Scatterbrain..?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 73
Scatterbrain..?
I'm on 35 days now... yay for me! I have little to no cravings to go back to the bottle but I'm still feeling what I'm assuming are normal symptoms of withdrawl..
I've been making a lot of small errors at work lately which are starting to get noticed by my boss and I'm afraid to lose my job because of it.
I am not 100% sure it's the withdrawl but I have a hard time focusing now. I get very scatterbrained where I can't concentrate and focus on things so I'm making little errors that I used to never make when I was drinking. I don't want to drink just to feel ok again, in fact I'm even afraid to drink now! But how can I get back to focusing? If this isn't a normal symptom of withdrawl then what is it? I feel like it's actually getting worse and not better as the days go on. The cravings get less and less but this lack of focus and concentration gets more and more.. any thoughts? Help??
I've been making a lot of small errors at work lately which are starting to get noticed by my boss and I'm afraid to lose my job because of it.
I am not 100% sure it's the withdrawl but I have a hard time focusing now. I get very scatterbrained where I can't concentrate and focus on things so I'm making little errors that I used to never make when I was drinking. I don't want to drink just to feel ok again, in fact I'm even afraid to drink now! But how can I get back to focusing? If this isn't a normal symptom of withdrawl then what is it? I feel like it's actually getting worse and not better as the days go on. The cravings get less and less but this lack of focus and concentration gets more and more.. any thoughts? Help??
Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 819
I am on day 42 and am having he same issue. I have always been the type who can multitask/focus on a bunch of things all at the same time and now....I just had this conversation with my husband 2 nights ago. We were discussing all the paperwork we needed to fill out to send my daughter to college next year and I was just spacing out. I told him to talk to me again in the morrning. I seem to have better focus then.
I am just assuming that my brain is now learning to function without being soaked in alcohol. Regardless of whether this improves for me or not, I just need to adjust to it. I will say that i now have an new addiction. My afternoon latte! Kind of perks me up when I slow down.
I am just assuming that my brain is now learning to function without being soaked in alcohol. Regardless of whether this improves for me or not, I just need to adjust to it. I will say that i now have an new addiction. My afternoon latte! Kind of perks me up when I slow down.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 73
I'm so glad (for me) that I'm not the only one here!
I'm so thankful I don't have cravings to drink.. except I feel like if I did drink I'd feel more normal but I'm not willing to sacrifice how far I've gotten for that.
My only fear is i'm going to lose my job due to this problem I'm having now.. I used to be so good at my job and now I'm just looking like a novice. I don't want to tell my boss it's because of my withdrawl! That would be embarrassing.. Although I would rather lose my job than ever go back to drinking.. well everything does happen for a reason so if I lose it due to my win over alcohol then so be it!
I'm so thankful I don't have cravings to drink.. except I feel like if I did drink I'd feel more normal but I'm not willing to sacrifice how far I've gotten for that.
My only fear is i'm going to lose my job due to this problem I'm having now.. I used to be so good at my job and now I'm just looking like a novice. I don't want to tell my boss it's because of my withdrawl! That would be embarrassing.. Although I would rather lose my job than ever go back to drinking.. well everything does happen for a reason so if I lose it due to my win over alcohol then so be it!
Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 9,029
Congratulations on 35 days. That's great. I had the same spacey, scatterbrained stuff going on too.
Has your boss said anything? Were there any problems with this before? Can you talk to your boss? You don't have to tell him why you are having trouble focusing. You can simply say that you have had a lot on your mind lately. Which is true.
Anyway, this will pass. Make sure you are eating right and getting enough sleep in the meantime. That helped me.
Has your boss said anything? Were there any problems with this before? Can you talk to your boss? You don't have to tell him why you are having trouble focusing. You can simply say that you have had a lot on your mind lately. Which is true.
Anyway, this will pass. Make sure you are eating right and getting enough sleep in the meantime. That helped me.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: CO, USA
Posts: 145
I'm also early in my second month and having similar experiences. I work in a fairly fast-paced environment, and I'm finding myself feeling half-lost a lot of the time. In meetings, it's hard to follow what's going on and overall I just feel like I'm not on the ball.
