81–90 of 113 posts
Tough road, kid, tough road. I had pretty serious brain damage when I was a child -- dyspraxia, dysgraphia, a bunch of other poorly-understood stuff -- and even today I'm still patchy. I've learned to have NT people handle the stuff I don't, like calendaring (I can't do time zones at all ) and to be sensitive about tabulated data. I'm 51 now, and I've had a fairly successful career spanning a number of fields. Two le…
I'm not sure what the situation is like in the UK but is this all stuff that needs to happen now ? Because you don't sound like you're doing too well. You're studying drugged on caffeine and painkillers and then wonder why you don't retain information well. From what I've seen first hand a concussion like this needs time to heal. Your brain, the organ responsible for processing information, has been harmed and needs…
Agreed. In your shoes I would take a year out to recover. University is not going anywhere. A year can seem like a long time when you’re 17, but it’s really not.
I've got three weeks left of this academic year, and since we've finished the content for the year I might take those three weeks out so I get 9 weeks of break before next year. Hopefully I can improve in that time.
> I was off school for 6 months and I have post-concussion syndrome. I am now below average intelligence. I had a lot of concussions as a kid; at one point I had three in a row the effectively zeroed out my short term memory. I had a task to memorize 5 paragraphs from some Shakespeare writing. Additionally, I was unable to do basic math in the timelines given for testing. Among those symptoms I'd also stopped eating…
First of all, Oxbridge is not that big a deal. I went there, it's just a bunch of people studying the same stuff they study everywhere else. Second, what medical help are you getting? Seek out professional advice on whatever condition you've got. You seem like you're still brighter than most people in your cohort. Don't be disheartened. If you can code, there will be things for you to do. But find out about your cond…
Neurofeedback has been suggested in this thread and I can get it privately here for about £2000, so I'm considering that. It's a lot of money but could have a very high ROI if it works. I'm also on a very long waitlist for hyperbaric oxygen therapy run by a charity. There's some limited evidence that it helps people heal.
I'm not brighter than most of my cohort, though my cohort is a pretty bright group of people. I'm just about keeping up through stubbornness and doing nothing but studying.
Compared to the average teenager my age - they'd probably get a better score on an IQ test, but I don't spend my time drinking and partying, and over the course of the year I've gotten my grades from Es to Bs, so I suppose I'm probably still a bit above average.
I will definitely be taking a gap year(s?) between A levels and uni.
Thank you.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oxbridge is a huge deal, maybe not so much for the education, but definitely for the connections
Also former Oxbridge attendee, it really isnt a reputation that is fully deserved. Local unis are more than fine. What matters more is your outlook on life, openness and adeptness to exploring yourself, industries and communities - ultimately resulting in mastery of a niche (or niches) and then hopefully wealth. Can Oxbridge facilitate some of this? Sure, but your local uni can too.
> I am now below average intelligence The very fact you were able to write this post in such an articulate way already puts you ahead of 90% of the population. Have you seen how people write? I've been managing teams and projects in the last 18 years and I can promise you that written communication skills, along with patience to use them, are as important as coding skills, if not more important. "Intelligence" per se…
First of all, wow, you’re an amazing human being. You’re going to go far in this life because of your courage and determination. Secondly, I encourage you to be intentional with your words. You have post-concussion syndrome, a temporary condition caused by an injury. I’d get away from calling yourself “brain damaged”. This choice of wording is subtle but can make the difference between developing a mindset that will…
I plan to take as much time as I need between A levels (high school) and uni. I've got the summer break coming up, and I might take it a bit early, so I should get a short (6 weeks, 9 if I stop now) break to heal. A levels take 2 years, so I'm at the halfway point now.
I strongly suggest getting into weight lifting. There is a growing body of evidence that it helps your brain repair itself. My personal experience is that I'm much smarter after I started lifting than before. As a bonus, people are less inclined to fight you. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/well/move/how-weight-trai... https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/archive/2020/06/lifting... https://www.health.harvard.edu/m…
I haven't been going long enough for any physical deterrent effect, but hopefully that will come in time. I'm not (rationally) concerned about my physical safety, as the vast majority of the bullies did not get the grades required to stay for A levels and I've got a good group of friends around me.
Thank you!
The bullies might have gotten away with this criminal-wise but what about civil damages? It looks like they severely damaged your ability to sustain yourself financially.
I can sense some stress in your writing. "Intelligence", as you refer it, could be heavily linked to emotions. Just the feeling that you are falling behind could be enough to trigger a poor performance. Try to keep your mind cool, and release some of the pressure you are feeling (my de-stresser is weight lifting). You seem to still conserve a good base "intelligence", so that is a pretty good foundation, just keep go…