Dumbening?

That is not even a word.

I don't know if this is a temporary thing, but I am finding it more and more difficult to express myself clearly in words. I don't feel as articulate as I used to be, and I am experiencing mental lapses in the vocabulary dept. with greater frequency. My inner Thesaurus is becoming harder and harder to open.

I spend more time "ummm"-ing and "uhh"-ing. I am aware of my inability to speak in terms that listeners can follow. Even when it comes to this blog, I am having my doubts as to whether I am expressing myself clearly.

This whole situtation has made me wonder if I have already reached my intellectual peak... and now it's all downhill from here. In the future, as old age sets in and I start to become forgetful and/or disconnected with current events, will I have even more problems expressing myself? It's not like I binge drink every weekend or something. What exactly are my brain cells doing that cause me to not remember the word "insatiable?"