system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What's actually happening in my brain when I'm confused?
gpt
Most thinking we do is based on maps of reality we build up in our heads that prepare our mind and body for expected events (e.g. Pavlov's dog). Confusion is when something happens to us that causes our minds to seriously reconsider whether the map it was using is valid, and, if not, which map is.
  The problem is, your current map was based on the best available information and now seems wrong - so your brain must toss through ALL the information it can to extrapolate the proper map to apply.  This is overwhelming enough,  but worse, it still has an investment in the map it was using so it becomes very difficult to be decisive because the brain is caught between two competing models of reality.