Posted by River1924 on April 8, 2006, at 14:00:32
Hi,
You don't really need to read all this, you can answer the question in the subject line and I'll be happy. The letter sort of got out of control. : )River.
_________
When I used "Ask.com" and searched "Negative Symptoms in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy"...'I eventually came to this site:
http://www.epilepsy.com/articles/ar_1063660975.html
It discusses many things but one is a kind of doctor called a "neuropsychologist." I came across these sentences: "The analysis [by the neuropsychologist] often reveals the extent to which difficulties with encoding, storage, or retrieval may be contributing to your memory problem."
One of the problems of my mental disorder(s) and, to me the most invisible but most problematic, are my problems with memory. This can be good because part of learning is the ability to forget... the so called "beginner's mind." (I might like quadratic equations if I could forget that I hate them and the systems' complete inability to tell me why someone's final equation was better (ie correct) than my more peculiar equations.) Anyway, I've visted Europe, I was in college for two and half years and got A's and B's, I spent three years in Chicago, I had a childhood, and to me it is all a vague nothing. I can pull up details but not with any ease. These cognitive problems in mental health are finally being addressed by theorists. Finally, with the atypical psychotics, researchers got the point that even if all the standard syptoms of schizophrenia are removed, basic cognitive deficits can completely interfere with "success." (see http://www.matrics.ucla.edu/) Although I don't have schizophrenia, temporal epilepsy, or asperger's syndrome, I can relate to some of their symptoms and understand how frustrating it can be...
For me it is even more frustrating because when I say I have memory problems (executive, short term, autobiographical), I might get a smile or a "reminder" that depression and anxiety affect memory or little bity test with 20 questions and get by with flying colors.
Still, as my mother would exclaim with exasperation when I was younger, "you wouldn't remember your own head if it wasn't screwed on!"
Now that I'm 38, my memory has worsened. I could watch Jeopardy and the answer would pop into my mind. Now, I only have a feeling (if that) that I know the right word but I cannot get it.
I have a brother with the exact same problem but he does not have mental health issues. He has done okay. He writes everything down and he married a woman who can organize very well. He appreciates this (rather than resents it as some men would.) His career, farming, did not require as much my failed goals did: filmmaking, academic/liberal arts studies. free lance journalism. What I am trying to say... the cognitive problems (if they are the same as my brother's) are not related to my mental health problems.
So, if anyone has experience with a neuropsychologist, please tell me if the information and testing was helpful.
River.
poster:River1924
thread:630593
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060408/msgs/630593.html