Feeling foggy?

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I don't really know how to be productive while dealing with this so I will ask.
Due to stress, I've been in this weird state. I feel like I am almost detached from myself, foggy, and like I can only have half thoughts. I worry that I have been a little incoherent even.

The only thing I can focus on for more than a few moments it seems, are my special interests, which I have been getting drawn into more than normal. Forgetting time even.

And I keep getting obsessed with little things for a long time, like yesterday I spent hours refreshing social media including wrong planet, just refreshing it.

I have school work I need to do. I get anxious while doing school work, because I suck at it and seem to have trouble following directions. I seem to be almost incapable of school work at all right now- I just can't focus.

Any ideas how to get past this, and also get school work done? I'm already behind, as always.

It's not easy to help with this. You need to reduce the stress and to sleep more. Within your dreams you'll find ways to better deal with your problems. It's what dreams are for.

One thing that you have to learn is that the biggest enemy in your life is your own anxiety. You are so much into it that you stop to act as rational as you have to. Stop any anxiety if you can and just start to make always the best out of your situation without worrying to much about the several problems. You may solve them or not but your anxiety causes you to solve much less or even none of them.

You have unspecified learning disorders. Any chance it's ADHD? If so, you could get a prescription drug that helps you focus when you need to.

Other than that, I just wonder about your current status. Any big changes in your life now, or anticipated ones in the future?

I find that my stereotypies (stims, refreshing social media pointlessly, etc) worsen when under stress or anticipating a big change.

I don't think I have ADHD, because you have to have symptoms of ADHD before the age of 12, and I don't think I had any until at least 14ish. But my oldest sister has very severe ADHD, so it is possible I suppose.

My mom's about to get married, the last time I did math I nearly had a panic attack again, My little brother (Who I adore) is getting way more mobile and has started trying to climb on things he shouldn't, school has been hard for me even in classes I am traditionally good at (And I keep struggling in my child development class because I make the mistake of using my development for reference and apparently mine was more wacky than I thought, and in general my difficulty with multi step directions is becoming more apparent with a lot of the assignments.) one of the bathrooms broke, so I was forced to give up mine, I'm worried about the extra year of school I'm going to have to take while most of my class will be moving on to collage, and my mom keeps trying to plan trips, All three cars broke down and relatives keep wanting to visit to see my brother.

It sounds a bit like it could be derealization or depersonalization. I've only had the former, but I recall that it made concentrating very difficult. A foggy state of mind is a very accurate description of the feeling. I've heard that it can come with a type of apathy that makes it difficult to focus on things that a person isn't passionate about. It's a common reaction to stress.

Then again, I have a learning disorder, too. It makes my visual attention span very poor (apparently, your different senses can have different 'attention spans' - I learned that through cognitive testing). When I have trouble, usually when I struggle to focus on reading a textbook, I'll switch to a method of absorption that's easier for me to "get into." I might find lectures on a subject, for example, because concentrating on and absorbing something auditory comes more naturally to me on a bad day.

You say that your learning disorder is unspecified - did you still have your deficits explained to you by the doctor who diagnosed you?

There's such a thing as adult-onset ADHD, so I wouldn't make much of that age thing - and you have a strong family history, with your sister. I think it's worth getting a second opinion.

Lots of changes going on in your life. A tutor (at home) might help you plow through your homework. I suggest you talk with either the school or your mother about it.

I know it's hard to get attention in a family with a lot going on, as you describe yours. But I do recommend you talk to your mother and let her know you are having some difficulty. Try to remain calm when you ask her; it is all too easy to get pushed into a corner where you raise your voice and cry and throw things, but that is usually not the best way to get what you need.

I was gonna suggest derealization & depersonalization. I had that when I was going through a psychotic depression. They can be signs of sever nonpsycotic depression too. Getting on an antidepressant that also helps with anxiety might would help if your not already on one & if you are a med change is in order.

Nutrition

Medication

Sleep

Tutoring

Meditation



Since I was 13 I have felt like that

I may have the possibility of ADHD, along with derealization/depersonalization looked into when I get reevaluated, though that will be a while. I have been thinking about a med change, because I'm on a very low dose on my current med and whenever I bump it up I feel like it makes me a bit manic, but that also with likely have to wait until the reevaluation which is in February.

I've been trying to get a tutor, but for whatever reason it keeps falling through.

It's been hard to talk to my mom because she is also stressed out, so whenever I try to talk to her about these things she gets mad and thinks I'm attacking her.

"You say that your learning disorder is unspecified - did you still have your deficits explained to you by the doctor who diagnosed you?"

When I was diagnosed, I was about nine or ten and my ODD was still really bad, so it was hard for the psychiatrist to pick out what was from my extreme stubbornness and what was from learning disabilities. It also seems to be a bit of a cocktail deal so it wasn't super strait forward to people. So, not really.

Anything that I can do now, for myself, to help?
Like the suggestion of switching media while studying? (I already do this)

I sometimes feel "foggy."

I was diagnosed with autism at a very young age. I was also diagnosed with 'brain-damage" at a very young age.

I believe I have many characteristics of "inattentive" ADHD.

ADHD became a "thing" about the middle to late 1970s.

I'm sorry to hear that! detachment can be part of autism I think but often associated with depression. I don't feel foggy per say but get brain fog.

Can you drop by the guidance counselor's office and explain that you want a tutor but it has fallen through? Sometimes a staff member can do things that a student, alone, cannot. You might also talk to the counselor about all the changes at home and how stressed you feel with schoolwork.

You are not weird or different for this struggle. Lots of NT kids would have the same issues. It's good that you are asking for help.

Oh, one other idea. I don't know if you need every credit, but is there any chance you could drop one class and make that a study hall? Are you able to get homework done in study halls? Some people can and others cannot. (Thinking back to my own high school years, study hall was a time for the "bad kids" to blow spit wads around the room and put a tack on the teacher's chair.)

It's hard to suggest specific aids without knowing what the root problem is. Are you aware of any specific weaknesses you have, beyond subjects? Like do you know why you struggle with math? I know that might be a hard question to answer - learning disorders, especially the ones that differ from the conventional sorts like dyslexia, are hard to be self-aware about. I always assumed my poor math scores were the result of laziness - didn't suspect a LD at all. But maybe you struggle with some kinds of math more than others, and that might give you an idea of the root problem. And do you struggle in any other subjects?

Reduce excessive internet