Until I was about 20 I could read all day long without stopping. Also, if I wanted to do some kind of research, or work, I could make myself do it until I 'got into it' and became interested in the subject. At 21 I got into a psychotic depression when studying (though the cause was not study-related).In the following years my concentration was disrupted by anxiety. And my cognitive faculties were dampened by some of my meds. For some time I couldn't read anything, not even a celebrity magazine; I preferred to just stare into space. That was two years ago. Now I am off the 'bad' meds and feel much better; BUT though I can read a book it will take me a couple of weeks, or months instead of a day. Also any work which requires this type of sustained application is very difficult for me. My doctors say that I couldn't have sustained permanent brain-damage from it all but to me it seems apparent that I have. What I'm wondering is whether one can actually get damaged from bad depression, so as to permanently lose certain powers...