Lived Experience Forum

[DJanixerty]

Hi All,

I am very new to this so please forgive me if I don't get this right. I am stuggling with anxiety and would love some advice on how others are dealing with their experience. My biggest symptom is brain fog where I am unable to read anything for a period of time. I know this is not the case, but to me, it feels like it comes out of nowhere. I then try and listen to music or something to "get rid" of the fog so I can start to read again. Some days I go through and have no brain fog, but then other days (like today) it almost seems constant. 

I would love some advice from other people who have experinced a similar problem and managed to find methods to get over this.

Thanking you in advance. 

[Enlightened-Ego]

I would love to help you, but i need a bit of back story like for example do you drink take any drugs and in what quantity ect. or anything that may affect anxiety in a long run.    (for example are you surounded with toxic people ect..?)

wrestling with anxiety can be mentally exhausting and brain fog can accompany this cognitive fatigue. Even the perception of mental fatigue can bring on symptoms of brain fog, making a struggle with anxiety and stress even more difficult.

[AussieRecharger]

Hey @DJanixerty 

Yeah, I find it hard to read and I get obsessive in thinking things over. I can read but because my brain is elsewhere, I did not really read it.  

Can I ask what you are reading? Is it study or work?  I have come up with an interesting strategy recently where I turn on reading aloud and then get the computer to read the page to me and i follow along with the words on the page.  I am still reading it but I find because I have an active noise, I am listening and it's sinking in much quicker than just by reading by itself. 

Do you have a good routine that you use before you sit down to do this reading?  Whats going on when you get this brain fog, are you procrastinating or are you worried about something?

I hope to hear back from you @DJanixerty ...

[cloudcore]

Hi @DJanixerty,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for sharing! I can see that you were dealing with a constant brain fog yesterday, how are you managing with that today? I personally find that doing something active, like going for a walk, clears the fog I experience. Perhaps that is something that you might find helpful too if you're struggling today

I'd be keen to see what advice other's have for you, but just as a gentle reminder to our community about our Forum's safety guidelines- remember to not post content that contains specific details about your's or anyone else's medication/dosages. This is to protect the community against common triggers for people with a lived experience of complex mental health issues and trauma.

Other than that, we appreciate your contributions to this discussion! 

from cloudcore

[DJanixerty]

Thanks for your response. 

In terms of drugs, no i don't touch them, but i do have a few beers (many times, more than a few beers) on the weekend.

I certianly don't feel like I am surronded by toxic people at all. It's like i've got a sub-concious thought patten that telling me I can't read. Usually most of the time I read and write without a problem, but then other times I can't read the words on the page in front of me.

[frog]

Hi @DJanixerty welcome to the forum.

I have chronic anxiety and when it spikes I also find that I can't read beyond very short chunks. This can go on for a long time, sometimes years in the past but not that bad these days.

Is there any pattern to when it occurs for you?

Do you have things that damp down anxiety in general?

Anxiety is a very physical experience for me, definitely not 'all in my head'. Sometimes the solution is physical too. @cloudcore mentioned exercise. Movement of any kind helps me generally. Sometimes looking into the distance, tracing along the horizon with my eyes calms me a bit, though I haven't tested that re reading specifically.