ANXIETY!! READ AND COMMENT ☹️

[-Rinaaa]

Good evening!

How do you guys describe brain fog? What happens to you when you get it?

Does your anxiety also tell you that when you’re happy, everything will go wrong or something terrible will happen to ruin your happiness?

X

[ABCD98]

I experience brain fog in some specific social situations, along with a long list of other symptoms. I'd describe the brain fog as a tension all around my head which makes it difficult to think through the task at hand. I can preform things that are already trained to an automatic level, but I struggle to perform things which require focus. (I could tie my shoes, but I'd struggle to do mental arithmetic).

This can lead me to become a bit clumsy, which can add to the social embarrassment and me being more in my head.

To the second question about worrying happiness will fade, I don't experience this. Emotions are like waves, sometimes you'll be happy, sometimes you'll be sad, sometimes you'll be angry, sometimes you'll be anxious. It's perfectly normal. Experience what you're feeling and remember no state is permanent, and that's ok.

[-Rinaaa in reply to ABCD98]

Thank you. Maybe everyone is different and feels things differently and gets different symptoms

[Mtnghost20]

My brain fog come when my brain is tired from overthinking anxiety and when I have been anxious. I just tend not to feel much or think clearly. My brain just goes into shut down mode because it is tired.

The other question is more your brain being triggered and trying to find what is causing it to be in a state of fight or flight. You have to practice telling your brain that there is nothing threatening. The questions are just thoughts or vapors. Let them pass without engaging them and they lose power and fade. If you feel anxious don't fight it. Just let it pass and it will weaken. That works for me most of the time anyway. Don't give up trying whatever works for you!

[-Rinaaa in reply to Mtnghost20]

Thanks for replying! What about the second part of the post? Do you feel like when you’re finally not anxious and happy things will go wrong? X

[Mtnghost20 in reply to -Rinaaa]

Yes the question or thought creeps in and I don't engage and let it pass. When my body or brain has a lot of nervous energy these questions will be more aggressive or if I am tired. By letting them pass over time they lose strength and fade and I feel more confident. They do come back at times but again I will let them pass. Depression and anxiety are scary and can leave imprints on the brain but over time the imprints can be changed. Not to push my beliefs but I am a Christian so Prayer and the Bible are often go to resources I use.

[Mtnghost20 in reply to -Rinaaa]

Check out the books The Worry Trick and Outsmart your anxious brain by David Carbonell

[Edgy in reply to -Rinaaa]

HiI am new here

As a long time sufferer of whatever it is we all have, I have found 2 approaches

Cognitive can be very difficult and exhausting

Drugs can have side effects

I have found the best of both and it is working for me

It took a lot of experimenting but it is working

There are people in the world who don't have brain fog ,and then there's us

[STEM_Dad in reply to Mtnghost20]

I can relate to having brain fog when I'm tired, and still sometimes when I'm ruminating/overthinking.

[Hallyhooyou]

I have a hard time concentrating and I forget things when I’m anxious. The second thing you mentioned is the doom and gloom feeling that is very common.

[cbgrace1980]

I think feeling like things will go wrong when you're happy is a learned response to a trauma. It feels impossible that things could ever go "right" again sometimes. We have to teach ourselves that good things do happen, and that being happy is sometimes a choice. We can choose to focus on the positive and the good things in our lives to try to stay afloat. I hope you are feeling this soon.

[stde]

An overactive mind can create all-sorts of rubbish 😱....go for a walk-in nature, slow the mind, the thoughts will diminish👍...simples

[Emily_r]

Absolutely. And then my mood is ruined because of my thoughts..

[STEM_Dad]

I used to experience brain fog almost every day, until I was diagnosed and began treatment for two conditions: anxiety and ADHD. (Diagnosed for both at the same time, but started on anxiety medication first and started on ADHD medication a month later.) Got counseling to help with both simultaneously.- untreated ADHD can contribute to anxiety and/or depression

- in my case, at least, anxiety multiplies the impact of my ADHD traits (which then contributes to keeping me in a state of anxiety)

Now, I mainly experience brain fog when I'm overly tired, overthinking/ruminating, and/or under a lot of stress. Keeping anxiety in check as much as possible helps me to be able to sleep better and ruminate less.

My ADHD medication is atomoxetine (the brand name is Strattera, but I'm on a generic). It's a non-stimulant, and while it's mainly a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), it also acts in some capacity as a selection serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which helps to keep anxiety in check.

I've also come to recognize when I'm feeling overwhelmed emotionally, and when that happens I schedule a counseling appointment.

Even as well controlled as my anxiety is now, I still have some triggers, and more often have random anxious thoughts pop into my mind. It's easier to stop those thoughts now, so that I don't wind up ruminating or overthinking, and so that I don't spiral down into anxiety or depression as bad as I did before.

I think it is invaluable to know that I have an underlying condition (ADHD) that can cause me to be anxious, but getting proper treatment (medication, education, counseling) helps me in so many ways. (This after half a lifetime of recurring anxiety getting in the way of fully living my life, I felt like I was always on the sidelines. Now, I feel like I'm able to take everything in life in stride.)