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You are in: Home > Stroke Information > How Stroke Affects You > Poor Concentration

Poor Concentration

Difficulty concentrating is very common after a stroke. Not being able to concentrate causes anxiety and this makes everything worse. Many people find this distressing and worrying.

Tiredness has a significant effect on concentration—the more tired you are the harder it is to concentrate.

You might

• find it hard to concentrate for long periods resulting in feeling overtired
• find it harder to concentrate if you are tired
• experience problems with ‘speed of thinking’ if there is too much information to process too quickly
• find it hard to ‘maintain attention’ for long making simple tasks difficult to complete

A limited concentration span can impact on returning to work and learning new skills as well as on everyday activities. However it does improve for most people in time. Alleviating tiredness should help.

Concentration problems can also be related to memory problems and vice versa. So you can see how interlinked tiredness, concentration and memory are in your recovery from stroke.

Memory Problems

Coping With Anxiety

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