The Mental Fog, Or The Desperate Inability To Concentrate

Mental fog is very common in people with fibromyalgia; it is also frequent when we are subjected to high stress. We lack energy and our own mind is suspended in an opaque, distant and strange dimension, where it is very difficult to concentrate, make decisions or even remember simple things.

People who suffer from this cognitive dysfunction are truly terrified. Realizing how suddenly we start to forget people’s names, how we become disoriented or feel unable to understand what they are saying to us or what we read makes these patients fear that they are experiencing an onset of dementia.

It will always be the specialists who will offer us an adequate diagnosis based on our own symptoms. However, it should be noted that, in general, fibromist is associated with fibromyalgia. This momentary inability to stick to reality, our own life and each of its ordinary events is without a doubt a key factor when it comes to making a complete diagnosis of this very disabling disease.

It should be said that, above all, with good resources, patience and adequate skills, it is possible to reduce its impact. Even so, it is important to consider that the mental fog is in turn associated with other physical and psychological processes that we need to know in order to dispel the confusion of the mind and regain control of our own reality.

We invite you to delve into this interesting topic that, perhaps, will help you in some respect.

The mental fog, or when our neurons “sleep”

These are not simple oversights. Nor are they common oversights, much less something that will go away with a day of rest. People who have “mental fog” report having the feeling that a part of their brain is turned off. Others define it as “getting frozen”, momentary escapes in which the mind seems to be in “stand by”, to the point of being absent in the middle of a conversation or of being driving automatically but without having any right direction.

It is, without a doubt, a dangerous and traumatic phenomenon for the person who experiences it. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison they discovered that the key to this phenomenon lies in several groups of neurons in the cortex. For some reason that is still unknown, there are momentary “blackouts”, temporal failures in connectivity that lead the patient, inevitably, to this nebulous tunnel where they are isolated from reality.

The cause of these cognitive lapses can have different origins, which would be related to periods of stress or very specific illnesses. We explain this further below.

Fibromyalgia

As we pointed out at the beginning, fibromist is part of the differential diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

Even so, it was also found that both people suffering from this disease and chronic fatigue have a deficit of cytokines, a type of protein essential to ground new information in the brain.

Being celiac and still not diagnosed

Consuming too much gluten or having celiac disease often causes episodes of mental fog. This autoimmune disease has serious effects on cognitive performance, of which we are not always fully aware as we look more at physical or organic symptoms.

Just change your diet and the mental fog disappears.

You are a “multitasking” junkie

Multitasking is a common epidemic that we take for granted. Working without allowing rest periods, tying one goal after another, or focusing all your attention on several stimuli simultaneously has, sooner or later, serious consequences.

The brain, however much they say otherwise, is not a computer. It is a living entity that has its rhythms, its orientations, its needs. If it’s overstimulated to the limit, we won’t develop a bigger or more skillful brain. What will happen is that it will demand forced rest from us, that is, it will “turn off” momentarily.

hormonal changes

Menopause is not precisely a period of magical splendor for a woman. There are challenges, there are changes to face and, above all, oscillations in the body that we need to know to know how to deal with.

Mental fog is one of them. The inevitable decrease in estrogen levels leads to changes in cognitive processes : difficulty concentrating, recording new data, making decisions as fast as before…

It is a common phenomenon that can be managed with proper strategies and with the help of our doctors.

How to treat mental fog

After receiving a proper diagnosis based on the symptoms itself, what needs to be done, without a doubt, is to treat the underlying problem: follow medical guidelines if it is fibromyalgia, better manage stress or change the diet if it is gluten intolerance.

The first step, therefore, must always be to follow the medical guidelines that the specialists give us. The second step is to “mentalize”. The mental fog needs to be faced calmly, being aware that fear, stress and anxiety itself tend to intensify the phenomenon even more.

Guidelines for coping with the mental fog

On a daily basis, it is worth considering these simple strategies that will undoubtedly be very useful.

• Inform people around you about what you are going through. This will help them to have more patience, repeat things, speak more slowly or notice if at some point we are experiencing a “flight”, an absence.

• Every time you leave the house, take a sheet with you on which everything you plan to do that day is written.
• When you feel the mental fog, sit in a quiet place and relax. Try to remain calm at all times.
• Always carry your keys and your cell phone with you, in your pockets.
• Start doing simple mental exercises today: puzzles, online stimulation and concentration games, read books, do sudokus…

The most important thing in these cases is to have the support of your friends and family. Try to normalize these situations, avoid becoming obsessed with it and, if you wish, look for groups of people who are also experiencing the same problem. Be aware that maintaining a positive and relaxed attitude will prevent this condition from damaging your living spaces and your right to be happy.