stress symptoms ?

Hello all,

I'm 16 and for about a six months I (and several others) have noticed that I seem to be "Dumbing down" - This has made me quite worried as I am not sure what (If anything) is happening to me.

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*I used to have a good memory and could recall things almost instantly - Now it sometimes takes a few minutes to remember such things.

*My ability to write down ideas has diminished to a point where I sit for sometimes half an hour to write down ideas (It's hard for me to explain; I have an idea in my mind but translating this in to intelligible language can take some time). This also happens quite often when I try to describe something Mechanical - I know exactly what certain parts of say, a Steam Locomotive are called but I often just call it a "Thingy"or a "Doofer".

*I have trouble speaking sometimes, Ideas seem to just 'Flop' out instead of flow naturally.

*I have problems with forming sentences (The other day when I was updating my Bebo profile I sat for nigh on 15 minutes figuring out if "By" or "From" would fit into this statement:

"- Learned how to drive a steam locomotive by watching others"

Even now i'm still not sure if its "by" or "from"...

* I have trouble with reading - When I was 6 my teacher noted that I read like a 14 year old. Now, I falter at some points. Again, it's hard to explain: I'm reading normally and then all of a sudden i'll stop, my mind goes blank, and I sit seemingly trying to figure out what the word is (It's always a word I know) - Sometime these pauses can last for a good second or two.

Is it possible that these are somehow attributed to stress? I have my GCSE exams coming up soon. I don't feel at all stressed but is it somehow possible that subconciously I am stressed?

Or is it something to do with puberty?


- JJ