Cognitive Disability In College

[tofubreadcoriander]

Hi. I'm diagnosed with C-PTSD, extreme anxiety and dissociation (plus, I'm on meds: a mood stabilizer and an anti psychotic).

I've enrolled into college and have started courses. I am wondering if anybody else is dealing with the same issue I'm dealing with: when you try to learn you either space out or you find yourself "drilling down" into the subject to the point where it doesn't make sense anymore (as if a fog has just layed over and you forgot where you were/what progress you did).

As you can imagine this is very debilitating and I haven't seen it often reported by folks who suffer from (C)PTSD. Is there a term for this?

 

[Sideways]

when you try to learn you either space out

This part sounds a lot like a concentration issue. Poor concentration is typical of ptsd and anxiety disorders, so it would make sense.

 

[arfie]

hello gghhvftggfgg. welcome to the forum.

yup, i have this problem in spades, with just about everything. my own solution is to back-off and ply therapy tools. breathing exercises, brief calisthenics and/or gentle stretches are usually my most effective tools for those projects which carry an emanant deadline. for the low pressure projects, i might take longer breaks. emphasis on, "usually" and "might." this problem has a way of coming at me in a creative array of times, shapes and sizes. i often need to get creative in how i respond.

gentle empathy on the frustration of it. you are not alone.

 

[Bamma]

"...when you try to learn you either space out or you find yourself "drilling down" into the subject to the point where it doesn't make sense anymore (as if a fog has just layed over and you forgot where you were/what progress you did).

As you can imagine this is very debilitating and I haven't seen it often reported by folks who suffer from (C)PTSD. Is there a term for this?"

I learned about how, in young people, at least, it can be very hard to learn when in a post-trauma state. I don't know that much about brain structure, but they refer to a "hijacked amygdala". Something to do with being in fight or flight. Maybe refers to dissociation, too?

There is one thing that I'm quite certain will help, and that is grounding. (Keeping yourself in the here-and-now.) Do something with your senses (touch often appeals to people - hold something with a noticeable texture) to keep yourself in the present.

 

[tofubreadcoriander]

Thanks for the replies so far. I still think my brain and nervous system are wired differently after my last mental breakdown (according to one of my trauma therapists).

To explain further: I'm currently doing maths and what I could solve before I'm unable to do so now. While some operations I can still perform for some numbers, I'm unable to memorize/reason and learn more complex notions - which makes me believe I'll fail the math module @ college (subjects: geometry, trigonometry, probability, statistics, calculus etc.).

What happens: I listen and as information flows for me to learn I end up "splitting the leaf in 4" (the "drilling down" I mentioned earlier) then my brain gets triggered and tends towards anti social behavior (impulse to do harm to others). Has anybody seen this/is suffering from this? What do you do to learn?

I filled pages with examples of how to solve problems, but show me a problem again and my mind goes blank - I wouldn't know how to solve it (while it's true is not applicable to all problems [some I got the hand of], it still happens to the majority). Really worried here.

I'm relying on my past experience to solve college assignments and exams though I know this won't be enough as there'll be new material to learn.

 

[Bamma]

When I was studying statistics, which I found challenging, I couldn't stay focused for the long exams. I didn't know about grounding then, so I used marijuana to stay focused. I hope you will use grounding (or something else, preferably recommended by a professional, which clearly I am not. Something healthy. Mindfulness?)

 

[Friday]

It’s very normal.

You’ll often find it described as ‘brain fog’, as it comes from MANY different symptoms & cocktails if symptoms. In the DSMIV it had many different discreet examples attached to it (disassociation, anxiety, etc.) under separate headings. In the DSMV/DSM5 it’s all lumped under 1 symptom set.

Lower your stress cup, & you’ll find it’s sooooo much easier as to be transcendental.

 

[tofubreadcoriander]

When I was studying statistics, which I found challenging, I couldn't stay focused for the long exams. I didn't know about grounding then, so I used marijuana to stay focused. I hope you will use grounding (or something else, preferably recommended by a professional, which clearly I am not. Something healthy. Mindfulness?)

Thanks, Bamma. That's reassuring. Perhaps this is what I needed. I tend to use my breath to ground (that doesn't work always) - I slowly breath and focus on the exhale. This tends to regulate my body & nervous system. Hope I'll remember enough for the exams and be able to recognize problem sets to get at least passing mark (not planning on excelling here, just the passing mark, haha).

It’s very normal.

You’ll often find it described as ‘brain fog’, as it comes from MANY different symptoms & cocktails if symptoms. In the DSMIV it had many different discreet examples attached to it (disassociation, anxiety, etc.) under separate headings. In the DSMV/DSM5 it’s all lumped under 1 symptom set.

Lower your stress cup, & you’ll find it’s sooooo much easier as to be transcendental.

Didn't know that about the DSM. Thanks, Friday. Today I learned something new. Yes, I'm a bit stressed out. Currently I learn (including college hours) 9 hours (would have been more but the library closes earlier than what they advertise for their opening and closing hours) - excluding lunch/dinner breaks. During Saturday it's less. Sunday I take the day off. I feel like it's not enough time to learn the maths.