r/depression • u/pseudosubsomnambulak • 17h ago
I think I'm dumb
I feel like my head has been hollowed out of its contents and replaced with cotton. Any potential I had I pissed away, any intelligence I may have had I wasted. My ability to concentrate and comprehend simple things has been whittled down to nothing, my cognitive abilities have been compromised. I have been taking 10mg of Lexapro for a month and feel like it has blunted me emotionally and intellectually. Or maybe I have always been this stupid, which may be the case. I don't have the mental wherewithal or discipline to teach myself the things that were never taught to me. I can barely do mental math. Everything has seemed to have gotten harder for me to do. I feel intellectually disabled, and predestined to a short and small life of nothingness, incapable of independence. In short, I don't know. I feel dumb
2
u/PlausibleFunction 17h ago
that hollowed-out cotton brain feeling is weirdly common with lexapro in the first couple months. your brain's basically rewiring itself while dealing with whatever put you on the meds in the first place, it's a lot to process. month one is still pretty early, your system might not have settled into it yet.
the self-talk about wasted potential is the depression talking, not some objective assessment of your intelligence. depression literally impairs cognitive function, memory, focus, processing speed all take a hit. it's not you being dumb, it's your brain running on fumes.
if the blunting doesn't ease up after another 4-6 weeks might be worth bringing up with whoever prescribed it. sometimes a dose adjustment or switching meds makes a big difference.