What Causes Sudden Episodes Of Confusion When Under Stress?

Posted on Mon, 4 May 2015

Question: My husband who is 66, still working as an executive and is in excellent health has had two strange episodes with his thinking and judgment. The most recent was this: he is driving north on Rt 15 and sees a train traveling south on tracks parallel to Rt 15. He is approaching a traffic light that governs the intersection of art 15 and Rt 6. Whenever a train is traveling on those tracks and approaches the RR crossing for Rt 6 the traffic light blinks red for both directions and cars are to treat the intersection like a Stop Sign, alternating which direction goes next. The train passed, the light was not blinking but was red for my husband. The cross traffic was flowing over the tracks on a green light. My husband thought the cross traffic was being rude and not alternating turns. His brain did not recognize that their light must be green because the train had passed. My husband inched his car into the intersection to make those cars stop and let him have a turn. Of course cars blew their horns at the idiot running a red light. My husband was confused by the horns for several seconds until he realized the traffic light had resumed its normal function. Is this type of brain lapse a sign of Alzheimer's?

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ali Rauf (37 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Could be stress induced with preoccupied mind

Detailed Answer:
Hello

My name is Dr Muhammad Ali Rauf & i will look into your problem.

I have gone through your query and would try to help you in the best possible way. This act could be because of stress. When mind is busy on some other things then such mistakes may occur. They not always represent such illness. Some of the most common signs of alzheimer include:

- Memory loss that disrupts daily life
- Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure
- Confusion with time or place
- New problems with words in speaking or writing
- Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
- Decreased or poor judgment
- Withdrawal from work or social activities
- Changes in mood and personality
- Difficulty in understanding signs

multiple signs with +ve family history may increase suspicion. If there is no such thing then most probably it was stress induced with a pre-occupied mind. if you observe recurrent symptoms on short duration then you can visit a neurologist for workup.

Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help if not then don't forget to close the discussion and rate it.
Wishing you good health !!

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar