Reading difficulties. Caused by anxiety?

Hello,

I'm 21 years old and I've just joined college after years of complete isolation. I've only been diagnosed with G. Anxiety and AvPD.

I've been doing very badly in my classes, even in subjects I used to be very good at prior to falling ill. My issue is I'm having troubles reading and focusing. Text-heavy articles make me feel PHYSICALLY uncomfortable. It takes me very, very long and reading it over and over for me to understand what I'm reading.

I can't remember a lot of things, my short-term memory's even worse. In lectures, my mind goes fuzzy within minutes and I end up not hearing anything said in class. And I also find writing very tough, as finding words in my head is very tough. My mind feels numb most of the time. It's silly, I used to love writing and now I can't even form simple sentences.

Because of this, I've been having troubles speaking, as well. Since I can't seem to find words quick enough.

I've been Googling if anxiety can cause reading difficulties in people, but I've not found anything that relates to what I'm going through. So I was hoping to get some of your opinions on this. Have you heard of this? Could it be due to anxiety? Should I start seeing my therapist again? I haven't seen her in a while due to financial issues.

Hi sensatives. Your psychiatrist should be able to tell you if any of your meds might be producing brain fog, that some members report that on some meds.

Here are some lifestyle changes that might help.
Diet can have an affect on how we feel. I have to watch what I eat because foods I eat can stabilize my moods or exaggerate them. A high protein low carb diet with snacks or meals every 3-4 hours will over time reduce my swings. I also avoid alcohol and recreational drugs because those can really increase depression.

Here is what I use when my head gets over crammed with thoughts. Breathe in a natural way. Silently count one on the inhale and 2 on the exhale. 3 on the inhale and 4 on the exhale. Continue up to 10 then go back to 1. This helps me focus on breathing rather than the wall of thoughts.

Other lifestyle changes that help me are doing yoga, exercises, mindfulness, calm music, and being active on Psych Central.

Some people find the forums give them the compassion and empathy they seek. http://forums.psychcentral.com

Please feel free to private message me or any of the Community Liaisons by left clicking on the name in blue to the left of their post) for questions or just to share.

Thank you so much for your advice! I'm not on any medication at the moment and haven't been a while.

I've been doing almost all those things, and it does help with my anxiety but not with my reading difficulties that I stated in my OP. In fact, it's my reading issues that trigger my anxiety, not the other way around.

I was just wondering if anyone on here experienced something similar, if it had anything to do with anxiety or not. Because I've not found any anxiety-related articles talking about this.

Thank you again.

Your difficulties sound familiar to me though I have never had them as bad. If I had what you describe, I would feel they were basically symptoms of anxiety.

Do you do any reading for pleasure? If you have had years of isolation, I would not jump into a heavy-duty social and intellectual pursuit like college right away. I would spend more time being around people and adjusting to just that and pursuing interests rather than someone else's dictates required to get a degree. Even being good at something; if you are not enjoying pursuing/studying it, it can be very hard. Find people you enjoy being with, study interests you enjoy studying and then try the other is what I'd do.

Thank you. It's been a year since I've come out of complete isolation and I've still not learned to adapt to the real world, and I'm working on that. I have no choice but to go to college, since I've already dropped out once and wasted a lot of money, I can't do it again.

I used to love reading for fun, but it's very difficult now, which makes it no longer enjoyable, unfortunately. I've been trying to reread a favourite book of mine and I still can't do it. The words get jumbled up in my head and nothing makes sense to me. That makes me quite angry, which then triggers my anxiety. So it's not really the anxiety that's causing me to have reading difficulties, but more so, the other way around.

I genuinely don't enjoy anything anymore, and I'm studying just so I can get a degree.. "in case". But now I can't even study, which truly stinks. Thank you again for your response, I hope you're well. Xx

I assume you have been checked for dyslexia, and don't laugh, eyesight?

I found that I would have to read dense text paragraph by paragraph and add the highlights to my study notes so I could get a fix on them and find them again for revision.

Haha, I've been tested for my eyesight! It's fine, it's not a vision problem, but more of a reading issue. I have never been checked for dyslexia, though my symptoms are almost identical, I never experienced this prior to my mental health issues which developed when I was 17.

Dyslexia develops in early childhood right? So I ruled that out. I was an okay student when I was younger.

I'm really hoping to find some information on this issue before seeking professional help from my psychdoc. Each visit costs a ton of money where I live, so I have to make sure this is something worth paying lots of money for.

The higher my anxiety the less I'm able to concentrate on reading, especially, long text.

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Actually, with your disinterest problems, I would see a professional to check into depression:

"Depression and anxiety disorders are different, but people with depression often experience symptoms similar to those of an anxiety disorder, such as nervousness, irritability, and problems sleeping and concentrating. But each disorder has its own causes and its own emotional and behavioral symptoms.

Many people who develop depression have a history of an anxiety disorder earlier in life. There is no evidence one disorder causes the other, but there is clear evidence that many people suffer from both disorders."

From: Depression | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA

Try dividing up your reading requirements... Don't look at having to have a "whole chapter" done by next class, but instead use stickies and say, I'll read these pages first....

When I first entered college I needed glasses... taking 22 credit hours a semester, raising a family and working full time as well as being in church 3x a week was quite anxiety-ridden...and stressful ... the glasses were temporary... have you had your eyes examined by a doctor (regular eye chart reading doesn't count).

Good wishes!

I suppose I should add another example of a problem I experience with reading: reading different words from what's actually there.

For example, today my friend sent me a message that read, "I lost my cat today". And I saw it as, "I lost my rabbit today". And I kept seeing it as rabbit and had to reread it a few times until I finally noticed the word "cat" there instead. This happens a lot when I'm reading out loud too, which is quite embarrassing in class, I won't lie. -___-

Ok. Some of that could be dyslexia...but it could also be depression and it's affect upon ability to focus and pay attention.

The first thing to pop in my head when reading your posts was depression.

Depression can affect you in so many different ways. The inability to concentrate on reading is just one. I also never knew the agitation I sometimes felt was related to the depression I had.

If you saw the text as rabbit, how did you know that it was incorrect? Did you know on some level that rabbit was wrong? and keep reading until it felt right?
I had an experience recently where I didn't know what I was saying or seeing or writing. Or if I actually did what I thought I did. Or said what I thought I said. I needed constant reassurance that I did indeed do what I thought I did. When writing, I physically could not see what I wrote, but on some level knew if it was wrong. I was in no shape to attempt reading at that time.

I commend you for reaching out, looking for answers, but you might have to go back to professional help. Can you access help via the school you are attending?

Thank you for your comment!

About the rabbit thing, I genuinely thought I'd read it as "rabbit" and thought we (my friend and I) were speaking about rabbits until she pointed out that she had said "cat" not rabbit, so then I had to reread what she said and that's when I saw "cat" instead.

I've never considered depression before, because although online quizzes have shown I have symptoms, my psychiatrist and my psychologist never brought depression up even once. It was always about my anxiety. During our first meeting, they asked if I experienced suicidal thoughts, and I said no, and they never brought depression up again.

So from that point on I was thought I was deluding myself into thinking I was depressed because my doctors didn't say anything about it. I am very self-conscious about my emotions and have suppressed a lot of them, so most of the time, I don't even know if I'm being honest to my psychologist haha.

So brain fog could cause dyslexia symptoms? That's kind of reassuring, kind of.. I thought I'd lost my ability to read and write.

Thank you all for being so patient with me and so kind!