Hi everyone! Recently I've been going through a rough patch of "brain fog". What really pushed me over the edge was the other day I completely forgot about an appointment with my psychiatrist and that mistake cost me $100 for a "no show" fee. I have NEVER done that before, and I have this appointment every 3 months. I'm usually very meticulous with my schedule - I use a calendar app on my phone, write things down in a notebook, write notes on my phone, etc.

Just a little bit of background - I'm 27, diagnosed BP2 at 18 years old. I've been on Lithium for about 8 years now (600 mg at night - I used to take 450 mg in the morning along with 600 mg at night, but it made me unable to think creatively or interact with people normally. I've been doing much better with 600 mg at night for the last 3 years or so). Celexa 10 mg, Adderall XR 30 mg and 5 mg in the afternoon. Also 0.5 mg of Klonopin as needed. I get my blood work done 1-2x a year and there's been no significant changes or issues.

Just like I mentioned above, I'm meticulous about things like my schedule and appointments. I know that SSRI's and Lithium can cause some memory/cognitive issues, but it feels almost as bad as when I was on a full dose of Lithium - without the feeling good/chill part. I'm also struggling to remember words and am having a tough time composing simple messages or emails because my mind is literally BLANK. I'm the GM of a gym, and I do a TON of the marketing: email blasts, flyers, event planning, etc. it's made my job 100x harder staring at my computer and not knowing what to say/do.

My boss got a little frustrated with me the other day because I forgot to do something even though we JUST talked about it only a few hours before. The only reason she got annoyed was because I'm on top of EVERYTHING, so it was very out of character for me to forget something she asked me to do. She never has to ask me to do anything twice. She does not know about BP2 or that I'm on medication. I know I'm hard on myself, but in these instances I either wrote them down and kept forgetting to do them, or I was going to write them down and forgot to write it down. It's like having a goldfish brain.

This got really bad about a month ago I'd say. I'm not sure if stress has something to do with it, like the holidays or I'm working really hard or something. It could be stress from my marriage, which is a whole other thing I could write a lengthy post about..

Anyway, how do you cope with brain fog? How do you get rid of this creative/writer's block? Do you have any tips/tricks to stay sharp or remember things? I want to hear everything! Thank you. :)