Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#1

Post by dezeiner » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 7:22 PM UTC

From impaired long-term and working memory, clarity of thought, mental agility, to executive function, it feels like the depression and anxiety caused by trauma have completely blunted my mind to a debilitating degree. Acquiring, integrating, and productively applying information is an enormous challenge. In meetings, I feel like a mental sloth. I've tried a variety of antidepressants, psychedelics, and supplements, to no avail. Talk therapy has done little.

Has anyone been able to cognitively recover?

Re: Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#2

Post by yef » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 7:30 PM UTC

The Body Keeps the Score lists a variety of therapies, and trigger warning, contains details about traumas of people the author has interviewed. Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#3

Post by el_isma » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 7:30 PM UTC

ADHD medication has helped me, but I wouldn't know if that's applicable to you. I think I had it before the trauma and I lost my handle on it, and meds helped me recover.

Re: Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#4

Post by kbrannigan » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 7:44 PM UTC

If you have enough saved up. Take 1 year of work, disconnect from the rat's race, go to parties, go dancing, chill at a park, let people look down on you for being unemployed. Hang in there, buy only the things you need.

Slowly you'll realize what's important, you'll find yourself. And you'll come back stronger than ever, with a different attitude towards careers, jobs and you'll learn to be human and just BE.

EDIT: YMMV, Not advocating for social isolation and complacency

Re: Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#5

Post by d_watt » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 7:48 PM UTC

I am not a doctor. The biggest thing for me in the last couple of years has been physical health. Exercise, eating correctly, and proper sleep have resulted in a huge improvement in my mental acuity, and relieved a sense of I had of "I'm not operating at my actual capacity."

This advice can feel trite, or it can feel overwhelming. Changing physical habits when you're already depressed is a huge undertaking, and I don't want to minimize it. However, my revelation has been the mind truly is not separate from the body, and taking care of myself by running, lifting weights, falling asleep at the same time has had largely outsized benefits vs any medication or therapy I've tried in the past.

Re: Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#6

Post by jonfromsf » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 7:53 PM UTC

kbrannigan wrote: post #4

If you have enough saved up. Take 1 year of work, disconnect from the rat's race, go to parties, go dancing, chill at a park, let people look down on you for being unemployed. Hang in there, buy only the things you need. Slowly you'll realize what's important, you'll find yourself. And you'll come back stronger than ever, with a different attitude towards careers, jobs and you'll learn to be human and just BE. EDIT:…

This is risky advice. Many (most?) people need social context to create meaning and will get depressed if they don't have a job to do and people relying on them. Look at what happens to people when they retire.

Re: Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#7

Post by fairity » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 7:56 PM UTC

I experienced what you're describing after my first company failed 8 years ago. It was pretty scary to think my brain might be permanently damaged.

However, after 3-5 years, my capacity for critical thinking basically returned to normal. To this day, my working memory still seems worse, but it's unclear whether that's simply because my days are now filled with crazy amounts of multitasking.

All said, the major effects you're describing subsided after a few years for me. I did some talk therapy, and I also spent a good amount of time redesigning my personal values to not include extrinsic variables (such as being intelligent).

The biggest thing I did was just waiting for my body to recover. Be patient and if you're anxious about the time it's taking, then spend some time realigning your values to your reality, which will help relieve your anxiety.

Re: Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#8

Post by shortcake27 » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 7:59 PM UTC

kbrannigan wrote: post #4

If you have enough saved up. Take 1 year of work, disconnect from the rat's race, go to parties, go dancing, chill at a park, let people look down on you for being unemployed. Hang in there, buy only the things you need. Slowly you'll realize what's important, you'll find yourself. And you'll come back stronger than ever, with a different attitude towards careers, jobs and you'll learn to be human and just BE. EDIT:…

I’m in the exact position as the OP. In fact this feels like a description of myself. I could barely achieve the simplest of tasks, so I quit my job. I just did nothing at home for a bit, now I’m backpacking. It’s been 2 months and so far my mental health hasn’t improved one bit. I still feel like my brain is trapped in mud; anything that requires minimum mental effort takes an insurmountable amount of energy. I’m not any happier. I might even be less happy. The only good thing is that I’m no longer letting people down. I’m not convinced I’ll feel any better in a year.

Re: Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#9

Post by the_gastropod » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 8:02 PM UTC

jonfromsf wrote: post #6

kbrannigan wrote: post #4

If you have enough saved up. Take 1 year of work, disconnect from the rat's race, go to parties, go dancing, chill at a park, let people look down on you for being unemployed. Hang in there, buy only the things you need. Slowly you'll realize what's important, you'll find yourself. And you'll come back stronger than ever, with a different attitude towards careers, jobs and you'll learn to be human and just BE. EDIT:…

This is risky advice. Many (most?) people need social context to create meaning and will get depressed if they don't have a job to do and people relying on them. Look at what happens to people when they retire.

What happens to people when they retire?

Re: Ask HN: How to restore cognition after years of trauma? I feel slow and dumb

#10

Post by nvarsj » Fri, Jan 06, 2023, 8:04 PM UTC

jonfromsf wrote: post #6

kbrannigan wrote: post #4

If you have enough saved up. Take 1 year of work, disconnect from the rat's race, go to parties, go dancing, chill at a park, let people look down on you for being unemployed. Hang in there, buy only the things you need. Slowly you'll realize what's important, you'll find yourself. And you'll come back stronger than ever, with a different attitude towards careers, jobs and you'll learn to be human and just BE. EDIT:…

This is risky advice. Many (most?) people need social context to create meaning and will get depressed if they don't have a job to do and people relying on them. Look at what happens to people when they retire.

Yes this is what I discovered. Being on your own for extended periods without anything to do can be terrifying and even worse for mental health.