Anyone else has mental "fog"? could it be a result of chronic stress?

[u/Head_Confidence_5063]

I'm not talking about "brain fog". To better illustrate what I mean I'll illustrate with a clear example. when playing chess, I'm unable to think more than 1-2 steps ahead, i find it hard to predict, my mind kind of "freezes" like there's fog stopping me from thinking any further.

I'm otherwise able to predict other stuff, specially linguistically or logically.

To me it feels similar or the same as when I try to picture something in my mind, I can't "hold" a mental image, it quickly fades or transforms. I feel like a lot of my thoughts are behind this fog and I need to use a lot of energy to get them "close enough" to me.

I've dealt with chronic stress all my life due to early childhood neglect and trauma. so i feel it could be connected, since this "fog" seems to not match what i should able to do considering my cognitive abilities.

I'd appreciate if anyone has similar stories or knows the science behind it?

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[u/Real-Total-2837]

It could be stress. Stress can inhibit the prefrontal cortex, which is the thinking part of our brain. However, when it comes to chess, maybe you just need some more practice or a couple of lessons.

However, if you think it's the trauma, it's probably the trauma. You should go speak to a licensed therapist.

[u/AgreeableCucumber375]

Yes, I relate and understand what you mean. The chess example you bring up is a very good one. I assume you’re having this in general across more than just chess in your life… deep diving into “brain fog” has kinda been one of my hyperfocuses for awhile… I can write more about it tomorrow. Tldr tho for me it was burnout and other mental health issues, that probably lead the burnout in the first place.

[u/Vertnoir-Weyah]

Although it is not the only possible explanation, i'm no profesional, it sounds like trauma symptoms pretty directly

What you describe does sound very directly like the feelings given by trauma response in situations that are not too intensely activating it

Chronic stress and early childhood neglect really make me think that in any case you could benefit a lot from therapy

Note that it is long, and it is very tough at some points, but also not treating that stuff is like not treating a broken bone: it hurts you don't want to touch it too much but it solidifies wrong, and even then it can get way worse over time:

Unlike a broken bone, it can contaminate other parts of your life fostering bad situations, making you enter vicious circles where bad experiences activate further the very symptoms that cause them

[u/bigasssuperstar]

Expecting ability to be uniform across all applications and invulnerable to the compressions and rarefactions of the world around is and within is a recipe for fucking disappointment. Sometime shit is hard even if other stuff is easy.

[u/youssflep → u/bigasssuperstar]

I do think they meant that, usually, they're able to the chess stuff with no problems but some time the fog appears.

[u/bigasssuperstar → u/youssflep]

Also an expected phenomenon. Believing your brain skills are static and not subject to the same ebbs and flows as the rest of the body sets yourself up for disappointment every time they're not.

[u/youssflep → u/bigasssuperstar]

that's very much true

[u/IntrinsicM]

Stress, burnout, nutritional deficiencies, poor sleep, doomscrolling/screen addiction, and hormonal changes - any or all could be a cause of what you’re describing.

[u/SmartCustard9944]

Check your sleep. My cognitive performance degrades when I sleep 6h instead of 8.

[u/youssflep]

I have the same feeling with chess, reading books, complex strategy games, college courses. I don't know the cause and if you find out please do tell me. as for solutions, I found out that if you sleep early and wake up naturally, and don't use the phone or do anything mentally draining just after waking up; the situation does seem to get better.

do you also perhaps feel your brain burning ? on the back specifically, that's what I feel.

A note for your information: I too have many sad thoughts about my past life events so your guess might be on point.

[u/youssflep → u/youssflep]

oh also I forgot that I was keeping a diary for some time. I used it to write out my thoughts, that seemed to help through the day.

[u/Head_Confidence_5063 → u/youssflep]

That's interesting that you feel a physical sensation in your head, i don't, it's just that my brain freezes. I tend to sleep late, it's sometjing i brought up to my therapist, and her advice is try to find a lifestyle that acomodates my chronotype, makung sure i sleep enough.

