Let's talk about pandemic brain fail.

My brain is not working "normally" at this stage of the pandemic and I am guessing that's true for many of you, too. (THREAD)

My short term memory is erratic -- I feel like thoughts slide off my mental clipboard easily.

My brain is not as good, or as quick, at performing certain functions that are normally easy.

Mental tasks are complicated by a warped or non-existent sense of the passage of time.

In the case of degraded short term memory, at least for me, this is almost certainly due in part to the effects on the brain of elevated cortisol from ongoing stress.

Lowering cortisol helps (by lowering stress, supporting adrenals, directly addressing cortisol metabolism).

Ashwaganda helps manage cortisol on a daily basis, phosphatidylserine at bedtime helps lower cortisol and repair cortisol damage to the brain.* (*see next Tweet)

I'm a fan of Ashwagandha & Phosphatidylserine for cortisol management for myself; they are safe for most people in most circumstances -- but if you are on prescription meds, talk to your pharmacist about interactions, and absolutely do your own due diligence/talk to your doctor.

This thread talks about stress, cortisol, adrenal health, and self-care, with lots of actionable tips and practical advice: https://twitter.com/ShaulaEvans/status/1045871529521668097

Back to the main topic of pandemic brain fail. Sometimes my brain just won't perform complex tasks.

These limits are erratic and unpredictable. I front load my work and work at the "top of my brain." And, I try to be gentle and forgive myself when my brain is not available.

I also try to arrange my workflow to accommodate Pandemic Brain Fail by planning for lower efficiency: more check points, more quality control, longer (than normal) deadlines.

I am naturally hard on myself, but I find that by making an effort to be more generous and understanding about the cognitive challenges (and other hardships) other people are dealing with, I make more space to be more gentle with myself.

I'm lucky to have some amazing people in my life who are good role models for how to collaborate & communicate compassionately under the challenges of the pandemic era. I do my best to learn from them & emulate their examples.

I find clear, kind, gentle, early or timely proactive communication makes space to prevent or accommodate lower brain function and higher error rates. Plus it lowers stress, at least for me, to get out in front of problems before they escalate.

To recap:

Pandemic Brain Fail is widespread.

Kindness / Golden Rule helps.
Cortisol management helps.
Workflow management helps.
Gentle, timely communication helps.

Reducing stress would probably help, too, but . . . *gestures at everything.*

Are you finding your brain is working differently at this point in the pandemic (or in other situations of high stress)? What does and doesn't it do?

What are you doing for self-care that supports a functional level of brain function? What's working for you?

How are you working around reduced brain function? What tips do you have?

What unresolved challenges are you facing related to how the stress of the pandemic effects your brain? If you feel comfortable to share, the amazing people who follow me might have some suggestions. (I might, too.)

I want to add that as a brain-oriented person, it's really confusing to not have my standard brain there when I'm counting on it; I've had to rapidly invent new methods & systems -- all while (to some degree) cognitively impaired, i.e., doing more with less. Not ideal!

If you find yourself in this era renegotiating your working relationship with your brain, it's not just you. I'm right there with you as, I suspect, are many of us.

It's not just you, or me -- the pandemic is affecting how our brains work for (almost) all of us. Instead of trying to tackle our problems in isolation, let's talk about how we're dealing with this strange challenge and help each other out.

(It's not lost on me that this thread is itself Exhibit A for the topic of this thread: in different circumstances, it might be more clear or better organized. Thank you for reading generously.)