Should i quit my job or is it the depression talking,

Welcome @Princessmolly you sound like you are at the end of your rope and there is not a life line to pull you back, but rest assured there is always a way back if you want to challenge yourself. Seriously there is nothing worse than being employed in a role you dont like, considering we spend a third of our life at work makes the future look really bleak when we dont enjoy what we do for the majority of the time. I laugh when you say 'baby brain' you know sometimes its just overload, our brains are not designed to have a continuation of stressful situations thrown at them and like every other part of our body if we dont maintain its healthy state will show signs of neglect. Using self defeating words and calling ourselves names only allows us to feel more down on ourselves, you my friend are not 'stupid' look at what you have achieved as a mature age student by wining academic awards. Confidence comes from within, please try and be kind to yourself. Is this something you could perhaps discuss with your superior and work through finding a solution? If you really are fed up with the situation is there another course you could study in the meantime? It's easy to get in a rut - damn it's so much harder to get yourself back on top of it though isnt it? I wish you well and remember to take care of you.

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@Princessmolly wrote:
I went to uni as a mature age student. I did fantastic at uni winning academic awards...every performance review i had whilst studying as well as my graduate year was glowing. I was the "golden child". Now fast forward 5 years and i have gone nowhere in my career. I am in an entry level position in an extremly busy and stressful enviroment..while people who are far more junior than me...people who often come to me for info are given more and more responsibility etc i am just stuck in a rut doing the same old thing. i dont know if it is baby brain or depression or my medications but i feel like i am actually quite stupid. I worry about people asking me questions because i often dont know the answer. I wonder how long it will be before people realise just how stupid i am. I am actually veginnung to worry that i have dementia because i legit cant remember most of what i was taught at uni.
After uni i thought i would do post grad studies. I had goals and ambition. Now i just dont care i only work for the money abd feel like a slave and very unfulfilled. I wonder if any of you can guess what i do haha. Anyway what the hell should i do? I feel at my age (mid 30s) with my seemingly diminishing mental capacity ehat can i possubly do???

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Hey, sounds like depression / mental illness is playing it's part in this. And perhaps your current employer / superiors aren't seeing your potential. You did say you were the "golden child" at University so there's no way you are stupid. Just probably stressed and going through a rough patch.
From what I have been told, you continually need to study to remember stuff because it's quite normal to forget things if we don't practice them.
Why did you do so well at Uni? What helped you to thrive?
Most of us in Western modern society just work for money, feel like a slave and feel very un-fullfilled in our employment. It's very common.
Why not go do post grad studies? Why not chase your goals and ambition? It may re-light the flames for you?
I don't think you have diminishing mental capacity, more likely stress and mental illness.
My guess is that you are in health care or legal profession....? Just a stab in the dark.
My advice is to re-evaluate. Can you speak to your superiors about promotion or more responsibility? If that's what you really want? Or a different employer who may see your value? Perhaps a less stressful environment? Or back to study?
What do you really want? And what is best for you?

Hi @Princessmolly, can I ask if you enjoyed your graduate year and if you did, what do you think has changed since then? I think that if you had 'glowing' reports during your grad year, then you must have been enjoying your work back then? It's hard to be great at something you don't enjoy at all, although it can happen.

if people are coming to you for information, then they must respect you. The people (who may be less experienced than you) that gain extra responsibilities are often the ones who put themselves forward and ask for extra work. They are the ones who speak up during meetings are express their opinions in a positive way. Often, they have out-going personalities and so therefore seem to get along well with a variety of people. Although, not always..... some of these people are quite painful and 'bluster' their way through and demand attention!

People like you, who admit they don't know the answers, are usually intelligent and thoughtful. However, you shouldn't go to work feeling like a slave and unfulfilled. I wonder do you have a counselling service that you can access through Human Resources at your work? Or would you consider career counselling? It's not too late to change careers if that is what you would like to do.

If you are just generally depressed, you might benefit from taking some leave and focusing on your own issues for a while.

I worked for 20 years in a profession I did not like! Don't be like me.

@Princessmolly you are under a lot of pressure from family commitments and juggling work and family is usually a delicate job.

For quite a while I was brain dead ... I thought I would never get my old self back ... but as pressures recede and security continues ... you will be able regain the old academic skills. Also the academic environment is clearly geared to reward specific goals and behaviour. I would not call it either baby brain or depression ... just take a bit of time to work out what you can manage ... and how many resources for the family that you can call on.

take care

Apple