Unpacking Anxiety: Brain fog

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders in adults with a lifetime occurrence of roughly 30%. (1)  Many anxiety symptoms are easily and commonly recognized, like racing thoughts, excessive worry, heart rate increase, and shortness of breath. But did you know that anxiety symptoms may extend far beyond the symptoms listed above? 

“Brain fog” is a term for the common cognitive impairments that many suffering from anxiety face. Today we will take a deeper dive into understanding brain fog and how it connects with commonly occurring anxiety responses. 

So what is brain fog?  Brain fog is often loosely defined as a temporary state of “ diminished mental capacity marked by an inability to concentrate or to think or reason clearly.” (2) 

Symptoms of brain fog can include: 

• Feeling as though thoughts are cloudy or ill-defined

• Difficulty concentrating 

• Poor memory recall

• Reduced problem-solving abilities 

• Feeling that thinking is muddled or lacks clarity 

• Finding tasks more difficult than normal to complete 

• Forgetting things more readily 

• Just feeling “off” or as if the thoughts are in slow motion 

There are several potential reasons for brain fog to occur with anxiety. These include: 

• Cognitive overload- Our brains can only process so much information at a time, and if part of the anxiety symptoms includes thought fixation, thought rumination, and cognitive distress, there may be reduced capacities for “normal” cognitive processing. 

• Stress levels increase- Anxiety and stress are commonly discussed and occur together. This becomes increasingly important from a neurological standpoint as stress involves the release of the neurotransmitter cortisol. Cortisol in excess has been shown to reduce or inhibit executive function, (3)  which may be a significant factor in the brain that many who suffer from anxiety may experience.

• Lack of sleep or poor sleep quality— Insomnia or sleep distress is a common occurrence among many who suffer from anxiety (4). We also know that poor sleep quality is associated with decreased cognitive function. For those struggling with anxiety and experiencing poor sleep as a result, the connection to brain fog is a pretty easy one to make.

If you have experienced symptoms of brain fog associated with anxiety, it can be a frustrating and even at times scary experience. Partnering with a trained anxiety therapist for anxiety treatment can be a highly effective way to manage your symptoms and improve your cognitive function and ultimately, your quality of life. Anxiety is treatable and manageable with effective, evidence-based anxiety therapy. 

If you are located in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, Grand Prairie, or surrounding areas, our Arlington base therapy practice is ready to help. Whether you are looking specifically for anxiety therapy or think that your anxiety symptoms may be associated the trauma, addiction, or other co-occurring causes, our team of therapists is ready to help. We also offer anxiety therapy services through online therapy platforms for all residents of Texas. Contact us today and let a member of our team partner with you in your anxiety therapy journey.