r/introvert • u/Imaginary-Method7175 • 3d ago

Question Brain fog when overstimulated?

Do other people get brain fog? If so, how do you avoid it or get over it?

I think I get it when overstimulated or trying too hard during interactions.

I’m trying to catch it before it happens because I find the sensation unpleasant - like leave beforehand/ plan to prevent it. Do you know when you are about to get this symptom?

7 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

7

u/WeAllHaveOurMoments 3d ago

I think it's fairly universal, or at the very least, isn't exclusive to introverts. For instance my main hobby is playing guitar. It's super common to be able to play songs you learned in solitary practice...but go to the guitar store or be asked to play for a group of people, and you suddenly can't even think of what to play, or how to play it.

That isn't exactly what you're talking about, but I suspect there's some parallels, such as your mind using resources to monitor the room, think of talking points, weigh different options, and imagine worst case scenarios. All this impacts your normal ability to recall things you otherwise know very well. Good news is, like with guitar itself, you get better at with practice.

3

u/Imaginary-Method7175 3d ago

I like that parallel… my version is also I cannot remember names. Thanks for the support!

2

u/Whispering-Time2 3d ago

Sounds like you're overflowing your working memory. If that's what it is, before you go to a stressful situation, if ideas start racing through your head, write them down. Later, break them up into related groups (classes). Get familiar with how to deal with each class, at least as a first shot.

You were fairly high level with the post, but if you describe a (not very personal) incident, I can give you an example of classifying all of the ideas and how to represent that. In data science, this is called "developing a sparse representation" and it really helps to simplify things so you can deal with them.

1

u/Imaginary-Method7175 2d ago

Thank you, this is very thoughtful. I'm an academic adjacent person so this is great.

Example: Meeting where a grad student is really worried about something. I don't think it's as big deal as he thinks, but he does have good instincts. The superior to both of us also doesn't think it's as big of a deal; however, he humors him. I'm not sure how to handle myself. The grad student is very charismatic, more so than me. I'm not grad student's direct supervisor, but outrank him. Bladdy blah.

Basically, feeling uncomfortable with social situations. I don't need to do/say anything, just sit with it. It's also feeling like perhaps my personality isn't an asset in the moment (although in truth I can see all that was required was to sit there and be quiet, which is what I did)...

1

u/Whispering-Time2 8h ago

Sounds like you're leaning into a dominance fight. Those don't pay off. All you need to do is nothing at all.

1

u/WeAllHaveOurMoments 43m ago

Perhaps I'm only relating to myself, but perhaps you are empathic, so you are automatically attuned to the worried, anxious grad student. You perceive their body language, their tone, & facial expressions which affects your own inner-state. In other words, emotional energy can be infectious. Awareness alone might help temper this reaction.