First off, I commend your daughter for doing so well!

I wouldn't really know if mental illness makes me feel dumber. I obviously had some issues that started early and a lot that were attributed to "she's at that age," lasted longer or until now. I don't know if I'd be in an orchestra or on Jeopardy or anything like that without the related genes and surrounding environment. Maybe I'd have done better in school, got a degree, had a stable job that gets me by. Maybe I would've had less learning experiences and had less street smarts, wouldn't be as good at connecting dots, would be less creative, less understanding, less empathetic. Who knows?