How to deal with "brain fog"?

[clyde33]

I get "brain fog" frequently where i just cannot think straight. I'm fine on my own so i know it must be anxiety related when there's other people around. I sometimes stop mid-sentence as i can't remember what i was about to say, i stutter, i dither and forget words to the point the other person is staring at me waiting for me to find the right word in my minefield of a head. I make mistakes too when i demonstrate things (at work) and i just feel pretty "distant" most of the time.

I can't seem to make even the simplest of decisions either. I just can't concentrate, think clearly or focus.

I've tried deep breathing etc but that doesn't help at all.

Anyone else get this?

[goku]

same here, I just tell the person honestly that I'm not having a great day and feeling unlike myself, and apologize for seeming distant but I that I'd rather hear from them than talk about myself.

how to rid yourself of the brain fog? I find mental exercises like memory exercises, even crosswords do help a bit but sometimes it's unavoidable and likely just due to fatigue.
uninterrupted sleep helps too!

[Armadillo]

I get it a lot too, more at work than anywhere else and usually when the office is full of people. I deal with it by leaving the room for 5 minutes to make everyone a cuppa or just go and get some fresh air. If it's when talking to someone I do the "ada, bada....oh um can't speak properly today let me try again haha" as making a joke out of it usually results in the person/people i'm talking to relating and it's all fine.

I know frustrating it can be *hugs*

[pheys]

laugh it off. we all get it from time to time.
people don't think any less of you because of it

[Mindfulness]

Completely agree! Just laugh it off ... I tend to feel that if I don't take things too seriously and don't put pressure on my self that I relax more and the brain fog goes away. I find that when I get Brain fog it's because my sub conscious mind is thinking negative thoughts about the situation that I am in and I start doubting my self and think that I am coming across badly. I try to now notice when this is happening and don't listen to my negative thoughts xx

[scratch]

It would be good if we had some sort of 'brain fog lights' we could turn on and help us switch on just like that

But yeah I sometimes struggle to concentrate when listening to someone talk to me for a considerable length of time so when its my turn to respond I sometimes freeze up and struggle to find something to say.

[Lucian]

Originally Posted by pheys

laugh it off. we all get it from time to time.
people don't think any less of you because of it

You can't laugh it off, it's not funny to you and it's certainly not funny to anyone listening to you. And people very much do think less of you because of it, in certain contexts, if it happens every time they try to speak to you. I don't think it's really possible to get rid of it in the moment, just apologise and stop whatever you were trying to say for a while until the anxiety dies down.

Obviously I'm talking about brain fog that is persistent and happens every time you are anxious or talking about something you feel unprepared for, if it's just a case of your mind going blank suddenly every couple of weeks then you can laugh that off.

[Jop]

Originally Posted by clyde33

I get "brain fog" frequently where i just cannot think straight. I'm fine on my own so i know it must be anxiety related when there's other people around. I sometimes stop mid-sentence as i can't remember what i was about to say, i stutter, i dither and forget words to the point the other person is staring at me waiting for me to find the right word in my minefield of a head. I make mistakes too when i demonstrate things (at work) and i just feel pretty "distant" most of the time.

I can't seem to make even the simplest of decisions either. I just can't concentrate, think clearly or focus.

I've tried deep breathing etc but that doesn't help at all.

Anyone else get this?

yes i do. The short answer is diet!!!!!!

when i get it its either Im dehydrated, or havent eaten enough or both.

make sure you have a blanced diet: healthy proteins, fats and veggies!

Epsecially veggies, which is basically where all your vits and minerals come from.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlunoYEELYc

this is a good example of what happens when your brain doesnt get everything it needs(short answer is sugar to be mentally alert)

its so easy for me to forget to eat, or drink. Especially when your depressed or anxious, you forget!!!

[pheys]

Originally Posted by Lucian

You can't laugh it off, it's not funny to you and it's certainly not funny to anyone listening to you. And people very much do think less of you because of it, in certain contexts, if it happens every time they try to speak to you. I don't think it's really possible to get rid of it in the moment, just apologise and stop whatever you were trying to say for a while until the anxiety dies down.

Obviously I'm talking about brain fog that is persistent and happens every time you are anxious or talking about something you feel unprepared for, if it's just a case of your mind going blank suddenly every couple of weeks then you can laugh that off.

people most likely don't care if you have brain fog once or all the time. they are too busy focusing on their own lives to notice or if they do, care.
if it happens all the time, still, laugh it off.
honestly, people will respect you for your self depreciation of done in a jokey way

[clyde33]

Yeah i can't laugh if off though unfortunately as it's been happening quite a lot recently at work and people pay me quite a bit of money to tutor them and if i'm sitting there with brain fog every week, they're not getting what they're paying me for and will realise that themselves.

As for the diet, thanks i know that definitely helps. I'm a bit of a healthy eating addict and eat loads of fresh fruit/veg and drink plenty of water.

I can see this "brain fog" of mine gets worse if i haven't slept properly for a few days, which is the norm for me. Got a good sleep last night, first in about two weeks where i didn't wake up every half hour, and i felt so much better today. Trouble is, that'll have been my quota of decent sleep for the next month, lol.