Hi Katrina,
Thank you so much for your question. We are sorry to hear about your stroke and the difficulties you’re experiencing with the “busyness” in your brain. There are a few things we would suggest.
See an occupational therapist or neuropsychologist for an assessment or reassessment of your cognition or thinking skills to get a good baseline of your thinking abilities. Attention and concentration can be affected after stroke and there are things you can do to help. For example, focusing on one thing at a time, not having too many tabs open on your computer, setting a timer to work for short periods of time and taking regular rest breaks. Please find more information and our fact sheet here:
https://enableme.org.au/Resources/Thinking-and-Perception
See a psychologist to work on strategies to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and overwhelm. Mindfulness meditation and mindfulness based strategies are effective at increasing focus/attention and memory as well as reducing anxiety. Most styles of meditation have what is called an ‘anchor’ to focus on and this helps to (re)train the brain, improve clarity and attention. A number of survivors in our community have found mindfulness and meditation helpful.
https://enableme.org.au/en/Community/Podcasts/Depression-and-anxiety
Some stroke survivors complain of brain fog and busyness in the mind after stroke. You can find a good conversation with some other practical suggestions on a similar topic here. It looks like you may have even contributed to the earlier conversations.
If you would like to discuss anything in more detail or require further advice, information or support, please call us on StrokeLine on 1800 787 653 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) to speak to a health professional.
Best wishes,
Simone (Occupational therapist for StrokeLine)
Hi Kat,
Here are some more comments:
Karen: Katrina, what you're experiencing may be different to what I experience, which is sensory over stimulation. I find limiting my exposure to busy environments helps and spending regular time alone, still, in silence to allow my brain to decompress. I also prioritise things that need focused attention early in the day. I also swear by these https://mightyplugs.com/
Kazz: To do lists can help. Write down what you need to do for the assignment so you can refer back to it and keep on track.
Cassandra: My Dad finds having a bath helps, he never liked baths pre Stroke but has them now. Water in itself is very calming & helps him relax and block out outside ‘distractions ‘ both in his brain and in general. Have you noticed whenever someone is upset or not themselves that usually they’re offered a glass of water? It helps because it’s distracting them & the actual act of holding the glass & drinking is helping to decrease their other heightened emotions. Good luck
Kate: Noise cancelling headphones have thoroughly changed my study. Half of that is just the association, but they also block the external distractions. I also write down fleeting thoughts if they’re important. Otherwise just acknowledge them and let them go.
It gets easier with practice.
Joanie: You can get background music, maybe spa or relaxation music that helps focus your mind on a task. Nothing with lyrics and not too loud, but it can help some people. And when you’re planning a task or feeling anxious, writing a list can be useful. If you’re having trouble sleeping, writing a list of what you need to do the next day can help with anxiety.
Tara: I usually have a horse race running in my head... hate horse racing lol. Another was a heavy metal band on repeat. Thankfully 2.5 yrs on it comes and goes now. It was constant.
Thanks for sharing this Diana! I found white noise really helpful, particularly waves and crackling fire. This one is my favourite. It's interesting that both the nightlight for baby and the rocker I was given both have white noise settings - Oliver prefers wave sounds over the others and I must say I quite agree!
On a side note ever since having the caesarean I've had two "nonsense phrases" stuck in my head - I couldn't make sense of these words, they'd go around and around in my head, particularly when I was anxious. I've come to realise one is the name of a journalist who was killed and the other is the name of a TV show. They both make sense now and have largely disappeared out of my brain. Funny, it was almost like my brain was repeating them in an effort to make sense out of them. The only thing that helped when it was a problem was white noise!
I've really notice this too post stroke.
I keep lists, but not simple lists, quite detailed, its very aggravating to write them, but its a mind dump. Makes me feel like the list is an anxious or OCD trend, but its very effective at de-cluttering the head
I also change the brain channel, read as much as possible to get rid of the busyness - a good mystery to direct the range of scattered thoughts.
And knitting - odd that having a pattern, something to do with my hands and an outcome has really worked. Nothing too hard as I still find it hard to concentrate for any length of time.