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I have always had a quick wit and been able to manufacture quick, clever comebacks. I’ve also had a knack for being able to recall random facts on-demand. I was always someone you might call as a lifeline on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. That is until I wasn’t. 

Lately, my wit, recall, and timing all feel a bit off and my reasoning and comprehension have slowed. I find myself rewinding TV shows and movies to make sure I comprehended what they were trying to communicate. All of a sudden, I feel a bit dumber.

The only cognitive issue I can trace the roots of my intellectual decline back to is multiple sclerosis. MS is a disease of the central nervous system, meaning brain and spine. MS activity in the brain can cause damage to brain cells, which can affect your thought processing. Reasoning, remembering, thinking, using language, these are all activities that are referred to as cognition. According to MS Trust, around 50 percent of the people living with MS have some cognitive deficits as the ones described above. 

In my experience, cognitive symptoms, such as feeling dumb, can vary from day to day, whereas physical MS symptoms, such as numbness and problems walking, tend to persist or get worse. It is interesting that cognitive symptoms can be triggered by factors such as anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Other factors such as aging, lack of sleep, stress, and being overworked can also exacerbate these cognitive symptoms.

It is so frustrating, because I have always been a person who functioned at a high level under pressure. Now, I feel overwhelmed in stressful situations. My mind is like an engine that is stalled in the driveway and no matter how many times I try to get it started, I am stuck and stalled. This is scary for me because I am a knowledge worker and rely on my talking, writing, and creative and reasoning skills to make a living. My biggest fear is that if my cognitive decline continues, I will not be able to work at the same level and will lose my job.

All this fear and frustration is hard to overcome. Having strategies to help mitigate the feeling dumb with MS can help.

Make to-do lists. Make a list of everything you have to do in a day and check them off as you complete each task. Not only will you feel productive, but by checking them off the list you won’t feel like you forgot to do something, which can make you feel a little dumber.

Keep your calendar up to date. I can’t tell you how many times I have made an appointment or scheduled a meeting, only to find I already had a conflict on that day and time. Not only does that make me feel dumb, but it also signals to the people that I double-booked, that I can’t effectively manage my time. Luckily, most smart phones have some kind of built in calendar option with automated reminder options. For those who are less tech savvy, keeping a written calendar works just as well. 

Complete puzzles and other memory games. These can be crosswords, sudokus, puzzle games on your phone, or other physical puzzles. Any game that challenges you to think helps sharpen your mind.

Seek counseling. If you are feeling fear or frustration because of cognitive challenges linked to MS, you may also experience depression and anxiety associated with these feelings. It is okay to seek out a counselor to talk to. They are here to help.

Schedule a cognitive assessment with a speech language pathologist, aka speech therapist. Many people know about occupational therapy and physical therapy, but speech therapy is a mystery. Speech therapists can help you work on cognitive compensatory strategies which can help strengthen some of your cognitive deficits. 

Talk to your neurologist. If you are struggling with cognitive issues and MS, contact your neurologist. Your neurologist is your partner in managing MS-related symptoms, even if the symptom is making you feel a little dumb.

Think positive. You are not dumb. You are not becoming dumber. You are living with the challenges of MS that are making you feel that way. It is not you, it is the MS. You are perfect just the way you are.