[yellow_fleurs]

Has anyone done psychological testing for cognition or otherwise? I feel a bit apprehensive about this but my therapist mentioned it because I keep mentioning the memory and other cognitive issues I seem to have. I get anxious with tests so imagine I would just "fail" anything that requires focus if I tried while anxious. Just curious to hear experiences and what I can expect if I do go with the suggestion. I might also try seeing a neurologist first, though.

[piggy momma]

Do you know which specific test you’re doing? I did the WAIS back in December. It was actually pretty fun and interesting.

[yellow_fleurs]

I am not sure. My therapist wouldn't do the test herself but I would go to someone else and she didn't mention specific tests. Maybe I could ask her if she had an idea at the next session. Thanks for the response, that's encouraging it was fun and interesting.

I haven't, but my nephew did about five or so years back. He had had a really bad accident where he sort of blacked out very briefly. He didn't feel quite right cognitively for a while. I know he went to Philadelphia to some ultra specialist a couple times and had other tests, too, like an MRI, etc. I forget exactly what that specialist's title was. Something I had not exactly heard of.

I felt quite cognitively affected in the past, too. Though I didn't have any question based or similar tests, I did have tests like MRIs, a PET scan, and several EEGs. Though your situation could be different than mine or my nephew's, if it's of any comfort, both my nephew and I recovered quite a bit over time, cognitively.

I did the Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) when i was diagnosed way back when. It took forever. One of the questions was, "Do you have uncontrollable burping in public?" Not sure what the psychological implications of that are! It was pretty funny. That's not a cognitive test tho. I guess a cognitive test would have questions like the driver's exams have for senior's where you do exercises like having to draw the hands of the clock at a certain time... Your writing is certainly excellent, so you are making good sense that way. What sort of things are you having trouble with?

[yellow_fleurs]

Whatever2013 that is so funny about the burping. I would never think that would be a personality thing.
I seem to have issues with remembering people unless I know them well (faces, names, that we've met sometimes), directions (I get disoriented spatially sometimes), facts about things I once knew well, like if I took a course and aced it, later the information can be hard to retrieve. I get embarrassed when people ask me questions I should know because I am considered intelligent enough, and yet will get confused or unable to recall a basic thing. Sometimes I cannot place events from my past, and end up asking people if this or that occurred. My cognition seems to fluctuate with my moods and hormones. It got really bad after I stopped Lexapro in the mixed episode I was in, I kind of crashed and remember trying to organized some computer files for hours and could not do it, other times I can be very fast in my thinking. I don't know if it's an attention thing, or what, I just hope it's not related to dementia or something.

BirdDancer thank you for the response, I am glad to hear you both recovered over time. I hope this will happen with me, too.

[bizi]

My memory sucks.
I have been on antipsychotics since 1994 almost 25 years!
my memory is awful.
But sometimes I surprise myself with a certain memory of something.
So that is encouraging.
bizi

[sophiebunny]

I have an interesting history with the MMPI. I've taken the inventory...twice when in-patient for a year. Then 3 years later I took a graduate school course on some of its design features in a biostatistics class. What I can tell you about those random odd questions, my favorite was "I like cheese", Is that the MMPI has been administered to literally 10s of millions of people since it's development 50 or so years ago. That's a huge sample size. What they were able to do was statistically correlate answers to seemingly random questions to certain mental illnesses. It's an internal check to see if someone might be trying to trick the exam. Lets say you want the examiner to believe you have a particular mental illness. So you answer all the obvious questions in a way you think someone with that illness might answer. What you don't know is built into the test are various questions that aren't obvious. These are questions someone who really does have the illness has a high probability of answering only one way. There are many of these questions. Statistically, if you have the illness you are likely answer them in the same way others with your illness have answered them. If you don't, that clues the scorer into the fact that you may be trying to manipulate the test. Some people try to hide an illness they have. Some people want a certain diagnosis. Either way, answers come up as untruthful.

There is also a lie scare built into the test. It also statistically measures whether your answers were truthful based on how answers to different questions correlate with each other.

The first time I took the MMPI I was severely psychotic and in a deep trauma state. My in-patient psychologist told me my scores made no sense and were not interpretable. She said I was too psychotic to have been administered the test. Why they ever bothered I don't know. When the psychotic episode and trauma resolved, they got what turned out to be an uncomfortably accurate measure. I found it creepy that a paper and pencil test could predict with great accuracy my diagnoses and if I was telling the truth. I got curious about how the test was designed and when I had a chance to take a class that included MMPI design features, I took it.

The bottom line. It's not a test you can easily get away with manipulating.

[Moose72]

I'm a longitudinal bipolar study. I think its my 10th year. Its going longer than they expected. Ive done lots of games- hours and hours worth. One was on the computer. It would flash a letter and you had to hit a certain key when you saw the right letter- or you were to skip certain letters, or multiples of 5 or whatever it is. Last year I blanked on the computer square/numbers/letters thing because my brain just sat down like a tired dog on a walk and refused to go any more- so, I just kept pressing random keys until the computer finally stopped the program. That's what five hours of "games" and telling your whole history over again will do for you!

I've had three psychological tests and one 4-hour interview. Yes, three tests. Once in 2015, once in 2016, and once in 2018. However, they were all different. First one was a generic one that went over pretty much every common disorder in the DSM-V. (I believe the entire testing was 8 hours?) Second one was for ADHD. That was 3 hours. Third one was for psychosis (to see if I had Sz instead). That was 3 hours also.

