Have been working hard on a document submission. Now feel a headache in the regular position on the left side above the ear, and also feel the onset of fatigue as well.

Find this very interesting. For the past two weeks or so, there was less evidence of headache. The present submission is more complex than the other work. The present work contains much more detail, many more cross references. It is hard to keep all the elements together. I am like a juggler who is constantly dropping balls. The task set also represents a very different area of focus from my other recent work. In prior work I have been addressing issues that I have been dealing with for the past 4 years. I therefore have a sense of almost knowing my way around. I do not have this same sense with this particular file.

When meeting people I have noticed that the first encounter will result in both headache and the quick onset of fatigue. Repeated subsequent encounters with the same individual will, over time, result in a decreased incidence of headache and fatigue, or an increased interval between the time of first meeting and fatigue onset. Today, I can see Dr H and Dr D for an hour and there is no headache, and no noticeable fatigue. This was not true back in 2012 when I would come away from their offices completely exhausted after a one hour session.

My hunch is that as the brain establishes the relevant connections and associations it becomes more efficient at specific cognitive tasks. Essentially what has happened is that I have acquired the neural connections to engage with my doctors in a way that does not result in fatigue. An interaction with a new individual will result in the need to build connections and associations for that new individual. Until those new connections are created, I am more prone to suffer headache and fatigue.

An alternate explanation is that the fatigue and headache is the direct consequence of the brain working overtime in the creation of new connections. Once these connections have been created then they can be readily utilized and the cognitive demand drops as a consequence. This sounds to be a very probable explanation.