Anxiety?

I was once given a comprehensive test of my mental faculties (think an IQ test with all the extras). An advantage of that is that they can get a more precise idea of what you struggle with – e.g. is it concentration, or short-term memory, or long-term memory, etc.

Apart from that, how do you sleep? Most people need 7-9 hours per night, and you should go to bed at the same time every evening (you could set an alarm for bedtime). The best time to go to bed is between 9 p.m. and midnight, depending on whether you’re a morning person or a night owl. Don’t expect this to work wonders immediately – give your body plenty of time to adjust.

When I get my sleep, I find that I feel more resilient – even if I’m depressed, I feel better able to handle it. I also find myself much more relaxed around others, partly because I feel comfortable in my own head and am less distracted by what’s going on around me. Sometimes I lie awake waiting for the alarm to go off in the morning. Or I wake up in the middle of the night and lie thinking for a while. At first, it’s hard to avoid the temptation to check my phone or get up and go online. But that would ruin my sleep, because of the light exposure (and the not sleeping part). I feel like I get some productive thinking done during these times. Another benefit of getting your sleep is that not just your mind, but your whole body gets healthier – so you look better. And it improves your willpower, making it easier to make smart decisions. Finally, I feel like my days are longer. Because I’m more awake, time doesn’t fly by as much, and that is nice, because I can enjoy my free time then. I may be fooling myself, but I also feel like it makes work easier.

Anyway, good luck!