You can see a neuropsychologist or a clinical psychologist for testing. The neuropsychologist might be what you want instead of a clinical psychologist.

[Unrigged64072835]

I haven’t had one recently, but when i was applying for SSDI I had a full series done. It was interesting to still have a good IQ while stoned out on benzodiazepines. My borderline was bad then too, so that played out a lot.

Originally Posted by yellow_fleurs

Has anyone done psychological testing for cognition or otherwise? I feel a bit apprehensive about this but my therapist mentioned it because I keep mentioning the memory and other cognitive issues I seem to have. I get anxious with tests so imagine I would just "fail" anything that requires focus if I tried while anxious. Just curious to hear experiences and what I can expect if I do go with the suggestion. I might also try seeing a neurologist first, though.

Hello yellow-fleurs. Sorry you are struggling with your memory. Psychological testing is different from cognitive testing. For professional cognitive testing, I recommend consulting with a neuropsychologist or speech-language pathologist as opposed to a mainstream psych provider or therapist. First, you would need a referral from your MD.

You are absolutely right; anxiety affects performance on tests and could certainly skew your results....making it appear that your cognitive level is lower than it truly is. If you are unable to remain sufficiently calm for cog testing (perhaps try meditation or grounding techniques first) I think the test may not be helpful for you. Unless of course it warrants a helpful discussion about new ways to manage anxiety.

Going straight to a neurologist sounds drastic unless you are having some alarming issues like losing consciousness, seizures, sudden vision loss, tremendously painful headaches etc. I would think of it the other way round. If you are able to relax enough to take a cog test with a professional with the right training to assess your cog function, start with that. Cognitive therapy is available for people deemed clinically stimulable for progress. So, if your scores aren't what you'd like them to be, no need to panic....there are options available for improving cog skills or adapting to challenges.

I recommend reserving the neurologist consult as a last resort. Not only is that going to be very expensive (thousands of dollars worth of tests) but it really may not be warranted for your particular concerns. Your GP should be able to screen that for you quite easily...if he/she is very concerned about your neuro status they would have no hesitation in referring you to a specialist.

Do you take medication? Some meds can really affect cognitive function. You can take your med list to the local pharmacist and ask if those meds are known to cause cog issues. A good pharmacist would be happy to do that for you. Pharmacists have a lot of knowledge about meds which doctors do not.

What's your general anxiety level? Or is it only a problem related to taking tests? I ask because mood can affect cognitive function more than people realize. You may like to read about "reversible dementia" which is a term sometimes used for folks who are so depressed that they have a temporary dip in their cog function....that is very, very different from having something like alzheimer's disease. Cog decline associated with mood problems is often reversible....when the anxiety or depression is managed, it is naturally easier to focus and remember etc.

Attention (concentration/focus) is the foundation for all cognitive abilities. If something is impacting your attention, you will not be able to recall the stimulus. So sometimes the best place to start is with attention tests (various levels depending on your background etc.) For example, according to testing I have "above average intelligence" but when my depression is bad I have a hard time reading a book because I can't focus. I'll read the same paragraph over and over again and not retain it because my mind was distracted by negative thoughts and intense sadness. I also notice that my executive function skills take a dive quite quickly....things like planning, initiating, organizing, adjusting a plan as needed, follow-through etc. Then when my mood levels out again, my brain just does what's it's supposed to do. That's just my example. Every brain is different of course. I don't take any meds and don't have a history of brain injury etc.

Also consider nutrition, sleep, cognitive stimulation etc. Important foundations for good cognitive health. Some docs will say that the health tips recommended for heart health also double up as great recs for brain health.

I hope a good chat with your local MD will help you. I don't know your therapist but I'd be careful about doing cog testing with him/her (particularly if they are calling it psych testing) because the wrong test or flawed analysis from someone without the appropriate training could send you in the wrong direction.

Best wishes to you!

[yellow_fleurs]

SilverTrees thanks for the feedback! I do think a bit of it is from the mood and anxiety, although some of it seems to go beyond that. My anxiety can be bad, but sometimes even when it is not I have the issues and in addition to memory I generally will feel like I am having a hard time processing information, doing tasks, feeling almost confused. I went to a psychiatrist a few years ago for my memory/attention and tried adderall, they didn't say I had ADHD but said maybe I had some attention issues secondary to my history of Lyme disease. I stopped it at some point and realized I felt better without it--it made me too irritable although otherwise helped some. At the moment I just take NSAIDs so I don't think it is related to medication.
My therapist would not do the testing as she is not a psychologist, but was recommending I see a psychologist (and if not a neurologist) for it. I agree, a neuropsychologist sounds like a good idea for what I need. I don't really want to take a bunch of psychological tests if I really just want cognitive testing portion at the moment.

[yellow_fleurs]

Sheltiemom thanks for the response. That is interesting about the MMPI. It sounds quite complex. I think it would give me anxiety and I would start second guessing if I was understanding the question and answering accurately or something.

[sophiebunny]

Originally Posted by yellow_fleurs

Sheltiemom thanks for the response. That is interesting about the MMPI. It sounds quite complex. I think it would give me anxiety and I would start second guessing if I was understanding the question and answering accurately or something.

I think the only thing you need to be sure of is that you are being honest when you answer. No one want's to be told that their answers were "deceptive". I still think it's creepy that a pencil and paper test is so good at diagnosing. I'l never have a need to take it again so I'm not worried. I'm thoroughly diagnosed. I guess I just wanted people taking it to know that if they aren't honest, the test will figure it out.