Brain Fog

Unable to focus? Brain fog?

Christine Haworth-Staines, a UK Chartered Psychologist and French Registered Psychologue, explains brain overload.

Life throws all kinds of things at us. It might be worries about finance, worries about family, concerns about the home or work, our own health or the direction that our life is going in. A combination of these can lead to brain overload and an inability to prioritise or even make decisions at all. Our brains have a limited amount of processing capacity. Like a computer we can only manipulate a certain amount of information at any one time. When we take on too much and there aren’t enough hours in the day our brains detect we are under threat. We may worry about not getting something done, missing a deadline, or forgetting something important. Any threat will be processed by the brain as danger and trigger the protective response of fight/ flight or freeze. If we are being chased by a rabid dog this may be appropriate but if we are worrying about not completing our tax return on time then ‘hitting out’, running away, or doing nothing are clearly not helpful.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

When we experience mental overload which results in brain fog or feeling unable to focus, firstly recognise that this is a normal protective mechanism but one that is maladaptive in the circumstances. To escape this situation there are a few things you can do. Firstly, stop, breathe slowly and relax your muscles, this will switch off the adrenaline response. You can achieve this by inhaling through your nose slowly and deeply, expanding your stomach and then breathe out through your mouth, pursing your lips and blowing gently. Now bring your shoulders up to your ears, hold for a few seconds then let them drop and just notice the tension easing away. Secondly, write a list of the things that need to be done. Review the list and cross out anything that is really not essential. Determine what can wait until next week and what can be dropped completely. You may also consider delegating some tasks. The garden needs weeding, it can wait, or give the children some spending money to do it. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Now prioritise. If, for example, there are deadlines looming, or there is a health issue to be addressed, this needs to be factored in. So, number the items on your list in order of priority. Next, if there is anything that can be done immediately like booking the car in for a service or paying a bill, just do it and tick it off the list (very satisfying). Then schedule time for the other tasks. If you don’t keep a diary, then I recommend you start either an online or paper version - if they are written down you will be more likely to achieve them.

FEELING STRESSED?

Perhaps you are worrying about things that you have no control over or things that can’t be tackled right now. I call this obsessional worry, worry without a purpose. If so, try to see your worrying as problem solving. If the problem can’t be solved right now you add it to the list and schedule a time in the diary, then stop attending to it. If the problem is out of your control, stop attending to it. Worrying without action serves no purpose and going around in circles is time-consuming and anxiety-provoking. This last behaviour might be a more deep-seated problem that may require professional help. Mental overload is sometimes a sign of an anxiety disorder or a perfectionist personality. If you continually over-think or over-research, without making a decision, you may find that talking to a trained therapist is helpful.

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