{This article on focus is written in partnership with Qualia—they’re dedicated to sharing knowledge to help optimize our quality of life with supportive supplements backed by loads of science. We’re honored to work with them. ~ ed.}

Near the end of 2024, my life was spinning out of control.

Or, maybe, I was spinning, darting, and dancing trying to keep a grasp on the semblance of focus I had and praying the rest didn’t come crashing down on top of me.

It’s really anyone’s guess but one thing’s for sure, it was before I was introduced to nootropics—and boy what a difference it’s made.

Like so many others, I am a Millennial caretaker. We make up about one out of every four caregivers in the United States. I help manage the lives of others that I love, but unlike many others, I’m single. There’s nobody to help me manage my own.

Near the end of 2024 I was juggling my own work and personal life, plus the medical, personal, and everyday needs of three other loved ones—in person, and long-distance.

I was knee-deep in emergency surgeries, long-term care facilities, daily medications, physical therapy, nursing visits, doctor appointments, and just making lunch.

I wanted to try a health supplement or something…anything to help me untangle my frazzled thoughts and emotions.

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There is so much love in what I do, but it’s also hard to keep it all straight and the overwhelm is real, especially while trying to maintain your own life and work for a company you love, like Elephant Journal.

I had the dates for care conferences and dates swimming in my mind. I had nursing visits and physical therapy visits scheduled every week. My brain held the daily schedule for too many people—and it was all in my head.

Most days? I survived.

The bills got paid.

Meals were made.

Medications were given on time.

The laundry was folded.

The snow was shoveled.

We survived.

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But then, there were the other days. The days that left me overwhelmed with “to dos.” The days where I couldn’t finish a sentence at the end of the day because I was so tired and distracted. The days where I missed a task and had to decide if it was a priority to complete it, or if it could wait until the next day. The days where a shower was a passing thought and instead, I slept an extra 15 minutes.

The other days were, and still are, the days that we remember. Right? For some unknown and utterly ridiculous reason, the human mind will glom onto and focus on the bad—the things we didn’t do perfectly—rather than allow us to give ourselves a pat on the back for what we did do.

It was on one of those “other” days when I was speaking with a cousin, I’d forgotten something. I was speaking but couldn’t think of the right words for what I was trying to say. I was, in short, a burnt out mess.

I told him I was taking a new nootropic supplement designed to help with mental focus. In teeny, tiny words (because my brain wasn’t cooperating) I explained Qualia Mind is designed to nourish a broad spectrum of short and long term brain functions, including:

>> Sharp Focus

>> Centered Mood

>> Amplified Drive

>> More Energy

>> Creative Flow

>> Mental Clarity

I told him I needed that focus and clarity, not just for myself, but for the organization and benefit of the other lives I was managing.

He laughed. Out loud. Loudly.

And then he asked how long I had to test it out because based on that evening, I was far from being focused, or any of those things. He, apparently, also agreed with my internal assessment: I was a burnt out mess.

I laughed too and admitted I was a tough cookie for these three daily pills to tackle but that I needed to focus on myself for a change.

Qualia Mind 2.0 for Focus? Challenge: Accepted.

See, before I started taking Qualia Mind my brain felt tired, taxed, and overworked. My brain felt like it needed a jumpstart after a non-stop, never-ending parade of caregiving needs and worries.

There was nothing in the brain bank account and I was, in fact, overdrawn. Our brains these days are so hungry, overtaxed, and overworked and this is where nootropics can be heroic in helping get us back to from a place of utter mental depletion.*

The high demand for nootropics comes not only from the 73 million baby boomers living in America but also college students, investment bankers, career-minded individuals to even busy moms all looking to gain an edge—and folks like me.

The increase of stress and worry about world events is witnessed every day. So many good humans out there are experiencing uncertainty circling around them about their lives, livelihoods, and the loss of structure they had come to rely on.

I noticed brain fog fluctuates with our hormones too—and brain adaptogens hit all the bases to help with the horse power we women need as we approach perimenopause or menopause.* And I’d like all the horsepower I can get, please.

