Unable to Organize Thoughts

[its2much]

Does anyone find themselves unable to organize their thoughts? I'm involved in a legal proceeding and have great difficulties in expressing myself effectively. I hesitate and put off talking to people as I can't get my thoughts together. I always forget to mention a few points, even when I write them down. Sometimes I look at what I've written and can't remember what it means or why I wrote it down.
I also have great difficulty in making decisions. IS there anything that can help with this?

[mac1ntosh]

Sounds like you've been bitten by the cog fog bug. I believe there are medications that can help. I am not aware of what they may be called, but I'm sure someone here knows.

I feel your pain. Some days I don't know what - who - where either.

It's one of the worst symptoms (invisible), IMO.

jody

[Marco]

quite often when I respond
when I respond I often repeat
i start the same thought several times
i am trying to explain that when responding
then i start over because i find myself repeating
it's so frustrating because I want to say something
frustration makes my repeating even worse
so then I have 5-8 semi-sentences
repeating one single thought several times
or a group of thoughts repeating
over and over and over
all the thoughts combined make sense
and I haven't made my point
because the thoughts repeat so many times
but I know what I want to say so clearly
but when writing i struggle so i just repeat it

becomes this

Then after I have all these strange semi-sentences. I start combining them into shorter versions cutting out the rambling. Until I have something that almost make sense. By this time I am frustrated, but feeling less insane.

becomes this
Writing and organizing thoughts is a challenge for me, but I fight off cognitive issues by working out my brain.


I would talk to your neurologist or family doctor about an evaluation for speech therapy. Some doctors may try medications for ADHD/ADD. You also could try the games @ msworld or look at the website luminosity.com for brain games.

[4boysmom]

I do have the trouble making decisions problem. Even thinking of something to eat becomes a big deal!

[mgoerke]

I just started Ritalin for this problem. So far it is really helping!

[newbie but goodie]

wow, I just posted a similar question! I am having some serious focus issues, its2much, so i can really relate.

[mjan]

Sorry for what you are going through. Yes, I have had this so bad when I was working especially, that I remember saying, I cannot think my next thought! Mental fatigue plus all the other stuff, like word find.

I do notice than when I do a healthy "cleanse" it improves. And when I change my diet eliminating processed foods, sugar and carbs, my head clears more.

Try that. I did the Dr Oz 21 day cleanse. I had more energy and clearer thinking than before.

Good luck. Let us know how you are doing,

Warmly, Jan

[Yogi]

I've definitely been struggling with this, too. Writing down complete thoughts helps me. I used to be able to write a couple words and know what I want to address verbally, but that just confuses me now. I end up trying to remember why I chose those words and what the subject was. If I write down the thought in a complete, info-packed sentence, I do much better at covering the topics I wanted to cover. I also end up check-marking what I just covered so I don't distract myself on the next topics by trying to remember where I was in the list.

On decisions, I make a "Pros" and "Cons" list to help me weigh my options.

When I'm really spinning my wheels, I make out a to-do list for the day (or even half day at a time) and consult it often, checking off when I've completed a task. Even if I have to resort to "Take sausage out of freezer to thaw in frig" sort of details, I don't let it worry me. Fretting about the need to do it seems to make it harder to organize my thoughts productively. The calmer my mind, the better it is corralled.