[u/Palais_des_Fleurs]

Yes.

I get the same thing.

It comes on when I feel a pressure to perform (intellectually). I get anxious and my brain shuts down. It’s so bad I would struggle to a) play an extremely basic child’s card game with my 7 and 9 year old niece and nephew and b) struggle to even keep my eyes open.

For me it’s at least partially tied to severe and chronic sleep deprivation as a child.

The science behind it is extremely specific and unique to my biology so I’d rather not delve into it. For me it was not a sleep issue however, it was a stress issue. I’m actually an unusually resilient sleeper which is why my issues went unaddressed for as long as they did.

[u/1Tenoch]

I think what you're saying is you're able to reason well in response to cues but you feel your agency is diminished and you shut down when planning ahead. Very typical stress response, less sophisticated brain parts taking over. For me it was usually performance anxiety/impostor syndrome.

[u/AproposofNothing35]

Dissociation? It’s more insidious than you can possibly imagine.

[u/Head_Confidence_5063 → u/AproposofNothing35]

I've looked into dissociation and i don't believe its my case, as i feel I'm very grounded to the real world, as a kid i wish i could disassociate tho

[u/Old_Examination996]

dissociation from stress is an option

[u/kaidomac]

How's your sleep?

[u/Head_Confidence_5063 → u/kaidomac]

Since taking melatonin better, but i always had trouble falling asleep

[u/kaidomac → u/Head_Confidence_5063]

Ever done a sleep study?

[u/Head_Confidence_5063 → u/kaidomac]

Nope, told my therapist i have issues sleeping and we're working on it, maybe she'll refer me to a sleep study?

[u/kaidomac → u/Head_Confidence_5063]

I did mine online from the Sleep Doctor website because there was a 4-month waiting list at my local sleep clinic. After that, I started histamine intolerance treatment using DAO, which solved my insomnia, nighttime anxiety, and rumination.

Good sleep is the root of good health, but our brain has this weird denial feature that glosses over the importance of it & then forces us to forget about it over & over & over again. Energy drives everything we do, including clear thinking!

I use a BiPap machine to breathe at night & use hi-dose HIT treatment every day and sleep very well for the first time in my life as a result! I make sure to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.

As far as mental visualization goes, look up "aphantasia".

[u/Head_Confidence_5063 → u/kaidomac]

Interesting! I've looked into aphantasia, and probably it is that since it's a spectrum.

[u/kaidomac → u/Head_Confidence_5063]

It is!

• https://www.reddit.com/r/kaidomac/comments/qnox4v/different_ways_of_thinking/

[u/myfoxwhiskers]

I have mental exhaustion from Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). It is the source of my brain fog. This has a physical cause. After 20 years of living with it (torturous for me) a naturopath suggested Ubuiqonol. It helps elevate the level of oxygen in your blood and therefore your brain. After the first dose - my brain literally woke up. I felt like Charlie in Flowers for Algernon.

Also, yes stress can do all sorts of terrible things to our bodies. There are lots of ways to test if it is stress - reduce stressful parts of your life or do relaxation exercises to see if it helps.

[u/Logical-Frosting411]

I take an otc from time to time that is recommended (not fda approved, based on traditional medicine) for "poor concentration due to over work" It has been an absolute life saver for me combined with long term things like yoga+therapy+general good health because my brain is really good at trying to do too many things at once/over expecting and of course subsequently failing to be able to focus effectively on a dingle given thought or image or cognitive process. I didn't have nearly as much of an issue with this until after the T that caused my PTSD so it is absolutely a stress related thing. But sometimes the stress that's causing it is nothing more than my own expectations for me.

[u/Responsible-Risk-470]

I get mental fog, I think it's migraines. Happens quarterly, lasts about a week, and seems to be triggered by seasonal changes.

I also get sensory overwhelm in loud and noxious environments so I could never do schoolwork in common areas or coffee shops.

[u/Aaxper]

No. I experience chronic brain fog due to stress and lack of sleep, but I can think several moves ahead in chess. What you're describing doesn't seem to make much sense.