For me, brain fog makes my mind go completely blank and forget what I’m doing, where I’m going, what I’m about to say. I forget words and it’s so frustrating. Mine is more than likely caused by my MS but brain fog can be a symptom of a whole load of other illnesses like depression, lupus, Thyroid issues, fibromyalgia and many more conditions cause brain fog. It can also be a side-effect of pregnancy or menopause side effect of chemotherapy.

 

Although I don’t think I’ll ever be as sharp as I was when I was younger, I have found things that have helped me with my brain fog .

 

Brain fog tips

1- Playing games- games on my phone helps combat my brain fog, like solitaire sudoku and one of my favourites at the moment is woodber where you have to get rid of the blocks by adding two together and 10 or by matching pairs. Also physical games like Uno, monopoly and especially dobble I find helps with my cognition and keeps me on my toes especially when you have a husband and two very competitive kids.

 

2- keeping pen and paper nearby and jotting down anything that I need to remember as well as Calendar on my phone and physical diaries though I seem to start a diary with good intentions and lose it! Typical brain fog!

 

3- Rest! Relax! Recharge! if you know me, you know I am a huge fan of a Nana nap. It’s rare for me to go through a day without having a nap And when I wake up Able to carry on with jobs and activities without getting myself in a muddle.

 

4- being vocal! I will quite often walk around the house talking to myself, I’ve put the keys in my court pocket, I’ve taken my tablets for the day, don’t forget this book back to Dad’s ect!

I really really don’t care if people think I’m bananas they are probably right!

 

5- Notes in your phone- So Picture This, you’re out and about on a walk relaxing and enjoying nature then Something pops into your head that you’ve been forgetting over and over again, you have notepad and pen, but you’re listening to a podcast on your phone! If you’ve got an iPhone press and hold the middle button on the earphones and ask Siri to make a note of what it is that you’re thinking, or you can ask her to set an alarm with a particular name for in an hour when you’re home. I’m not sure about other devices as I use an iPhone but I’m pretty sure that all androids come with this ability now. This for me is brilliant because I will of definitely forgotten a note pad when I'm out.... you guessed it, brain fog!

 

I asked some ladies what it’s like to have brain fog and what tips they have to battle it. Here are some of the responses.

 

Sarah of @practicallypositiveineveryway described her brain fog to me... ‘It's absolutely driving me mad at the moment.. forget the end of a sentence mid flow or cannot recall words... the other day I couldn't remember the name of the cloth you put over a table. .. (*a tablecloth!!!) as if !!!’

 

Lins of @l_ofabake in Blyth said she also suffers with brain fog.

‘It's like someone presses the off switch mid way through doing/saying something! