When the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline and/or norepinephrine are present for too long or in excessive quantities, they overwhelm and exhaust the brain. And this state of fatigue is where brain fog enters the loop of anxiety brain fog.
Brain fog, foggy head anxiety symptoms description:
It feels like you have a foggy head, foggy mind. You have difficulty thinking, concentrating, and/or forming thoughts. Your thinking feels like it is muddled and impaired. Some people describe this symptom as being “foggy-headed” or having a “foggy head.”
Brain fog is also common if you have depression, anxiety or stress. While recovering from coronavirus (COVID-19), some people experience brain fog symptoms for a short time while others may experience brain fog for several months or longer. Speak to your GP if you're worried about your symptoms.
The feeling of your mind going blank under stress happens when hormones, such as cortisol, flood our systems. These hormones “invade the brain's pre-frontal cortex and the hippocampus, disrupting neuronal activity and our normal brain patterns”, explain olwcation.com.
It feels like the brain is suddenly flushed with adrenaline or cortisol, and that makes the head feel pressurized. It feels like the “brain” has been flushed with hot fluid, causing the brain to feel “hot,” “tingly,” or flushed feeling. Some people describe this symptom as having a “hot brain” feeling.
People who have anxiety disorders1 may become anxious for seemingly no reason at all, which is why they might often think, "I feel like I'm losing my mind." Either way, anxiety and anxiety disorders can make us feel out of control, and can make us feel as though we are “going crazy” or losing our minds.
Everyone spaces out from time to time. While spacing out can simply be a sign that you are sleep deprived, stressed, or distracted, it can also be due to a transient ischemic attack, seizure, hypotension, hypoglycemia, migraine, transient global amnesia, fatigue, narcolepsy, or drug misuse.
Chronic, untreated anxiety is linked to panic attacks, depression, substance abuse, brain fog and other serious issues.
When anxiety monopolizes the brain, other tasks suffer—including processing information, concentration, paying attention, and remembering. The result can feel like brain fog, a state that causes people to act spaced-out, distracted, or forgetful.
Brain imaging can reveal unsuspected causes of your anxiety. Anxiety can be caused by many things, such as neurohormonal imbalances, post-traumatic stress syndrome, or head injuries. Brain scans can offer clues to potential root causes of your anxiety, which can help find the most effective treatment plan.
Anxiety is typically related with speeding up of thinking and processing, whereas brain fog is frequently associated with the opposite: racing thoughts can make people hyper vigilant, and anxieties can keep people awake, edgy, and restless.
Specifically, researchers believe that high anxiety may cause nerve firing to occur more often. This can make you feel tingling, burning, and other sensations that are also associated with nerve damage and neuropathy. Anxiety may also cause muscles to cramp up, which can also be related to nerve damage.
The term “brain fog” is commonly used when experiencing a lack of mental clarity or distractedness. Stress, certain health conditions and medications can cause brain fog in some people. Brain fog isn't dangerous and doesn't indicate worsening cognitive function — but it can be annoying to deal with.
However, epinephrine is the primary chemical because it is directly involved in your anxiety symptoms. When you experience an anxious moment, the amount of epinephrine circulating in your body will instantly increase in response to whatever has triggered your anxiety.
This can be caused by overworking, lack of sleep, stress, and spending too much time on the computer. On a cellular level, brain fog is believed to be caused by high levels inflammation and changes to hormones that determine your mood, energy and focus.
Pathological anxiety and chronic stress lead to structural degeneration and impaired functioning of the hippocampus and the PFC, which may account for the increased risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and dementia.
feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax. having a sense of dread, or fearing the worst. feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing down. feeling like other people can see you're anxious and are looking at you.
Anxiety leads to numbing or zoning out. This is a way for the mind to protect itself from experiences that may be too overwhelming for our brains to process all at once. For example, it is very common for victims of trauma, such as during a car accident or sexual assault, to forget all or a part of that experience.
Passing feelings of depersonalization or derealization are common and aren't necessarily a cause for concern. But ongoing or severe feelings of detachment and distortion of your surroundings can be a sign of depersonalization-derealization disorder or another physical or mental health disorder.
feel overwhelmed — unable to concentrate or make decisions. be moody — feeling low or depression; feeling burnt out; emotional outbursts of uncontrollable anger, fear, helplessness or crying. feel depersonalised — not feeling like themselves or feeling detached from situations.
Most people with anxiety disorders never fully eliminate their anxiety. However, they can learn how to control their feelings and greatly reduce the severity of their anxiety through therapy (and medication if needed).