ADHD-Related Brain Fog: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options

brain feels like mush

You may have difficulty making up your mind, which means small decisions become a big deal. You may need more coffee to focus, more snacks to stay awake, and a couple of glasses of wine to fall asleep at night. In more severe cases, you might have headaches, problems with your vision, or even nausea.

brain feels like mush

Mood disorders

  • Brain fog is pretty much what it sounds like—a hazy, zoned-out feeling that makes focusing a major challenge.
  • They can get to the bottom of the problem and recommend the right treatment to help you clear your head.
  • Here’s what the research says about the connection between ADHD and that foggy feeling.

Be patient and remember that brain fog isn’t always something you can fix overnight. If you’ve been improving things like your sleep, activity levels, and eating habits but the fogginess still persists, there’s a chance it might be related to hormones or other medical issues. Pinpointing the root of the problem is necessary to find relief.

brain feels like mush

Inflammatory causes of brain fog

But if you consistently feel like your brain health isn’t as good as usual, you may need to take action to find relief. The good news is that you can recover from cognitive brain fog by identifying its symptoms and knowing when to seek help. Start by assessing your lifestyle and make tweaks that will support your cognitive health. Breaking up projects into small steps and writing things down can also help when you feel overloaded.

Bad sleep habits

In these situations, we can usually forgive ourselves for our temporary brain-lock and move on. Ben did not have a brain tumor, a migrating blood clot or stroke. This possibility didn’t occur to me since I didn’t know that migraines can mimic serious neurological mush brain symptoms. Ben’s migraines were indeed from hell, but this diagnosis was a huge relief. Getting to the root cause can help you start to take control of the situation.

To me, it feels like being lost in a slow-moving haze while the rest of the world speeds past. Imagine that moment when you walk into a room and can’t remember what you were doing–except it lasts all day. Similarly, a drop in estrogen levels during menopause can cause forgetfulness, poor concentration, and cloudy thinking, according to 2019 research. Once you figure out the underlying cause, you can begin managing it.

Your limbs might feel heavy, your eyes droopy, your energy zapped. Our leading medical providers and health coaches heal the root cause of health concerns with a personalized care plan and year-round support. Our root-cause resolution medicine has helped thousands feel better, with 85% of members reducing symptoms in their first year. To eat to beat brain fog , stick to plant-based Paleo (mostly vegetables, enough protein, and always some good fats).

  • You can do this by incorporating more meditation and yoga into your routine.
  • In a crisis, most of us can readily identify anxiety as the culprit behind our poor mental functioning.
  • For example, gluten intolerance can lead to cognitive dysfunction via inflammatory pathways.
  • Treatment with medication may improve some brain fog symptoms — but some medications may actually worsen mental fatigue.
  • Your provider may also recommend lifestyle changes, like eating healthy meals and getting better sleep, to improve how your immune system functions.

Some research suggests that an adequate intake of vitamins B12, C, and D, may help maintain or improve cognitive function. Brain fog can hinder your work, life, and peace of mind, but you don’t have to live with it. Lifestyle changes and advice from a healthcare provider can help. Schedule a free call  to learn more about our root-cause approach, how to pay for Parsley Health with insurance, and how we can personalize your health journey. Heavy metals are everywhere in our daily lives—our food, beauty products, and even teeth fillings.

brain feels like mush

Manage Your Stress

However, it often improves when a person gets effective treatment the underlying cause. A person can also take steps to help improve the symptom with lifestyle changes and other treatments. Strategies to help with memory and concentration can make the situation more manageable in cases where brain fog is part of a long-term condition.

Brain Fog

  • Sometimes, even when you devote all of your mental resources to a project, it still falls short of what you’d consider your best, or even good work.
  • In more severe cases, you might have headaches, problems with your vision, or even nausea.
  • That experience ignited a passion for public health communication, and she’s been writing about how to make healthcare inclusive and accessible ever since.

This can help prevent panic and make it easier to move smoothly from task to task. A hug from a friend or family member or a cuddle session with your pet can still give you a mental boost. Try to devote at least 2.5 hours to moderate exercise each week, but aim to do more if you can. Cutting back on sleep may seem like a good way to get more things done, but the more likely outcome is that you’ll feel exhausted and take longer to get things done.

brain feels like mush

Medical Conditions

  • The hospital was only a couple of minutes away, but I doubted my ability to find my way there, locate the emergency entrance, park, and sign my name.
  • Once the underlying cause is addressed, your mental clarity can improve.
  • It also can help to get to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
  • There’s more to healing than medication.Identify ways to improve your autoimmune care and find out if WellTheory is right for you.

The challenging thing about dealing with brain fog is that you sometimes simply feel too, well, foggy to implement some of the strategies that will help. If you’re struggling, here are some tips and tricks that helped me (and might help you) find your way through the haze. “It’s important to reach out to your doctor when brain fog becomes frequent or severe enough to interfere with daily life,” Dr. Faynboym says. There are times when it’s all about how you’re treating yourself. Poor sleep, dehydration, stress, overwork, or an unbalanced diet can make it hard to think clearly.

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