Brain Fog: What's It Really Like?

If you’re reading this, I’m sure you’ve heard the term “brain fog” before. So what is it?

What is brain fog?

Brain fog is a symptom of multiple medical conditions. Some of these conditions include fibromyalgia, depression, diabetes, anemia, and autoimmune diseases like MS, arthritis, and lupus. It can also be a result of some medications.

Mental fatigue is incredibly draining. You start to forget everything. Symptoms of brain fog are memory problems, difficulty focusing, and poor concentration among other things.

How does it affect us?

Lately, I’ve been experiencing a great amount of brain fog. I can’t remember what I ate for lunch yesterday, or if I even fed the cat. Before becoming sick, I had a great short-term memory. I could remember everything! I feel like I’ve lost my mind in the past few months.

Sometimes I can’t even remember if I took one of my pills during dinner. I’ll sit there after I ate and wonder “did I take my pill? I honestly can’t remember if I picked it up and took it or not.” Not the best confidence boost when I can’t remember anything.

I also recently switched dosages of my anti-depressant, where I was taking 3 pills before. Now, I’m only supposed to take 2 pills, but I got so used to taking 3 that I randomly started taking 3 (which meant upping my dosage) for a few days before I clued in to what I was doing!

Needless to say, I don’t feel super great about my brain right now.

The mental effect of brain fog

Having brain fog pretty regularly for the past month or so has definitely taken a toll on my mental health. I don’t feel like I’m as smart as I used to be. I’ll have a conversation with someone and forget it immediately. I repeat my stories over and over.

I can tell other people get annoyed with me when I’m like this. “You’ve told me this story before”. “You just said that an hour ago”. I feel like a total bother to everyone around me.

Like I mentioned above, having brain fog is draining. It feels like I’m working twice as hard just to remember simple things. As I’m sitting here writing this, it’s hard to focus. It’s hard to even organize my thoughts.

I’ve been feeling pretty down as a result of all of this. I’m 23 years old and I feel like I’m losing my mind, and no one that I talk to really gets it when I try to explain it. I feel stupid.

What to do about brain fog

There isn’t a cure for brain fog, but there are some little things you can do to try and ease the symptoms. Some of these include getting enough sleep, exercising (I love yoga), eating healthy, and managing stress. You should also try to limit caffeine and alcohol if you’re experiencing brain fog.

What are some things you do to help ease brain fog symptoms? Share them, because I’m always open to new things to try for this! We’re in this together, so let’s combine our foggy brains!