Such cellphone usage appears to be connected to loss of mental agility.

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Tara
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quote:
Originally posted by krynn:
are you:
not sleeping enough?
drinking?
smoking?
stressed?
anxious?
overeating?

these all could be reasons why.

Or not eating enough.
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Belle
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Sounds like what I described as "chemo brain" when I went through chemo. In that case, it was specifically related to my state of health.

My advice is get plenty of rest, take a multivitamin, get some fresh air and exercise and see if things change. If they don't then by all means talk to a doctor. If you plan on seeing a doctor for anything else, be sure to mention it.

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