YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Hi there, I'm new here.
Right now I'm experiencing some pretty crippling brain fog or inertia. I feel like my mind is a tiny box and complete, complex thoughts can't be formed and simple ones only stay so long. It's like I'm walking around in a mist, and I'm craving mental stimulation but I can't think well enough to do the things I'd generally do to acquire that, like reading or writing. On top of that is the inertia, and I just get stuck sitting on my bed on the internet, not doing much of anything, but I can't make myself get up and do things. I'm not really sure how to deal with or get rid of this brain fog, and it's just agonizing.

Hey Squash, I hear ya. It's why I spend hours on the computer on the weekends, not eating for hours, sometimes not showering all weekend.

For me, it's been podcasts & walks. Easier now with the warmer weather (for me at least). The reason podcasts help is two fold. 1) Someone else's voice(s) in my head so I don't have to listen to mine. 2) The mental stimulation, gaining new information or hearing a comedy sketch unfold organically.

The walks are to give myself visual stimulation as well as much needed exercise. We do require it. Think of a dog that isn't taken out for walks & chasing balls, they get bored & destructive. I am by no means fit, but I do walk a lot, and I know it can help. My goal is to pick a podcast at least an hour long and be out of my house for the entire time. Maybe not just walking, window shopping, sitting on a bench to watch the world (I guess that works in the city mostly). Taking pictures of stuff you find along the way.

The most important thing is to take care of yourself. Perhaps this is your mind saying you need a break? Not sure of your story, but if there's been recent heavy shit, you may just be going through a much needed hiatus.

Hope it works out for you.

Thanks. I'm thinking it might be boredom. I've been in school for most of my life (I'm 22 and spent 4 years at community college) and I've taken a year off before transferring to an actual proper 4 year college. So I'm just working at a grocery store right now and not really doing much else. I'm hoping it'll go away once I get back into school. It comes and goes, too. Sometimes it clears up for a few weeks and then comes back full force. So I get little reprieves. So yeah, I'm hoping that getting to school at the end of August will help that go away.

i very much identify with you. I spend lots of time on things I don't enjoy doing.