Do you ever feel as if you are outside your own body, perhaps beside yourself as if you are watching yourself navigate through life as if it was some type of reality T.V show? People who suffer from PTSD often feel this way. As if we are almost living in a foggy haze yet we can see ourselves in this haze. Experts like to call this Brain Fog or commonly known as Brain Fatigue. It can be mild to severe, an episode of mental confusion that can strike without warning. It is common to have lack of focus, poor memory recall and reduced mental acuity. I like to call it, “living in a haze.”
My experience
This past few week I have been experiencing this brain fog more often than I use to. I am not sure why my life is more in a haze then a few weeks ago but, it definitely is. They say that brain fog is kind of like your brain is shutting down, this could be from stress. Well of course we have stress, we live with PTSD. The key to identify is are we dealing with more stress. I was driving down the street the other day, week day, middle of the afternoon, and raining. I didn’t even realize that Christmas is right around the corner so what does this mean? All the last-minute shoppers are fighting to get those gifts, not to mention this pandemic is already screwing with people’s minds and making it even harder for people to go shopping because of the long lines just to get into the store and lack of money to buy the gifts they want to buy but, that is a completely other topic that has to do with temporary or short-term mental illness. So, I am driving down the street, the traffic is crazy, cars and people all over the place. Typically, this would be no big deal for me, I love the big cities, I love the big crowds, well I guess that’s all in the past because my stress level was through the roof. As cars were cutting me off, no turn signals, just complete chaos, I found myself becoming very anxious, very angry. Road rage began to take over, naturally, us with PTSD understand. As I was reaching my peak, everything began to slow down. My thinking, slowed, my stress was still there but in a different kind of way. My body was absorbed by some type of invisible haze, a fog of some sorts. I began feeling outside of myself. I had the ability to see exactly what I was doing in the 3rd person view. Although this would scare the hell out of most people, not me, it’s definitely not the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, it’s pretty common in people with PTSD. Now I can’t seem to shake this haze. It’s been a few days now, from morning to morning it exists. No matter what I do to try to stimulate my brain, it just doesn’t seem to be enough, besides the fact it takes nearly triple the energy to stimulate my brain these days, unlike most healthy people.
What is brain fog
There are many reasons why someone could experience brain fog, it can occur if you are experiencing chronic stress, fatigue, and of course if you have Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. So, is it normal, nope, not at all? Is it normal for us, suffering from PTSD, you bet it is? According to the trauma practice, brain fog symptoms can include the following:
- Feeling as if your head is cloudy or foggy
- Lack of mental clarity
- Tired eyes
- Sense of detachment from what is going on in the moment
- Feel emotional quickly
- The feeling as if you need to work extra hard to process everyday task for everyday life
- Difficulty concentrating
- Mind constantly wondering
- Forgetting simple task
- Feeling chronically fatigued with no reason
We can overcome it
For many of us, brain dog is a constant thing while living with PTSD and at some points throughout our time, for me, about 75% of the day, we experience brain fog. For some of us, brain fog is no different then living all day, every day, in a haze. What do we do to combat this brain fog? To be honest, I don’t have the answers. I never claimed to be a medical professional but still, even they do not have the answers, just theories. Experts believe that for one, treatment from a “professional”, and diet. They like to believe that vitamin B12, vitamin D, and Omega-3 essential fatty acids can do the trick. Now for most of us, we probably are not deficient in these. Most of us, especially if you are a veteran, well at least the veterans I know, still attempt to live a healthy lifestyle. I am by no way, throwing this out the window, try it, maybe it will help. It doesn’t take a PhD to understand the importance of a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle but, for most of us who live with PTSD, it is nearly impossible to do this although we like to try. How many of you suffering from PTSD eat 3 balanced meals per day? Get a good 8-10 hours of sleep at night? Exactly, I didn’t think so. Between the demons clawing at us at night and the brain fog during the day, it is nearly impossible to do this but, we must try. As for the ones supporting that person with PTSD, remember this, you are the support, it is up to you to assist and help provide this lifestyle for them, if you can, or at least understand what brain fog is, and why it is.
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About the author
Keith served in the U.S. Army for over 22 years. With multiple Combat Deployments, he learned all to much about the “Invisible Wounds” that many suffer with. Diagnosed with Severe PTSD, Keith has become an advocate for Mental Health and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Through writing and public speaking he heals as he helps others heal. He is the Founder of Cars4Awareness, Inc. and the CEO of Old Sarge Company, LLC.
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