I feel like the dumbest person alive

[MandyBueno]

I hate myself. I wanna go in front of the mirror and punch myself multiple times. I failed my school tests, i failed in the subject i most know about. I helped my friends to pass and i failed. How come can i be so dumb???? People will judge Me!!! Can fluoxetine (anti-depressant) somehsomehow interfere something on my brain?

[lovetodance2018]

I am so sorry you failed your test. Sometimes our mind can be cloudy due to medication or thoughts. Is it possible for you to retake the test? Could you talk to your teacher? You are not dumb. You just made mistakes which we all do. It really bothers me too, when I make mistakes that affect my outcome. I will be praying for you. This is just a set back in your life, but things will get better. Hugs!

[Cathy63]

So sorry you're going through that. I know what it feels like to feel dumb. I've been there. I'm not familiar with fluoxetine. I was on a different antidepressant. In case other people aren't familiar, try going to webmd.com. I go there when I need medical questions answered. It's helpful.

[Marshall64]

Depression and anti-depressants can cause "brain fog".

Please don't beat yourself up. Don't let this one particular thing in your life define you. You are young and have so much ahead of you in your life.

I agree with LovetoDance. See if you can talk to your teacher.

[ElleM7777]

Hi Mandy. I'm sorry you're feeling bad after a difficult test. To answer your question, yes, anti-depressant can make you feel funny, or give you what the other people here refer to as "brain fog." Anti-depressants can be really difficult to prescribe to young people because their brains are still growing. Your dosage may be too strong, the medication may be incorrect, or your diagnosis may need to be adjusted. Furthermore, therapy without medication has proven to work just as good as therapy with anti-depressants. Research has shown this after many years. This is a really new finding. The problem is that it takes longer to feel better from therapy alone - the meds were a placebo affect - so meds were given anyway.

If you feel that you have brain fog, and your teacher does not know you have depression, talk to him/her. I am sure that they will understand. This is a difficult and serious illness, especially when you are handling it while so young. Explain that you were having problems thinking because of your medication, and ask to retake the exam. It may help to take the exam in a quiet place, away from the stress of the classroom. If you can't, you can ask for extra credit, or you can bring your grade up with the next exam. You are not stupid. Your meds can make you FEEL stupid, though!

Regarding the way you feel, I try to take those kind of feelings, accept them, give myself some time to feel bad, then do something to help me feel better. With depression, if we allow ourselves to feel bad for too long, we may spiral down, and that becomes a problem. If we can catch ourselves thinking negative thoughts, or in a negative mood, and stop that, we can keep ourselves from falling into an actual depression. This is really important. It is hard work to constantly check your thoughts, but it really works! I think of my brain and mind of separate things. It's kind of weird, but that's how I rein in my mind. Usually, lol, since I have ADHD! I've also had depression (bipolar disorder) since I was 16, so I know how difficult living with depression is.

Take care of you and good luck. Have a long and happy life. You deserve it!

Elle

[old-soul]

try asking yourself, "If someone I really care about and respected was in the situation instead of me, what would I tell them?"

Take a look at what you've told yourself and ask yourself, "If I'd given a friend the same advice I just gave myself, how long would they want me around?"

Take a few deep breaths, nice and slow, and thing again about what you would tell a good friend if it was them instead of you in the situation you are trying to resolve. How would you LIKE them to feel about it? If there is someone you think would deal with the same situation and come out on top, someone you admire and respect, ask yourself what you think they would do and try doing that.

Some of the proudest moments in my life were times I was actually "pretending" to be someone much stronger than me, but in the end, it really was ME that showed up, made really great decisions, and nailed the difficulties right to the floor.

It rarely goes perfectly, but things always start going BETTER right away, even if I don't realize it right at that moment. It usually takes a few days passing to really know how well I did in lots of different scenarios, because it takes a few days to A.) Get the full effect, Ie: sometimes people start to see something slowly, and may come to me the next day, or call me 3 days later and say something that they didn't see instantly either.

Where studies are concerned, talk to a librarian, a class mate, ANYONE that has the information and time you need to sort out in your mind where you are going of the path in whatever subject is eluding you. Maybe even ask someone you don't particularly like to help you. People are ALWAYS flattered when you ask for their help, so their response may surprise you, and you may find a friend or at least a better understanding of someone that USED to really set you off. If one person is not really helping, then ask another.0

MOST importantly, keep talking honestly about your troubles, feelings, and how to navigate your way around trouble before it begins. You're doing the right thing by coming here and asking for support and suggestions. Give yourself a little credit.

[MandyBueno in reply to old-soul]

Your words has helped me! Thank you for you support and Just needed this. 😍

[old-soul]

Just pay it forward, Mandy. When we give with no expectation of return, 1st, we aren't disappointed, because we had no expectation attached to a good deed, and second, we build better self esteem, because being good to others for no other reason than it's the right thing to do is the actual recipe for self esteem. There are no short cuts.

So, really, when you see others talking badly to themselves about themselves under their breath, have the same conversation with them about that, IF they have ASKED for feedback, comments or help.

Most folks don't like to be "helped," unless they actually are ASKING for help.