What are the Causes of a “Broken Brain”?

What is a healthy brain?

A healthy brain helps you enjoy life, stay focused, and adapt to new situations. When your brain works well, you can manage stress, avoid feeling down or anxious, and find joy in everyday things. A healthy brain helps protect you from ongoing pain and keeps you feeling positive and stable.

Do you have a healthy brain?

Today, many people struggle with brain health. This isn’t caused by a lack of medicine, and it can’t be fixed with just one pill. The real problem is our modern lifestyle—processed food, constant exposure to toxins, and missing nutrients. All of this leads to inflammation in your brain and affects how well it works.

This shows up as forgetfulness, poor memory, or “brain fog.” You might also feel scattered, unfocused, or overwhelmed at work or school. If this continues, it could lead to serious issues like early memory loss. A struggling brain can also affect your mood. You may lose interest in things you once enjoyed, feel anxious, or have trouble sleeping. A brain dealing with inflammation can’t manage pain signals properly, so your body might hurt more too.

Why labels don’t fix the problem

When you feel off, the focus often goes to naming the problem—like anxiety, depression, or ADHD—without asking why it’s happening. As a result, many people are prescribed medicine to treat the label, but not the root cause. A National Institute of Health study showed that many adults take psychiatric medications for long periods, even though most of these drugs are meant for short-term use. This can bring more risks than benefits.

So what’s really going on?

Many brain problems are caused by how we live. Poor-quality food, chemicals in our environment, and heavy metals build up in our bodies. This creates long-lasting inflammation and nutrition problems. It raises blood sugar and insulin levels, which also hurt your brain.

Here’s the tricky part—your brain doesn’t have pain receptors like your muscles and joints. Even if your brain is inflamed, you won’t feel it directly. Instead, you may notice trouble focusing, low energy, stress overload, poor memory, mood swings, and sleep problems. Over time, this affects how your brain manages pain, which can lead to chronic pain, like fibromyalgia.

But there’s good news

Inflammation and nutrient issues in your brain can be fixed. You just need the right guidance. At the Pain and Brain Healing Center, we focus on identifying the root causes. With special lab tests, we can discover which foods and nutrients your brain needs to heal and function better. This isn’t something you’ll likely find from a regular doctor. You need someone trained in Functional Neurology—someone who looks deeper than just symptoms.

Our approach is fully virtual. Dr. Greg Fors works with you through telemedicine to find and fix what’s holding your brain back. We help you clean out toxins, calm inflammation, balance your blood sugar, and repair gut health. With the right plan, your brain can clear the fog and function at its best. You can feel like yourself again—with better memory, a brighter mood, deeper sleep, and less pain.

If any of this sounds familiar and you’re ready to explore real solutions, we offer virtual consultations. Call us at 763-862-7100 to schedule your FREE telehealth visit with Dr. Fors.

Dr. Greg Fors, D.C. is a board-certified neurologist trained in Functional Medicine. He leads the virtual Pain and Brain Healing Center, offering telemedicine care to help you heal from the inside out. If you have any questions about this article or your brain health, call us at 763-862-7100. Dr. Fors is also the author of the book Why We Hurt, available from major book retailers.

FAQs

Do I need to visit a clinic? No. All of our care is done virtually, so you can meet with us from the comfort of your home.

What kinds of issues can you help with? We focus on brain-related issues like brain fog, mood swings, memory loss, chronic pain, anxiety, and sleep problems—especially when other treatments haven’t worked.

Can I really feel better without medicine? Yes. By identifying the root causes of your symptoms, we can often help you feel better through nutrition, detox, and lifestyle changes—without relying on medication.

Is this right for me? If you’re tired of feeling foggy, anxious, or in pain—and you’re ready for a different approach—we’d love to talk with you. Our virtual services make it easy to get started wherever you are.