Cognitive problems of depression?

Hello everyone, I'm mainly looking for some reassurance.
I've had clinical depression and anxiety problems for 2 years now ( wow its really been that long ) Anyway essentially my depression is connected to what I essentially believe is poor memory problems and recently declining cognitive capacity.
I am a top 10 university student, and I've been getting average grades despite anxiety problems and the firm belief that I don't remember anything about my course when I sit the exams. I guess I obsessively think about my memory not being good enough, and I do know that this worrying isn't helping anything, but I just can't help it despite having many counselling sessions.
I was just wondering if anyone has experienced the symptoms I'm about to bullet point, or have any advise on them, if I should keep pushing my doctor for another diagnosis.
- I know I've never had amazing verbal fluency or literary skills ( and I have recently discovered that I have dyslexia ) but my vocabulary is dire ! I can't seem to find the right words. And struggling in conversations to get my point acrossAnd any learning of new vocabulary is to no avail. I soon forget the words I've been trying to learn. Also writing is a mjor problem for me. I'm certain that I sound like a 12 year old.
- I've become a slower thinking, and my analystical skills and higher processing isn't anything what it used to be.
- I can't remember names of past aquitences, or what they are doing now. I girl came up to me the other night and asked questions about information I couldnt remember telling her. I couldn't even remember what she was studying let alone which uni she went to.
- I have a poorer knowledge set than all my friends. They all know so much more than me. And even if I spend time trying to improve myself I can't remember it so whats the point ??
- I'm constantly worrying and comparing my memory and intelligence to others. If I can't remember a fact, I then stress and if prevents me from ever remembering it.

These are just a few of my issues. But I would appreciate it if anyone could get in touch with me to let me know that they have been experiencing these symptoms. My doctors says that my memory problems are due to depression and lack of concentration... But I'm not sure I believe him
x

I think you worry too much. You said you have a hard time making your point across and communicating, yet you make your point quite clearly in your post. Have more faith in your abilities. I suffer from schizophrenia and depression and take my medications, but neither of these have caused a decrease in my cognitive abilities. Although it is worth mentioning one of the medications I take have been documented to help with memory and cognition.

You sound rather like me beth. Pretty sure I'm the stupidest amongst my coworkers. However I know intellectually that can't be true, that it's also related to having confidence. As imperious said, your post demonstrated the lie behind those thoughts that plague you. You don't come across as a child.I have often packed confidence but it's not occurred to me some of my problems may be due to depression. That is an interesting thought.

In my case, the opposite is true; my depression has been caused by many factors, one of them being lack of confidence. I believe I have suffered from both unipolar and bipolar depression, and while after two years of therapy and medication I got rid of the unipolar depression, the bipolar -- chemical -- depression still raises its ugly head regularly. When that happens, my anxiety also goes up. I don't know whether depression causes anxiety or anxiety causes depression, but the two are definitely related.

I noticed that when I am depressed I think slower. I no longer get the typical "I am worthless" negative pattern thoughts, but I visibly slow down. I did an IQ test once, because I was worried my IQ is dropping due to depression; I did as well as I always do, except the test took me longer than it normally would, because sometimes I had to read the questions a few times to understand them. It didn't mean I'm stupid; it just meant that my cognitive abilities were lowered.

At school, especially university, I used to always agonise over how stupid and unprepared I am every time an exam came. Then I'd pass the exam and be convinced it's sheer luck. Despite the fact it happened regularly and for years, I never managed to shake off that feeling. (My family would listen to me complaining about how I am going to fail this next exam, laugh good-heartedly and say "yeah, we've heard this".) I was also convinced all my friends are smarter. Well. Two years of therapy helped with that. Perhaps they are. Perhaps they aren't. It doesn't matter. The only person that you should compare yourself to is -- you.

Also, being a top 10 university student doesn't suggest you get average grades

Big hugs. If you don't believe in yourself we're going to believe in you. Don't give up.

What are you hoping to get out of writing this? Most people on this index seem to write one piece and no more. Were you wanting to get that off your chest? Put it out there and share it even if you don't really know who will read it? Are you seriously wanting responses? Sounds like you have some minor OCD going on, you have some cognitive distortion happening, and you're in a creative rut.