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Do you actually feel that you've got dumber because of drug abuse?

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winston red

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Aug 19, 2008
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Back in highschool I used to be pretty smart. The guy who always cracks the hardest problems, reads and understands the more demanding books asf.
I remember scoring in the top 0,5 % when given an IQ test at 18.

I started using opiates (codeine) thinking that I'm gonna quit as soon as my tollerance gets to the point when it will stop being worthwile, with a serious concern about how it would affect my intelectual capacity. When I switched to stronger stuff, I really didn't care about that anymore.

Now, five years later, when analising my day to day life, my decisions and achievements (or lack of...) I can genuinly see how I've gotten dumber. Not only this, but I really "feel" stupider. I especially find it very frustrating how I forget stuff all the time.

Just took an IQ test and it seems that now I'm only in the top 5% (126).

My question to you is if you feel the same, that you've gotten dumber.
 
yes. stimulants, psychedelics, pot and alcohol have made me dumber.
 
Same here. I'm definitely not as bright as I used to be. I think abusing psychedelics and cannabis did the most damage.

Either that or I stopped exercising my brain and focused too much on partying.
 
Well ive been using drugs pretty steady since i was 14 and im 28 now and i don't feel any less intelligent now then when before i used drugs. I don't think it has affected my intelligence at all really but maybe thats because i always read books, wrote and kept learning even during my heaviest periods of drug use. Although i have to say that when i was a real bad alcoholic i did feel abit dumbed down and this lasted for awile even after i quit but it went away after a year. The main drugs that ive abused are opiates, alcohol, benzos, cannabis, psychedelics and coke/crack.

Sometimes i feel dumbed down if i switch my psych meds or go to a higher dose. Risperidone made me feel dumbed down for awile until i got used to it and so did gabapentin which i take for pain.
 
i dont think my level of intelligence has dropped because of drug use.. but my functionality and my ability to apply my intellect is definitely hindered by drugs. im pretty sure the fog will clear up with enough sober time though.. i hope lol.
 
^ This

What is the point in having intelligence unless you can Apply it?
Abuse definitely screwed up my ability to apply myself to situations...I could sometimes 'wing it' but when your sense of self is dismantled then every other factor floats out the window.
Mental Creativity can be enhanced by use but if it is abused, then it is pointless IMO. Also, some people have natural talent/intelligence that 'Use' can end up inhibiting/thwarting- it depends on the persons make up.
 
wow. i think this all the time. Would I be smarter if I never touched drugs? I usually blame the heavy pot use in my past, and not really the alcohol/e/opiates.

I used to feel "smart", had a 1400 on my sat's (out of 1600), and now for whatever reason, maybe I just got older, or maybe its the pot or something else, I feel like my memory and sharpness is not there. I really don't know. Possibly motivation is the main thing that has suffered?
 
id have to say yes. i used to be a terrific speller, im not anymore, i have a dictionary in my drawer because my spellings gotten so bad over the years. sometimes when im reading ive got to read the same page over at least twice before continuing on because i forget what it is i just fucking read.
 
Same here friend, its due to focusing on one thing only (drugs) we put everything aside that matters. All thru life we learn its a learning experience, but we decide to stay where we are other then to go forward. I've been doing it for to long even those around me talk to me like im dumb but its due to being under the influence. Take time off learn read workout the brain as if you want to have the strongest brain in the world. Im thinking of quitting and changing my way. 2 heads r better then 1 join me bro
 
haha i was just talking about this to my friend the other day.

answer is YES. i can sooo tell i have changed because of drugs. mentally and physically. i used to be smarter. i used to have a better memory. i feel dumb now.

i fear that all this is permanent. i know sometimes it takes your mind and body YEARS to recover from drug use, when you stop using...but i dunno, i definitely think i got some permanent damage here. :[
 
I don't feel any dumber as a result of drug use. Working through addiction taught me many life lessons and has made me better able to deal with whatever issues arise in my life today.
 
I don't know - I've certainly changed my brain chemistry. No doubt about that. I'd say that the amount of mdma I've taken over the years could well affect the mind dulling it. I do not have bad crashes w/mdma my seretonin is cooked period I fear - but I do not feel as sharp as I used to. But man, in the last 13 years I've done so many drugs I can't even possibly label one as the culprit.

I certainly respect drugs now. I had to respect myself before that was possible.
 
You have to exercise your intelligence or you will simply loose bits of it.

It is true that the drugs can take the edge off. I also feel that the fact that snorting lines and nodding out, rather than studying, reading, and challenging yourself, is faaaaaaar more beneficial to your psyche.
 
After years of opioid abuse I don't feel any less intelligent, but my social skills have suffered. Opiate addiction goes hand in hand with isolation for me, and it's taking me awhile to become again the loquacious and confident young man I used to be.
 
I've smoked weed since I was 15 (23 now), but back then, it didn't really phase me. Definitely has effected my mental capacity. I can't remember stuff as well as I used to. The opiates have put a halt to my daily info intake. I was so absorbed into the "I have to get some pills today" mentality that quite frankly, nothing else mattered. Now that I haven't smoked or used for about a week, I feel so much more clear-minded.
 
i wish i hadnt smoked so much weed and drank so much alcohol

but then again if i'd never done those i might just be bored as shit and socially retarded

i don't regret the psychedelics at all though

i remember getting 99/100 and 100/100 on SATs, the official government-issued UK exams test back when i was a kid in infant school

then i was scoring 140 IQs a few years later (but i dont think IQ really says much tbh)

but i think i began to realise academic studies and absorbing useless information was pretty pointless eventually, and just stopped working altogether
 
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dankstersauce said:
Same here. I'm definitely not as bright as I used to be. I think abusing psychedelics and cannabis did the most damage.

Either that or I stopped exercising my brain and focused too much on partying.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. I think MDMA, Stimulant and Alcohol did the most damage. Still not sure about Cannabis. I had fun, but I wish I wouldn't have pushed it. Being totally honest, it would have been best if I never used any drugs, but I cannot change the past.

I think we were involved in the same music scene, which when made a life priority makes it really easy to abuse substances.

Alot of my intelligence is returning since I have gotten clean, but I am terrible at math. I have trouble with directions and my memory fucking sucks still. Also, I bump into things and am clumsy, which is pretty common.

Coping skills and social skills slowed down alot. I am just now learning how to deal with difficult people and situations. It blows. I was able to deal with them fine while using, but didn't always do so in a very healthy way.

Physically, well I lost a ton of weight and didn't eat. I am working on that now. I look a hell of alot better then I did.
 
No I don't.

I use hard drugs sparingly now, and allow myself a huge amount of time to recover and get myself together before trying to function properly. Allowing recovery time and for my brain/body to heal after abusing it for so many years on stimulants, has made a huge difference. The more time that passes, the better I feel and that "fog" dissipates.

Saying this, I never felt "smart" before I started even using drugs haha, so really I have nothing to compare then and now to.
 
phactor said:
Alot of my intelligence is returning since I have gotten clean, but I am terrible at math. I have trouble with directions and my memory fucking sucks still. Also, I bump into things and am clumsy, which is pretty common.

Coping skills and social skills slowed down alot. I am just now learning how to deal with difficult people and situations. It blows. I was able to deal with them fine while using, but didn't always do so in a very healthy way.

Physically, well I lost a ton of weight and didn't eat. I am working on that now. I look a hell of alot better then I did.
Click to expand...

Same here, except the "since I have gotten clean" part.

My social skills were always low. But now I literally start shaking if someone is seriously threatening me when I'm sober :(
 
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