I'm sure part of it is just the recovery process, but I also wonder how many brain cells I've actually killed over the years of binging. I even busted out a college algebra textbook a few weeks ago thinking that doing some focused problem solving might be good for my brain-power.
I'm sure part of it is just the recovery process, but I also wonder how many brain cells I've actually killed over the years of binging. I even busted out a college algebra textbook a few weeks ago thinking that doing some focused problem solving might be good for my brain-power.
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,780
Sounds like PAWS to me. Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome. It's the reason you can't concentrate and remember things.
Post-Acute Withdrawal Symptoms - Relapse Prevention Strategies
Post-Acute Withdrawal Symptoms - Relapse Prevention Strategies
Community Greeter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 51,564
Hi HellJuice. Like the others, I had the same foggy, fuzzy feeling. The strangeness started to go away at around 2 months. We've put ourselves through so much - we need time to heal. You'll get there.
Congratulations on your 35 days - that's something to be proud of.
Congratulations on your 35 days - that's something to be proud of.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 2,937
Took a couple of months for me.
I think my body and mind were super tired from not sleeping properly at night for years and years. I used to drink to blackout or very near then collapse in bed.
It was not quality sleep at all.
I felt fuzz and strange and I slept a lot at first.
However after those few months, I began to feel really mentally alert and sharp. Probably the clearest thinking and functioning I had had for years.
It showed at work too.
No-one gets fired straight away from work for a few mistakes.
As long as you are not risking your job with anything that would be classed as gross misconduct, they cannot do that to you.
Worrying about your job performance is not going to help and might make you make more prone to errors and mistakes.
Try to stop worrying and get lots of rest.
Maybe some exercise might help too. It might make you more energised, get rid of mental stress and strain and help you focus more.
No need for anything extreme.
A walk or hike outside might help.
Perhaps if your boss brings it up, maybe the solution is to say you are having a hard time in your personal life and that is making it hard to concentrate, but you will keep trying.
You won't always feel like this I promise.
When the fog wears off, you might find your boss loves you and our quality of work much, much more.
I wish you the best xx
I think my body and mind were super tired from not sleeping properly at night for years and years. I used to drink to blackout or very near then collapse in bed.
It was not quality sleep at all.
I felt fuzz and strange and I slept a lot at first.
However after those few months, I began to feel really mentally alert and sharp. Probably the clearest thinking and functioning I had had for years.
It showed at work too.
No-one gets fired straight away from work for a few mistakes.
As long as you are not risking your job with anything that would be classed as gross misconduct, they cannot do that to you.
Worrying about your job performance is not going to help and might make you make more prone to errors and mistakes.
Try to stop worrying and get lots of rest.
Maybe some exercise might help too. It might make you more energised, get rid of mental stress and strain and help you focus more.
No need for anything extreme.
A walk or hike outside might help.
Perhaps if your boss brings it up, maybe the solution is to say you are having a hard time in your personal life and that is making it hard to concentrate, but you will keep trying.
You won't always feel like this I promise.
When the fog wears off, you might find your boss loves you and our quality of work much, much more.
I wish you the best xx
Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: OZ
Posts: 2,055
There seems to be no way around this for many of us...for the first couple of months I literally found myself walking around in circles, not remembering what or why I was looking for, doing, saying...blank, huh....flat lining mentally, it does seem to affect some more than others...our brains just need a little more recovery time...the good news....it gets better and for me it was gradual.
Drinking during this repairing process apparently puts us back to the beginning again and gets progressively worse.
I look at like it is my dues, it took a while to get messed up it will take a while to get fixed up.
Congratulations on 32 days, that is wonderful.
Drinking during this repairing process apparently puts us back to the beginning again and gets progressively worse.
I look at like it is my dues, it took a while to get messed up it will take a while to get fixed up.
Congratulations on 32 days, that is wonderful.
Guest
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: The Deep South
Posts: 14,636
Sounds like PAWS, and it's normal. During the first six months, I experienced some of what you've described... it comes, and goes. Nothing to be alarmed about really. There's a book that helped me understand it and know what to expect: Staying Sober by Terence Gorski. He gives a great explanation of PAWS symptoms, and how to prevent relapse. It's critical to your sobriety that you are able to handle mounting stress, especially work related, as that can top the charts of stressful environments.
