This level of forgetfulness?

I overheard the strangest conversation in class today.

One person (I am being gender-neutral just in case) said to another that they were so stressed out about the bar that their short term memory is completely shot. However, the interesting thing is that their short term memory is related to their body. For example, while showering, they forget if they washed their hair or not and end up shampooing twice. They also forget if they wiped and obsess over it until they go to the bathroom to repeat the procedure. They forget whether they brushed their teeth and have to remember based on whether their mouth feels minty from the toothpaste.

Is this normal for someone who is intensely studying for a bar exam? Doesn’t this sound like something more serious? Why would the pattern of forgetfulness have to do only with their body?