11 Jun
53 and I've basically become a person who cannot function in a meeting without writing everything down as it happens. Not notes for later. Notes so I can finish my own sentence. I had a catch-up with my manager on Tuesday and I literally watched the word I needed just... dissolve. Stood there nodding like I knew what I was saying. I didn't. I recovered, probably, but I came home feeling genuinely embarrassed. What's actually helping is having a notepad open the whole time and jotting down three bullet points before any meeting starts, just to anchor myself. It's not elegant but it works better than hoping my brain shows up. Sleep is the other thing I'm paying attention to. I've started being quite firm about screens off at ten and it does seem to make the next day slightly less awful, though I couldn't tell you why yet. Still experimenting. The afternoons are brutal. I've been trying different snacks around 3pm because the crash is real and it hits right when I need to concentrate. Oatcakes with something on them seem to help more than the biscuits I was reaching for, but honestly I'm just guessing at this point. I want to ask my GP whether what I'm experiencing is hormone-related or just burnout or both. Does anyone know what to actually say to get them to take the cognitive stuff seriously? I feel like if I say "brain fog" I'll get a leaflet about mindfulness and shown the door.