*Brain Fog* mental health awareness painting. Acrylic on canvas Self Portrait

This piece is called Brain Fog. We have all experienced it, some more so than others. Idk if it's done, I can see myself wanting to add more colors later on when I have more practice with portraits.
Anyway, the way we understand mental obstacles better is to be open about them. here is a snippet from traumapractice.co.uk on brain fog and ptsd.

" PTSD symptoms can include intrusion symptoms, persistent avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and moods and alterations in arousal and reactivity. They can also include brain fog.

One of the reasons that PTSD causes brain fog is that the brain is not functioning optimally if you have PTSD. PTSD affects a number of brain areas specifically the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex. The amygdala detects threats and activates the sympathetic nervous system. The prefrontal cortex regulates decisions in relation to a possible threat, helps to regulate emotions and helps to determine the meaning and emotional significance of an event and regulates our attention to it.

If someone is experiencing PTSD symptoms these parts of the brain function differently. The amygdala can become hyper-sensitive and the pre-frontal cortex works less hard than usual. Pictures highlight this change in the brain by showing high levels of activity in the amygdala and low levels in the pre-frontal cortex. It is not surprising therefore that you are unable to think clearly, and your brain feels foggy because the pre-frontal cortex is not firing normally.

PTSD can also result in an increase in stress hormones moving around the body. This can disrupt our sleeping patterns and quality of sleep. PTSD affects memory making our mind and body feel as if it is still under threat. When you are trying to sleep your mind and body still thinks and feels as if it is trying to fight off a potential threat. This can result in fatigue caused by the stress or fight or flight response being permanently turned on."

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