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Is My Depression Making It Harder to Focus?

Managing Depression

October 18, 2024

RichVintage/Getty Images

RichVintage/Getty Images

by Clara Siegmund

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Medically Reviewed by:

Bethany Juby, PsyD

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by Clara Siegmund

•••••

Medically Reviewed by:

Bethany Juby, PsyD

•••••

If you’re having trouble concentrating and your mind feels cloudy, it could be because of depression. Read on to learn how depression impacts cognition, and what you can do to defog your brain.

Many tend to think of depression as a condition that affects mood, but the story is much bigger than that.

Depression also has a major impact on cognition — that is, the ability to think, concentrate, make decisions, complete tasks, and so much more. In short, depression may make mental clarity and sharpness feel dulled, and that experience is more common than many may realize.

Understanding the full picture of your depression — how it impacts your emotional and physical health, and your cognition — is crucial for getting help and managing symptoms.

Read on to learn how depression affects your concentration, what brain fog is and how it clouds thinking, and how you can work toward regaining focus while managing depression.

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Does depression affect your concentration?

If you’re having trouble concentrating, there’s a good chance it could be related to your depression.

In fact, difficulty thinking or concentrating (or “cognitive dysfunction,” in clinical terms) is one of the core symptoms that healthcare providers look for when diagnosing major depressive disorder (MDD).

If concentration issues are a core symptom of depression, that must mean they’re a common depression experience — and both clinical research and lived experience indicate that.

An older 2010 study following people with depression reports that cognitive issues were a dominant symptom throughout the 3-year study period. Participants experienced cognitive difficulties 85% to 94% of the time during depressive episodes, and 39% to 44% of the time during periods of remission.

Put differently, around 9 out of 10 people with depression may have cognitive symptoms during periods of acute depression, and around 4 out of 10 people may continue to experience cognitive difficulties even after other symptoms have waned. (But that doesn’t mean these problems are permanent — more on that later.)

Some of the common ways depression affects concentration include difficulty with:

  • focusing
  • processing information
  • filtering out distraction
  • regaining concentration after a distraction
  • paying attention for long periods
  • shifting focus between tasks

Not everyone with depression experiences the same concentration issues, and having difficulty in one area of cognition doesn’t automatically mean a person has trouble in other areas.

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Does depression affect your ability to think clearly?

If depression can impact concentration, does depression also affect your ability to think clearly? The answer is: It’s entirely possible, and very common.

Brain fog, another layer of the cognitive difficulties that depression can trigger, is partly responsible. Brain fog makes your mind feel “cloudy,” “fuzzy,” or “foggy,” impacting both basic cognition and more complex processes.

In other words, not only does brain fog make it hard to focus and think, but it also clouds judgment, blurs memory, interferes with making and executing plans, and more. That affects how you and your brain function day to day.

People with depression experiencing brain fog and other cognitive symptoms may have trouble with:

  • decision making
  • task completion
  • information processing
  • problem-solving
  • reasoning
  • judgment
  • planning
  • word recall
  • forgetfulness
  • short-term memory
  • working memory
  • concentration
  • reading comprehension
  • written or verbal communication
  • fatigue

Brain fog and other cognitive difficulties vary from person to person, and from day to day. Factors like sleep, nutrition, and exercise can mitigate or exacerbate these depression symptoms.

Why does depression make it hard to think?

We know that depression affects concentration and attention, but why?

Well, the medical community is still working on figuring that out. Simply put, cognitive symptoms haven’t been studied as much as mood symptoms — even though cognitive symptoms are incredibly common.

According to one theory, the neural system that helps control attention (the frontoparietal attention network) may not function correctly in people with depression. This could mean that the brain doesn’t give attention to or stay focused on sensory information — like the book, movie, or person in front of you — in the same way.

Plus, other common symptoms of depression make it hard to think, let alone concentrate, including:

  • fatigue
  • lack of energy
  • loss of interest
  • loss of motivation
  • appetite changes
  • low mood
  • a sudden shift in moods
  • chronic physical pain

More research is needed to better understand what causes changes in concentration and how to remedy those changes.

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How to regain focus when depressed

When cognitive symptoms of depression become severe, they can impact your everyday life. This can be frustrating, frightening, and confusing — and understandably so.

But there are ways to regain focus and sharpen your thinking. Here are some practical strategies that you can try on your own to help improve concentration while managing depression:

  • Create a supportive environment: A supportive environment can minimize distractions and set you up for concentration when it’s time to work. Try sitting somewhere quiet, making your body comfortable, decluttering your desk, and silencing notifications.
  • Break up tasks: Tasks can feel daunting when viewed as a whole, but breaking things down into smaller, actionable parts can help. Give your attention to one step at a time, and take pride in each part you complete.
  • Set realistic goals: You don’t need to do everything in one go. Try setting achievable goals for each day based on how you’re feeling. Remember that accomplishing any steps, no matter how small, moves you forward.
  • Avoid multitasking: Research indicates that multitasking is more taxing on the brain and makes paying attention harder. Instead, prioritize one task at a time to limit distractions and focus your concentration.
  • Take breaks: Studying or working for hours at a time without breaks is neither realistic nor effective. If you feel your attention waning or drifting, take a (screenless) break to give your mind a rest before coming back to focus.
  • Use reminders as needed: For help remembering important things (like medication, meetings, your keys — anything), try using sticky notes around your house or setting reminders and alarms on your phone or other devices.

Does brain fog from depression go away?

Brain fog isn’t permanent, but in some instances, varying degrees of brain fog may persist even as other depression symptoms subside. Incorporating certain lifestyle changes and seeking professional care may help.

In addition to the practical strategies above, lifestyle strategies like these may help reduce brain fog:

  • Diet: Eating a balanced, nutritious diet can improve cognition. Pay particular attention to foods high in antioxidants, like berries and green vegetables.
  • Sleep: Cognition is negatively affected when you’re sleep-deprived. Aim for 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night.
  • Caffeine and alcohol: Limiting your consumption of stimulants and depressants like caffeine and alcohol may help ease brain fog.
  • Brain games: Exercise your brain with games and puzzles like crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, word searches, and more.

Still, depression is a medical condition, and treating symptoms often calls for professional help in addition to supplemental lifestyle changes. Consider talking with your healthcare providers about brain fog and other cognitive difficulties — particularly if these symptoms persist.

Research suggests that depression treatment improves brain fog and other cognitive difficulties. That means that depression care, including talk therapy and medication, can help you manage any and all symptoms, whether mood, physical, or cognitive.

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Takeaway

Depression affects more than just mental health — it can also significantly impact concentration, clarity, and overall cognition. These cognitive effects can be frustrating and frightening, but there are ways to manage and improve symptoms, and your healthcare providers can help.

Your tool kit for treating cognitive symptoms of depression can include depression care, like talk therapy and certain antidepressants, plus supplementary lifestyle and concentration-boosting strategies.

Armed with a full picture of the emotional, physical, and mental impacts of your depression, you and your care team can more effectively build treatment strategies, manage symptoms, and work toward helping you feel your best.

Medically reviewed on October 18, 2024

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About the author

Clara Siegmund

Clara Siegmund is a writer, editor, and translator (French to English) from Brooklyn, New York. She has a BA in English and French Studies from Wesleyan University and an MA in Translation from the Sorbonne. She frequently writes for women’s health publications. She is passionate about literature, reproductive justice, and using language to make information accessible.

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