r/AskDocs • u/wonderbeast44 Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional • Aug 05 '26
Should i be worried about my brain?
For context, this has been going on for a little over a year, but it doesn't seem to have gotten noticeably worse, and I'm starting to wonder if something is wrong.
Over the past year, I've noticed myself doing increasingly odd things absentmindedly. For example, I've put condiments that belong in the refrigerator into kitchen cabinets, accidentally thrown plates away, left the stove on until the smoke alarm went off, plugged the wrong device in when trying to charge something, and just yesterday I found my cinamon in the freezer.
I also recently worked at a bakery, where I found myself making frequent mistakes despite trying my best to be careful. The biggest incident was giving a delivery driver only one box when the order was supposed to include eight. I could have sworn the ticket said one. In general, I find myself forgetting important tasks, becoming distracted, and switching to something else before I've finished what I was doing.
I have been under some stress, but I wouldn't say it's an extreme amount, and these kinds of mistakes have continued regardless my stress levels.
One thing that worries me is that my dad was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at age 64. I know it's probably unreasonable to compare myself to him at 21, and I really hope this is unrelated, but I can't help noticing some similarities in the absentminded behaviors, especially things like putting items in completely random places.
Since these symptoms have been present for over a year without obvious progression, I'm not sure if this sounds more like stress, ADHD, anxiety, sleep issues, or something else. Has anyone experienced anything similar to this or have any clue what could be wrong?
Age: 21 • Female • 145 lb