What Stress, Overload, and Hormones Really Do to Your Brain. Because putting your keys in the fridge isn't Alzhemiers (usually)...

If you’ve ever stood in the kitchen and forgotten why you’re there…
Lost words mid-sentence…
Put your keys in the fridge…
Read the same paragraph three times and still not retained it…

And then quietly thought: “Something is seriously wrong with me.This is early dementia.I am getting Alzheimer’s?”

You are not alone.

And in the vast majority of cases — this is not neurodgeneration. It’s a brain responding to stress, inflammation, hormonal shifts, poor sleep, and sustained overload.

Let’s talk about what is actually happening - without panic or judgement.

Stress Can Make You Feel Like You’re Losing Your Mind

Chronic stress floods the brain with cortisol — your main survival hormone.

In small, short bursts, cortisol is helpful. Over time, it becomes disruptive — not because the brain is broken, but because it’s prioritising survival over performance.

High cortisol directly affects three critical brain regions - The Hippocampus, the Pre-Frontal Cortex and the Amygdala.

The Hippocampus is the memory centre.This is your short-term memory and learning hub.

Research shows that prolonged cortisol exposure reduces neuron growth, shrinks hippocampal volume which then impairs memory formation.

This is why stress causes:

• forgetting names

• losing words

• poor recall

• difficulty learning new things

The Prefrontal Cortex is for thinking & focus

This controls:

• organisation

• reasoning

• impulse control

• emotional regulation

Stress suppresses this area and can result in:

• you feel scattered

• make silly mistakes

• forget appointments

• lose focus

• struggle to plan or prioritise

The Amygdala is the fear and threat centre (so everything feels urgent). Stress strengthens this region which means:

• more anxiety

• more catastrophising

• more emotional reactivity

• more panic about your symptoms

So the brain both creates the fog… and then scares you about it.

Why Brain Fog From Stress Feels Like Dementia

The symptoms overlap so closely with cognitive decline:

• short-term memory loss

• word-finding difficulty

• concentration problems

• confusion under pressure

• mental fatigue

• slower processing

The key difference?

Stress makes your brain underperform.
Dementia destroys brain tissue.

In stress, information is harder to access..

In Alzheimer’s, the brain loses the ability to store new information permanently.

Sleep Deprivation Alone Can Mimic Cognitive Decline

Chronic poor sleep affects the brain profoundly by:

• reducing memory consolidation

• impairing attention

• disrupting emotional regulation

• increasing amyloid build-up (the protein linked to Alzheimer’s)

Just one week of insufficient sleep can:

• reduce reaction time

• impair working memory

• lower attention span

• increase emotional volatility

Now stack that on top of:

• stress

• hormones

• gut inflammation

• nutrient depletion

• nervous system overload

And yes — you absolutely feel like your brain is failing.

Female Hormonal Changes can also Dramatically Affect the Brain

Oestrogen is neuro-protective. It supports:

• memory

• verbal processing

• mood stability

• focus

• dopamine and serotonin balance

During perimenopause and menopause oestrogen fluctuates wildly, cortisol becomes more dominant, sleep worsens, anxiety increases and word recall declines.

This is why many women say: “I used to be sharp. Now I feel thick and slow.”

It is not intelligence loss.
It’s a change in neurochemistry.

Chronic Stress Alters Neurotransmitters

Long-term stress alters key brain messengers::

• Serotonin - low mood, rumination, poor sleep

• Dopamine - low motivation, loss of pleasure, brain fatigue

• GABA - reduced calm, more anxiety

• Acetylcholine - poor memory and learning

Acetylcholine reduction is particularly important — this is the SAME neurotransmitter affected in Alzheimer’s pathology, which is why the symptoms feel so similar.

But again — the mechanism is suppression, not destruction:

• stress suppresses

• neurodegeneration destroys

Inflammation Makes the Brain Foggy

Gut inflammation, blood sugar instability, immune activation and chronic infections all increase neuroinflammation.

Inflamed brains:

• process more slowly

• fatigue faster

• struggle with clarity

• lose verbal fluency

This is why brain fog often accompanies:

• sugar crashes

• adrenal fatigue

• gut issues

• chronic infections

• autoimmune flares

All create major brain fog.

And then anxiety comes in and makes You Feel Worse Than You Are

Anxiety magnifies awareness and amplifies the experience.

You may notice you start:

• scanning for symptoms

• monitoring every lapse

• catastrophising every mistake

• assuming the worst

Which drives more cortisol…Which further reduces memory access.

It becomes a self-reinforcing cognitive stress loop - not a failing mind

The Most Important thing to know and the one to focus on…

Stress-Based Brain Fog Is Reversible

Unlike true neurodegenerative disease, stress-related cognitive decline responds exceptionally well to:

• nervous system regulation

• sleep restoration

• blood sugar stability

• hormone support

• nutritional therapy

• trauma resolution

• emotional processing

• gut repair

• cognitive retraining

When load reduces:

• hippocampal cells regenerate

• memory improves

• word retrieval returns

• clarity sharpens

• emotional control stabilises

A Reassuring Reality Check

If you:

• function well in calm moments

• remember things when relaxed

• improve with good sleep

• think clearly on holiday

• struggle mainly when overwhelmed

That strongly points toward stress-driven cognitive suppression — not dementia.

In other words, you are not losing your mind and you are not “getting Alzheimer’s overnight.”

Brain fog is not a diagnosis. It is a message.

And it is one of the most treatable brain states there is.