Difficulty Understanding Things

Posted , 4 users are following.

Firstly, let me start by saying this isn't as serious of an issue as some people on here probably have, but it's been bugging me for years now.

I'm not completely unintelligent, but I feel like I'm perpetually confused. I've taken a few IQ tests (albeit online, Psychology Today etc) and I consistently score in the 120s, which I think is maybe average/slightly above average. So why do I always feel like I don't understand things as well as other people? Why do I have trouble understanding basic instructions, let alone complex tasks?

I often get the wrong end of the stick, and I struggle to get to grips with anything that involves even the slightest amount of complexity. My verbal ability is above average, I can speak well, write okay (although my spelling is shocking), and my mathematical ability isn't terrible (although it is pretty average). Yet I frequently struggle for basic understanding/comprehension, where others - friends, family, work colleagues etc - who would maybe score lower in general intelligence than me (many would score MUCH higher), seem to pick things up faster, and learn faster than I do.

This has troubled me for some time now and I'm wondering if I have some kind of disorder? At times I struggle to even follow a simple conversation when someone is telling me an anecdote, even if it's a close family member; I'll often lose the thread of what's going on.

Maybe it's a concentration issue? I do tend to focus on body language, tone, facial expression etc when someone is talking to me, to the point where it's actually distracting. I'm a people watcher; I like to observe people and I often pick up/focus on irrelevant things that others don't.

I don't know, I feel like this might be a concentration issue, but even when I try really hard to focus and understand instructions, I still have trouble.

Should I speak to a doctor about this?

After Coronavirus, obviously. 😃

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Posted

    Is this something that you have always had a problem with, or is it something that has changed over the years?

    • Posted

      Hi!

      It's hard to say, but I can't remember being this way when I was a young kid. Maybe I noticed it when I started working, which was from the age of around 14 (part time), but perhaps that was the first time I began receiving instructions to carry out tasks etc.

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