spoonie-living: [Image: Old books with a pair of glasses on a wooden table. Credit: Dariusz Sankowsk
spoonie-living: [Image: Old books with a pair of glasses on a wooden table. Credit: Dariusz Sankowski] Studying Effectively with Cognitive Impairment Jenny Marie When I began my distance-learning Master’s degree in September 2014, I never imagined how much my life would change in the years that followed. Working full time and studying part time, I managed to complete half of the programme’s taught credits in the first year. But in September 2016, after a few months of ill health, I was finally diagnosed with CFS/ME. What is CFS/ME? From the Unrest website: “Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) is a systemic neuroimmune condition characterized by post-exertional malaise (a reduction in functioning and a severe worsening of symptoms after even minimal exertion). It causes dysregulation of the immune, nervous, and energy metabolism systems. The effects of ME are devastating enough to leave 25% of patients housebound or bed bound.” Read more here. For me, the effects are physical (tiredness, muscle weakness, occasional stiffness/pain), but it is the cognitive impairment I’ve found to be most disruptive to my part-time day job and my part-time study. What’s often described as “brain fog” can be narrowed down to this list of typical symptoms: reduced attention span/loss of concentration short-term memory problems word-finding difficulties inability to plan or organise thoughts After the diagnosis, I stumbled through two abortive attempts at beginning my second year of study, and only successfully returned to the programme in September 2017. So what changed? Well, the good news is that many of these symptoms can be managed and worked around once you know how, and there are support networks and channels at the majority of Universities and Colleges that you can use. Below the cut, I’ll talk about my own experiences and offer some advice that you might find useful if you struggle with symptoms of cognitive impairment. Keep reading -- source link
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