The problem isn't your memory or your perception that you're not as quick. It's that you're torturing yourself over it.
Good point.
Your MD is of no use to you here. He/she won't ever admit that, but no MD should ever be making psych evaluations or prescribing psych drugs---not one of them.
To clarify, what Bob means by MD = primary care doctor, e.g. someone in family medicine or internal medicine. He is telling you to instead go to one of the medic8r clan. As a psychiatrist, I am an MD also, but had four years of residency to study just psychiatry, whereas the primary care doctors had three years of residency to learn, well, everything. So, as a result, they know a little about everything but not a lot about psychiatry. The good ones know their limits and when to refer out to the specialists.
Men are terrible at managing their mental health, because mental health care is [seen as] an admission of weakness, or worse.
Too true. If "get a grip" therapy worked, then I'd be in another line of work.
My 2¢ will echo much of the "Take good care of yourself" advice already mentioned by others here. It really is the best way to set yourself up for maximum function. We've all heard these things before, but not all of us actually heed the advice. Do these things and you'd be at the, what, Bob, 90th percentile?
- Get enough sleep
- Drink plenty of water
- Exercise regularly
- Go easy on caffeine
- Go easy on sugar
- Smaller dinner portions
- Eat a good breakfast
- Get me some Red Sox tickets
I had a professor who swore by a daily regimen to preserve cognitive function. It included
- 3 whole walnuts,
- 2 tsp flax seed (ground into powder, put in food or liquid, e.g. oatmeal or OJ), and
- 400 IU of vitamin E - especially the d-alpha-tocopherol form of it, which is the most biologically active.
Now, this was ten years ago, and I think there's more recent evidence that all 8 subvariants of vitamin E are good, so a blend would be OK, even if the alpha-tocopherol is the most active.
Good luck!
(on the tickets.) 
