Many of you reading this will totally understand what brain fog is and how it affects you and your everyday life. Trying to explain what it is to someone else can sometimes be as painful as it is to have a severe episode of brain fog itself!
Here I will attempt to tackle and help the understanding of those with brain fog and the average human being who thinks they have brain fog but actually don't have a
clue!
So let us begin with some definitions of Brain Fog. Wikipedia will kick us off with the following explanation: 'Clouding of consciousness, also known as brain fog or mental fog, is a term used in medicine denoting an abnormality in the regulation of the overall level of consciousness that is mild and less severe than a delirium. The sufferer experiences a subjective sensation of mental clouding described as feeling "foggy".
Clouding of consciousness '- Wikipedia
To extend this Brain Fog and provide a simple definition of Brain Fog I turn to Merriam-Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com) : 'a usually temporary state of diminished mental capacity marked by inability to concentrate or to think or reason clearly'.
However, look at any of the words used carefully and we may be able to piece this together. So here goes nothing! People will either except our struggles and sufferings of brain fog or not listen and continue to make us feel like we are being squashed down as they say those infamous words of ' that's normal I get that all the time'.
Sounds simple enough you may say? But for those of us who actually experience bouts of brain fog that definition just won't cut it! Add together the stresses, strains and general aches and pains we have to live with everyday a bout pot brain fog can just about kill us off. So how do we get people to really understand what we are going through?
So first up;- concentration - we are talking no concentration whatsoever to minimal ability to reasonable and 'normal', whatever normal is.
The full range of symptoms needs to be explored in minute detail for it to be looked at as a disabling experience and not just a momentary situation we can recover from within the next 30 minutes!
So, we move swiftly along to thinking;- What am I doing?
Complete confusion, inability to take in any instructions or follow anything remotely logical.
Finally I will consider reasoning:- This is a nightmare to endure!
Common sense goes out the window here. Deciding on what clothes to put on, are we getting up today, what am I supposed to be doing? Can I actually do this? Then after considering this in my mushy brain we still have no idea. Time to ask for help or give in and rest until the cloud disappears (hopefully, before the day is over!)
So brain fog in a simple form of words:
- Reasoning impossible,
- Acceptance necessary by patient and family, friend / colleague.
- Ignorance exists but we need to break it down,
- Naieve of those who won't consider what we say,
- Foggy thinking,
- Organisation out of the window
- Gravity pulls us down!