Guest
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 1,476
I get it.
It helped me to identify the various personalities of the voices.
I have spiritual man, he wants to be in prayer a lot
The Jock - he thinks I should be in the gym 24/7
Bill Cosby guy - he is always trying to get me to be a better father
Workaholic guy - he thinks I need to work 24/7
Lazy guy - he likes Simpson's marathons and potato chips
Oscar the Grouch - when ever he pops out of his garbage can, the conversation gets a bit negative
"F it all" guy - he thinks I should run away from all my problems and disobey my conscience
conscience guy - the mortal enemy of F it guy.
I could list a lot more but that is the central characters, the main players.
When I drank, they all went away to be supplanted by one very very dominant character - More booze guy.
He doesn't care about any of the other characters, good or bad. He slays them all every time he shows up. Knocks them all unconscious till the next morning.
Is there a point to all this?
Be in tune with the various characters in your life and don't let more booze guy knock them all unconscious.
It helped me to identify the various personalities of the voices.
I have spiritual man, he wants to be in prayer a lot
The Jock - he thinks I should be in the gym 24/7
Bill Cosby guy - he is always trying to get me to be a better father
Workaholic guy - he thinks I need to work 24/7
Lazy guy - he likes Simpson's marathons and potato chips
Oscar the Grouch - when ever he pops out of his garbage can, the conversation gets a bit negative
"F it all" guy - he thinks I should run away from all my problems and disobey my conscience
conscience guy - the mortal enemy of F it guy.
I could list a lot more but that is the central characters, the main players.
When I drank, they all went away to be supplanted by one very very dominant character - More booze guy.
He doesn't care about any of the other characters, good or bad. He slays them all every time he shows up. Knocks them all unconscious till the next morning.
Is there a point to all this?
Be in tune with the various characters in your life and don't let more booze guy knock them all unconscious.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Utah
Posts: 144
Originally Posted by HellJuice 
I'm on 35 days now... yay for me! I have little to no cravings to go back to the bottle but I'm still feeling what I'm assuming are normal symptoms of withdrawl..
I've been making a lot of small errors at work lately which are starting to get noticed by my boss and I'm afraid to lose my job because of it.
I am not 100% sure it's the withdrawl but I have a hard time focusing now. I get very scatterbrained where I can't concentrate and focus on things so I'm making little errors that I used to never make when I was drinking. I don't want to drink just to feel ok again, in fact I'm even afraid to drink now! But how can I get back to focusing? If this isn't a normal symptom of withdrawl then what is it? I feel like it's actually getting worse and not better as the days go on. The cravings get less and less but this lack of focus and concentration gets more and more.. any thoughts? Help??
I've been making a lot of small errors at work lately which are starting to get noticed by my boss and I'm afraid to lose my job because of it.
I am not 100% sure it's the withdrawl but I have a hard time focusing now. I get very scatterbrained where I can't concentrate and focus on things so I'm making little errors that I used to never make when I was drinking. I don't want to drink just to feel ok again, in fact I'm even afraid to drink now! But how can I get back to focusing? If this isn't a normal symptom of withdrawl then what is it? I feel like it's actually getting worse and not better as the days go on. The cravings get less and less but this lack of focus and concentration gets more and more.. any thoughts? Help??
Also, your user name cracks me up! I love it!! Congrats on 35 days!
Thankful for this community
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Ontario
Posts: 371
Yes, I'm at day 23 and I'm definitely experiencing the haze, lack of concentration, weaker memory. It scares me a lot as I've never experienced this before and have always considered myself fairly sharp at work. I worry about it too and it's a source of stress I need to manage. Exercise seems to help me temporarily...and coffee although I'm trying to cut back here too.
This was a great thread for reassurance.
This was a great thread for reassurance.
Guest
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 1,305
Add me to the list of people experiencing this! I'm only on Day 11 and kind of discouraged that it may take several months to improve. I'm getting through it at work because I've been doing my job for a long time and even at 50% mental capacity, I can appear to be functioning normally. However, there are times I say things that I wouldn't normally say (I am very professional and discreet, at least I was!) Thanks to those who recommended books, I think I need to check them out!
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