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Kopfkloß

English translation: restless mind, racing mind, buzzing brain

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Kopfkloß
English translation:restless mind, racing mind, buzzing brain
Entered by: Susan Welsh

20:16 Nov 11, 2019
German to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / Psychology: depression, rumination
German term or phrase: Kopfkloß
Description of a depressed person, apparently by herself:

Starke Trauergefühle nach Tod eines Freundes, nachts vermehrtes Grübeln, „Kopfkloß“

Nine google hits: one from 1874, the psych article I'm translating, and the rest pertaining to an exhibition by a modern artist!

I would guess something like "meathead" or "numskull," but I'm not sure that conveys the nuance of the German.
Susan Welsh
United States
Local time: 02:34
restless mind / racing mind
Explanation:
(incapable of thought suppression)
Selected response from:

Cilian O'Tuama
Germany
Local time: 08:34
Grading comment
Thanks everybody. See note to Cilian, above.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +1restless mind / racing mind
Cilian O'Tuama
4Mental overload (on one traumatic issue)
Haigo Salow
5 -2scatterbrained
Cillie Swart
3brain knot
Lonnie Legg
3clogged mind/mental constipation
Ramey Rieger (X)
2feeling of heaviness in the head
Heather Starastin
3 -1fuzzy headed
Chris Pr


Discussion entries: 8





  

Answers


2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
feeling of heaviness in the head


Explanation:
Sadly I am speaking from personal experience of depression - I would understand this as a colloquial expression (hence the speech marks) meaning a feeling of heaviness in the head, a feeling that is psychological rather than physical. It's not quite the same as feeling like a "numskull", although it does come with a subjective feeling of what I suppose you could call cognitive paralysis. HTH.


    https://themighty.com/2016/12/depression-head-feels-heavy/
Heather Starastin
Canada
Local time: 02:34
Native speaker of: English
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
fuzzy headed


Explanation:
An impairment in the ability to think straight.

Chris Pr
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:34
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Haigo Salow: not even close to the question asked.
12 days
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12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -2
scatterbrained


Explanation:
slight loss of cognitive function after trauma


    https://www.google.com/search?q=scatterbrained&oq=scatter+br&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.6727j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Cillie Swart
South Africa
Local time: 08:34
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Lonnie Legg: As apparent in its synonym "feather-brained" this term connotes lack of focus, but none of the stuck/heaviness of the source term.
43 mins

disagree  Haigo Salow: I hate to disagree. In this case this person is so focused on the sorrow stemming from one issue to the extend that he/she cannot focus on anything else.
11 days
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
brain knot


Explanation:
"Mental lump", the more obvious choice has a less persistently troublesome connotation...

Lonnie Legg
Germany
Local time: 08:34
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 24
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15 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
clogged mind/mental constipation


Explanation:
a couple others

Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Local time: 08:34
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 70
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19 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
restless mind / racing mind


Explanation:
(incapable of thought suppression)

Cilian O'Tuama
Germany
Local time: 08:34
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 109
Grading comment
Thanks everybody. See note to Cilian, above.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Yes. Deadlines being what they are, and this job being a rush, I sent it to the client this morning with a tentative translation of "brain fog" and a query. They brainstormed about it and decided to use "brain is buzzing." So that's the same idea as yours.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Haigo Salow: I would go with racing mind, or brain/mind on overdrive
11 days
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12 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Mental overload (on one traumatic issue)


Explanation:
Simply dissecting the German term "Kopfkloß" implies that there is one single issue on that person's mind, so pervasive that it blocks any other (potentially helpful) thoughts, because this "Kopfkloß" takes up all the thinking - leaving no room for any other thoughts.


    https://www.stress.org/3-ways-to-calm-your-mind-even-when-in-overdrive
Haigo Salow
United States
Local time: 23:34
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
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