The popularity has led to hundreds of nootropic supplements flooding the marketplace. While these supplements all promise to deliver benefits, the reality is many fall short. Some of the most popular brands use ineffective or insufficient doses of ingredients, and many contain low-quality fillers.

Qualia’s Mantra: Science hasn’t stood still on ingredients to enhance cognitive performance and “we can’t stand still.”

Qualia Mind has set the gold standard in supporting human brain health.

After more clinical trials and improvements, Qualia has an upgraded and improved formula—Qualia 2.0. Their 1.0 formula put them on the map in 2015 and Qualia 2.0 now has more ingredients targeted around memory, focus, auditory and visual support.—Lion’s Mane has made its debut in the new formula, too.*

Qualia Mind 2.0 is a doctor-formulated blend of 32 ingredients, (including 21 brain nutrients) which work in concert to support the broadest possible aspects of brain health, including short term boosts you’ll notice fast, and long term brain benefits you’ll be thankful for tomorrow.*

And as a side note? Bonus points for Qualia for making a product that is vegan, non-GMO, gluten free…all the things I need and look for in a supplement.

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After the conversation in the kitchen that evening with my cousin, I found myself thinking about it over the next few days. And weeks. And I came to the conclusion. I was actually feeling more focused and clear than I had in months. I was keeping schedules straight, showing up at work, completing projects, and while, yes, I might be exhausted at night—I was functioning at a higher level.†

My brain was starting to feel like my own again.

Qualia Mind suggests that in one to two days after starting, the supplement provides boosts in mental energy, alertness, and the drive to get things done.*

Well, d*mn if that wasn’t true.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back? Qualia Mind gave me the foothold I needed to step back into my life in a less overwhelmed state and tackle my to do list and check things off. I did have a drive to finish what I started and that felt good.†

They also say in one to two weeks, the supplement can provide noticeable improvements in daily productivity, with greater stress resilience and a more centered mood.*

In that time, I created a new routine for myself. Waking up earlier to have a better morning routine, preparing for the day ahead, and starting work earlier so I could more easily take longer breaks and end work earlier without the stress of working late while caring for others at the end of the day.

I didn’t connect the new routine with Qualia Mind until recently, but I’m certain while it was a necessary change in my life, it wouldn’t have taken root and been as much of a success without its aid.†

I’m in the next phase of the Qualia Mind timeline now and I’m eager to see how it plays out. It’s suggested after one to two months, there is clearly identifiable support for memory, verbal fluency, and the capacity to learn and process information.*

This, right here, is what my cousin was telling me I needed when he laughed out loud at me in the kitchen that evening in late 2024.

My memory has not failed me (entirely) yet, so I believe I’m starting to reap these benefits and I am eager to see the verbal fluency—especially at the end of a long day!

If caring for elders I love and adore has taught me anything, it’s that it’s never too late to protect our health, and that includes our long term brain health, and healthy brain aging. Qualia Mind is doing just that.*

I’m not ready for any verbal olympics and I wouldn’t stake my life on my memory, but I am proud of my accomplishments and brain health in the last several weeks. I feel like I reached my hand out for help in the midst of my brain fog, and Qualia Mind reached right back to offer assistance.*†

Qualia Mind might just be the supplement I didn’t know I was missing and never want to be without.

My mental clarity, focus, and productivity have all been maintained or, in some cases, increased, in the midst of some pretty intense personal upheaval as a caretaker. My brain doesn’t just operate and function for myself, but others depend on it as well—and Qualia Mind has helped that be a possibility, and a comfort.

I’d also say while I wasn’t taking this to help my mood, I find it has helped me more easily find a balanced emotional mood in the past several weeks.*†

Here’s to a new year of less brain fog and better brain health in 2025.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
†Disclaimer: This review represents the personal experience and opinions of the author, and is not a guarantee, promise, or reflection of other users’ results.  The author was provided [free product/compensation] in exchange for this endorsement.