Brain Fog and Existential Dread: Why I Can't Find My Words

This episode is sponsored by Aging Together. Founded by occupational therapist Dr. Pooja A. Patel, Aging Together helps families navigate aging and caregiving before it becomes a crisis. Start your journey today at aging-together.com/nottoomuch where you can use discount code NOTTOOMUCH10 for $10 off the already-discounted elder care planning bundles.

I don't want to brag, but I am very advanced for my age.

Not in the good way. My short-term memory is gone, my word recall has the range of somebody thirty years older than me, and my entire skill set is words. That's it. That's the whole job.

I lost the word for grass. In a yard. Looking at grass.

So this one is me trying to work out what's actually going on in there — perimenopause, dehydration, the crushing existential dread of this timeline, or the sheer number of people who need something from me at any given time. Spoiler: it's all of it.

We get into what it actually costs to be the person everyone offloads to, why delegating something and then having to chase it isn't delegating at all, and why my calendar is now the only place reality is stored.

And Janna asks whether hyperfocus is an asset in a small business or just expensive, which I did not enjoy being asked.

If you're finding yourself unable to find your words, they're fine. They're in a field somewhere having a lovely time without you.

Come stand in the corner with me. We can cry together.

Chapters

00:00:00 Cold open

00:00:45 Welcome to You're Not Too Much

00:00:59 I am very advanced for my age

00:01:38 The word was grass

00:02:26 My entire skill set is words

00:03:08 You want some anxiety? I've got extra

00:03:31 Shiny object, and the link I never click

00:05:29 What it's actually like in here

00:06:21 I could tell you where I got everything in my closet

00:06:58 I don't remember where I got these kids

00:07:12 Why this timeline is making it worse

00:09:11 The personal load on top of the cosmic one

00:10:38 Delegating isn't offloading

00:12:53 Break

00:12:57 The anxiety that never switches off

00:13:38 Two thoughts, all the time

00:14:51 Every time the phone pings

00:15:50 Healthcare. That's the thing that we do.

00:16:46 Come stand in the corner with me

00:17:25 Ask L2: is hyperfocus an asset or just expensive?

00:21:47 Love you, mean it

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