Mentally challenged people, what's it like?

It sucks ass. Before Long COVID I was pretty smart. But now comprehending stuff is very hard. I can't read long texts. Doomscrolling Lemmy and only reading short posts is the height of intellectual stimulation for me.

I can't even watch subtitled shows anymore. Or play games that aren't fully dubbed. If I can play games at all. i hate it.

Same, but chemotherapy was my trigger. Some doctors tell me “that never happens”; others say “yea, that’s common”.

I used to be able to speak five languages fluently, now three of them have almost completely disappeared. I can’t watch movies because I can’t keep track of who’s who and why they’re doing that. Same with reading books.

I pick up my iPad and can’t remember why. I read something and get stuck on words, I recognise a word and I know that I know what it means, but can’t remember. I’ll be speaking, get halfway through a sentence, and can’t remember what I was talking about.

I feel like the guy in Flowers for Algernon, who had it all and then lost it; and he knows it.
- Was your chemo treatment also combined with a surgery? I found after cancer surgery my brain was foggy, and chemo did not help. One thing I notice though was whatever it fogged up also halted any anxiety. Not that I'm an anxious person, but things like "aw crap I have a big bill coming in a week and not enough income" used to be on my mind, now its like Meh whatever
- Movies are the absolute worst. It seems over time movies have gone from 1h30m to almost 3hr, and now everything is a fucking massive two part movie.
  
  To start, my ADHD won't let me focus on a movie for that long. I also have mild face blindness and for some reason directors love casting a bunch of people who all look the same with no discernable qualities. The sound mixing for home is absolute trash, and I'd rather avoid an expensive theater full of screaming kids. And finally, my declining eyesight due to keratoconus isn't helping.

You first.

Lol, but seriously I myself am actually mentally challenged. I just wanna know what it's like for other mentally challenged people.

It's normal; what the fuck do you mean?

Oofers looks like this didn't turn out so well. The phrasing is a bit harsh, but it seems like you were trying to learn and get new perspectives. The backlash seems a bit too strong here.

I'd be curious for folks to express their experiences, or maybe help explain why they are so angry. I see that the title is not a very neutral description of neurodivergence but it's also a very regular way to describe it at least from where I'm from.

I wasn't talking about neurodivergence I was talking about learning disabilities.
- I'm pretty sure neurodivergence and learning disabilities are nearly synonyms. I know it's a square-rectangle relationship but I think most can parse what ya mean with context. Fair if you can't. Seeing as ya stated you have some learning disability and idk what it is.
  
  My girlfriend has pretty intense ADHD and has had lots of intense ups and downs with school. If you want me to ask her anything I'd be happy to.

Maybe think about rephrasing your question.

Why?

What you mean?

It makes everyday life and socializing really difficult.