3 Tips for Battling Brain Fog

Is it just me or is this latest full moon bringing up ALL the juju? The good, the bad, the things to sort through, the things to move on from. For me, these past couple of days have been quite the ride. Blame it on the moon (or these tricky hormones, or BOTH) but I have been spending so much time in my emotions, with my brain foggy and my mind far, far away from work and productive thoughts. 

This is always hard for me because I am such an optimistic, high-energy person. When low energy or negative thoughts come around— my first response is: “I don’t want it. I’m annoyed. Take it away.” For me, negative thoughts and emotions feel so heavy and, rather than doing the (sometimes arduous) work of acknowledging and releasing them, I’d rather just say to myself that these feelings are “hella annoying!” and “I’m just going to ignore them until they go away". Ha! 

Well, I’m sure we all know that’s not how things are set up. That’s not how any of this works! Any energy— “good”, “bad”, heavy, hard, high, low…requires time and space to exist, affect and move on. I’m also pretty sure that this (my avoidance) is why I am experiencing brain fog. My body is using so much of my mental and energetic space avoiding the obvious that my ability to focus and be productive is just…well, maybe, last on my body’s list of things-to-do?

So, how do we weed our way through brain-fog, negative thoughts and negative self-talk? There are many ways, but, here are a few ways that have worked for me:

1. Get to the root of the issue. When I notice an unexpected or distracting change in my behavior, I sit for a moment, get quiet with myself and examine the possible cause. A tell-tale sign that I am in a heavy emotional space is my tendency to obsess on tiny things. For example, last week, I noticed I was having trouble concentrating and being productive -however- I was laser-focused on finding “the perfect pancake recipe” (distraction). I picked up on this and asked myself— “What’s really going on here?” The answer: I realized that something someone said to me had a bigger impact on me than I originally felt, and I needed to work through that.

2. Give yourself space (and breathe). Taking a few moments alone (even 5 minutes of deep breaths during your lunch break works). Your body needs time and space to release the things that pop up on any given day. Give yourself a moment to acknowledge, even welcome, these pop-ups and you will probably notice a change in the way that they impact your day.

3. Do something. Getting into my body has always been helpful for me. Cleaning my house, going to a yoga class, or even folding laundry helps me get out of my mind and into my body. Focusing on the details of these activities and the movement of my body gives my mind the space it needs to explore and release negative thoughts, criticizing self-talk, or pent-up energy.

Have you been in a fog lately? How do you work through (or self-care your way through) unwanted emotions, negative thoughts and the like?

Leave a comment below! I’d love to continue the conversation!