I usually stagnate when problems don’t shift, change or move on. As long as others are straight with me I can deal with anything.

My mind tends to go into confusion when I'm not able to connect with words and my intuition hasn't kicked in. Brain fog can last anything from an hour to three hours.

With brain fog I can become acutely restless and may often find it difficult to concentrate. My head may often feel like it is in a vice.

The symptoms below are usually what I deal with. If these are your symptoms too, the chances are you are dealing with brain fog.

  • Attention span decreases;
  • Loss of concentration of thoughts;
  • Feeling agitated and tired;
  • Becoming more fearful and worried about things you wouldn’t worry about at all;
  • Feeling detached from yourself and from your realities;
  • Not being able to think clearly;
  • Becoming restless.

I usually come out of it when something becomes obvious and I see a way forward on my issues. It is only often at that point that I begin to feel normal again.

Ilana Estelle is a mental health and wellbeing advocate who combines educational insight with her personal experience of living with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. She holds diplomas in Counselling, Diet and Nutrition, Nutritional Therapy, Psychotherapy and Counselling, and Stress Management. Through her writing, Ilana supports others in navigating their emotional, mental, and physical health challenges. In addition to writing for The CP Diary, her work has appeared in healthy lifestyle magazines. Ilana is also the author of three books: Cerebral Palsy: A Story – Finding the Calm After the Storm, Spirituality, Healing and Me, and Survival: The Covid Years – Time for Change.

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4 comments on “Dealing with brain fog”

  1. I have brain fog too due to my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and have been dealing with it for 17 years not.

    My symptoms are: horrible short term memory, difficulty finding words, disorientation for short amounts of time like 30-60 seconds, loss of mental acuity, forgetfulness, inability to think clearly, in a fog or a dark cloud overhead, decreased attention span, mild depression, difficulty concentrating, lack of focus and confusion. Some of my symptoms are worse than others, lack the forgetfulness but, it's short term memory stuff.

    I remember stuff that I'm in a habit of doing like calling my mom. I may go to do it and get side tracked and then forget. Then that goes into the attention span problem. It used to be worse but I've learned to deal with it and take things slowly. I make lists a lot and that helps.

    Then there are times I have to say STOP! and just sort things out in my head. Hope you're feeling better today.

    1. Thanks Lisa, I'm feeling better today.

      I totally understand you. It's great that writing a list works for you. Unfortunately we may not all deal with the same kind of symptoms. I'd probably have to clear my head first before I could write a list.

      I'm not sure how to avoid brain fog completely but having less stress to deal with seems to be key.

  2. I seemed to have that problem yesterday when I didn't even want to leave the house. It was just very difficult for me to even think about going out somewhere when I felt like I couldn't think straight.

    It lasted until late afternoon when a friend asked to go out for coffee and I actually felt up to it. I'm guessing it just comes from the fact that I have a lot of unresolved issues on my mind lately. It's quite a shock for me that it's already 2012 and I feel like my life isn't really going in any specific direction.

    I'll have to work on this problem so I can get on with my life. It would be nice to know whether I am coming or going.

    1. I'm sorry to hear you had the same problem, but glad you managed to come through it and go out for coffee with your friend.

      As hard as it is, sometimes if we manage to push ourselves, we do manage to break the cycle. I'm here for you.

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