Is it possible that young adults and teenagers or adolescents can possibly get mental or brain disorders that signifigantly affect their cognitive functioning such as dementing diseases known as dementia. I am a young adult experiencing very troubling symptoms that often disable my thinking or thought processing which inhibits, distracts, and disrupts my capability to function normally on own. Is it possible that i have dementia or some serious neurological impairment. I am 19 years old.

Hi makingtheconnection and welcome to NeuroTalk

I honestly dont know the answers to your questions but I did want to welcome you

Hopefully someone with more knowledge in this area will be able to give you some helpful info

Sometimes there are simple answers to complex symptoms, like nutritional deficiencies that are depriving the brain and nervous systom of essential elements that they need to function correctly.
Even parasitic or chemical toxins have been known to cause a sudden change in mental capabilities etc
Also, if you are on any medications, there may be a med that you are having an adverse reaction to........my son had medication induced psychosis once and so I know that this can occur

Have you been to see a physician?
That would be the first step in finding solutions.

In the meantime, there will always be someone here to offer you support and understanding. I know it must be very scary for you to be experiencing what you are
we care

Hello, makingtheconnection! I also can't answer you very well but did want to say welcome.

I can only imagine what a scary experience this may be for you. As stated above, there are many things that could cause a disturbance in the way(s) you typically function (mentally, physically, etc.). Some are very small, even a slight infection can do this, reactions to medications, foods, stress, other conditions (not related to the brain), etc. can cause these types of reactions.

I'm going to agree and say you should see a Physician as a first step. The best advice I can give you is to keep your stress levels low, follow-up *always* with your health care providers, and never be upset if they refer you to a mental health provider (it's almost mandatory these days, I thought my Neuro. was insinuating something negative) or a provider you think does not *fit* your current symptoms.

Check around our other topics and make yourself at home. We have an amazing group of members who offer some of the best support! Please keep us updated.

-Ellie

PS: I also wanted to say you seem to be extremely bright!

you might want to consult with someone in the public health system or more specifically the behavioral side of the public health system in your state. There are a number of mental disorders that appear in the late teen and early twenties. These are treatable biological disorders that are not neurological in their classification and they are treated free in every state by public psychiatrists. I want to particularly emphasize that they are biological diseases, to warn off any mis-information, or stigma.

The answer is yes, yet, too, only a licensed physician would be most qualified to offer a diagnosis. There are also other conditions which a doc would need to rule in or rule out.

I hope that you will post again with a possible update.