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17 Jun 2025 12:33 AM - edited 17 Jun 2025 12:35 AM
17 Jun 2025 12:33 AM - edited 17 Jun 2025 12:35 AM
Hi everyone,
I'm reaching out because I've been feeling incredibly overwhelmed and stuck lately, and I'm hoping to get some perspectives and advice from others who might have experienced similar struggles. It feels like a lot of different things are converging, and I'm finding it hard to untangle them or even know where to start.
For a while now, I've been grappling with a persistent sense of brain fog. It makes it really hard to concentrate, think clearly, and even follow conversations sometimes. This has a significant impact on my ability to study, and I'm currently in medicine, which requires a lot of focus. The lack of clarity in my own mind is really distressing.
This brain fog seems to be connected to broader issues with communication. I find myself struggling to articulate my thoughts and feelings, and this spills over into my social interactions. I've also been experiencing heightened social anxiety, which makes even simple social situations feel incredibly daunting. I often feel like I'm not genuinely connecting with people, and that I'm putting on a bit of a performance, which leaves me feeling very inauthentic.
A recent experience that really shook me was being ghosted after what I thought was a really positive connection. This has exacerbated feelings of insecurity and made me question my social interactions even more. It's hard not to internalize it and wonder what I did wrong, even though I know logically it's often not about me.
On top of all this, I've noticed a pervasive feeling of not caring about anything, and a significant lack of motivation. This is particularly concerning given I'm studying medicine, something I thought I was passionate about. Now, it feels like a huge uphill battle, and I'm struggling to find any drive to engage with my studies or even things I used to enjoy. This lack of motivation is contributing to a general feeling of apathy and a sense of being disconnected from my own life.
Compounding these mental struggles is a physical issue: I'm dealing with a leg injury where I cant play sports for 2 years because of surgery and i used to love sports. While it's a physical problem, the pain and limitations it imposes are definitely affecting my mood and energy levels, and making it harder to engage in activities that might normally help with my mental well-being.
I guess I'm trying to figure out if these different elements are connected, and if so, how. Is the brain fog a symptom of something else? How do I start to address the social anxiety and feelings of inauthenticity when my mind feels so muddled? What can I do to try and reignite some motivation, especially for my studies, when I feel so numb? And how do I navigate the emotional impact of the ghosting while dealing with everything else?
I'm open to any advice, strategies, or even just hearing if anyone has gone through something similar. I'm feeling quite isolated with all of this and would really appreciate any insights the community might have.
Thank you for reading.
17 Jun 2025 12:46 PM
17 Jun 2025 12:46 PM
Hi @abi12, welcome to the forum.
It does sound like you have a lot of things piling up at the moment, and it can be really tough to deal with. I find myself in a similar situation with a range of issues similarly piling up and finding now that even simple things feel for more challenging due to feeling just so overwhelmed by everything. I think it just the combination of a number of things makes it more difficult to cope with that the sum of the individual issues.
I do find i helps to break things down into smaller more manageable tasks. It helps to make me feel less overwhelmed, which reduced the stress and allows me to focus on the small tasks more effectively. Then I can move on to the next.
You study for example. I assuming medicine must be quite demanding at the best of times. So it may be an idea to set up some smaller achievable goals in your study. Like focusing on whatever the current task is. Or even just to allow a certain amount of time to it. Breaking it into manageable parts may offer some relief from the pressure and allow you to reconnect with that passion you felt you had previously.
Likewise with social interactions. Reducing the pressure on yourself. I find it helpful in times like this to try and limit myself to more low-pressure interactions, More casual, simple conversations with people I trust. This takes at lot of pressure of me and allows be to be more 'myself' and I fel more confident as a result.
The ghosting definitely would hurt a lot. It does for anyone, and its okay to feel that. But its important to try not to let it define your worth. I tend to look at these things when they happen to me as "maybe I did do something wrong, so if I did, tell me and I could apologise." Ghosting just treats me with so much disrespect whether I did something wrong or not, so why should I allow someone that unsupportive of me, especially when going through a tough time, make me feel worse?! I don't need, or want, people like that around me at times like that. It still hurts obviously, but it's more about giving myself a reason and the permission to let it go and see myself as worth having more supportive people around me when I need them.
Is there any thing you can do to stay physically active that don't put any strain on your leg? I used to play a lot of sport as well when I was younger, and I miss it a lot. Not only because I enjoyed playing and it kept me active, but the social aspect of it as well. So maybe a walking group (depending on your leg obviously) or something else that you could do. Just to get that feeling of being active back, and if it was a group thing, then getting that casual social interaction back as well.
Hopefully, if you can reduce some of the stress, feel a little less overwhelmed, it will help the brain fog and feel a lot better about yourself and things will start looking up for you. And just be kind to yourself. Your doing a demanding course, you've been dealing with the effects of the leg injury for a couple of years now, confidence and some mental/cognitive issues are starting to take hold. Which is quite a common symptom of prolonged exposure stress and/or depression. It's a lot!
If I can use a sports metaphor, when you're getting pretty soundly beaten on the field, often the only solution is to go back to the basics. Like I said, you do seem to be dealing with a lot of different things at the same time and it's difficult and you're feeling the effects. That's not failure or weakness, it's being overwhelmed. Go back to basics. Focus on small things and reduce stress where you can. Try to do what physical activities you can and try to be kind to yourself. Try to simplify things and you might find the stress and brain fog becomes more manageable and you can start to feel more on top of things again and can start to take more on as a result as the motivation starts to return.
And keep reaching out for help and support, like you've done here. It takes a lot of courage, especially when you're dealing with so much. Just in doing this, you may find that helps you feel more supported and clarity about everything you're dealing with and that you're not alone in feeling the way you do right now.
17 Jun 2025 02:01 PM
17 Jun 2025 02:01 PM
17 Jun 2025 05:01 PM
17 Jun 2025 05:01 PM
@abi12 Welcome to the forums. I’m really sorry to hear about the struggles you have been facing. I know how it feels and how it can really impact on our lives.
It is awesome you are studying medicine. Well done on that achievement. I have postgraduate qualifications and I’m published in scientific journals. I know how challenging study can be. From my own experience breaking down study into smaller bits can help an awful lot. Also reaching out to your teachers for extra time and also to student services for some counselling might also be helpful. Counselling can support your request for extra time for anything due in. This includes more time for exams. Please remember that it’s ok for people studying medicine to reach out for support. It does not mean you’ll be a crap doctor and if anything your lived experience is likely to make you a much better doctor once you graduate and are working in the health care system with patients.
Feeling brain fog, overwhelmed, social anxiety etc. are all symptoms of psycho-social disability. They’re not much fun. You’re not going crazy but rather these feelings and symptoms are coming from the stress and/or any trauma you have experienced. Our brains can really do our heads in sometimes. For example, surgery and inability to play sport can cause trauma, depression and anxiety. For some people meditation, colouring in, dancing, walking, hanging out with trusted friends or family can help. There’s grounding exercises too that some people find useful.
You have not done anything wrong at all. Many people we thought were friends just ghost us when our mental health is suffering. It’s not you it’s actually them. See how on this forum you’ve found people who get it. Who are empathetic. You want to support you. That’s what is needed. You are awesome for reaching out here. It takes a lot of guts to do that. Whoever that person was they are not a good friend. We all need all weather friends not just friends who want to be around when the sun is shining.
You could also try journaling how you feel to get the emotions out. Also you don’t have to be super dooper productive each day. Surviving the day is enough. Looking after yourself can look like brushing your teeth that day. One step at a time in small bits can work well.
18 Jun 2025 01:50 AM
18 Jun 2025 01:50 AM
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