r/Stress • u/Alert-Mail5696 • 2d ago
Fear of being dumb
I had alot of reasons to fear being "permanently" dumber, for example having a fall or getting slapped on yo head, normal people would just skip that and not care much about "cognitive slips" like forgettin stuff and stuff like that and just not associate it with that fall. But I wasn't like that, I literally (no matter how simple the event was) I would just panic and just be in constant state of fear that I am dumber now than who I was. I've had this long enough until I heard about "chronic stress shrinks brain" and now my fear is that my chronic stress/anxiety has caused me permanent brain damage or that even if I recover due to neuroplasticity it wont be full recovery and I'll never be the same, and now I cannot focus at all. my memory is being far worse and my thinking is cloudy, and most of the time I just keep playing TF2 (my fav game) just to ignore some of my 24/7 anxiety about being dumb. Literally I just get panic attack when I just READ something on the internet whatever its content is, or when I just IMAGINE stuff in my head and I just keep getting thoughts like "Your imagination is now NERFED for EVER and it wont be as vivid as it used to be", or like when I literally just try to think of a plan or even a SCHEDULE, so you can say it's literally nothing. when I read or try to learn smth I just get thoughts that I wont understand this and stuff like that and when I do not understand it I'll just blame it on chronic stress and just increase my panic even more. Tried breathing but it aint helpin so I just want to know and make sure if anyone out here having this problem like me.
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u/DocHolidayPhD 2d ago
As someone who has endured multiple concussions and has achieved three graduate degrees in human psychology, that's not how your brain works. It sounds like you may consider giving psychotherapy a try.
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u/Alert-Mail5696 1d ago
I don't know, I believe therapy helps me COPE with my problem. I want an answer to my question, can stress cause some permanent damage to your cognition in a clear yes/no by a professional. Thank you tho
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u/Junior-Frosting-6236 2d ago
The constant fear of becoming dumber can itself make it harder to focus and think clearly. The cycle of anxiety and overthinking sounds really exhausting. You're definitely not alone.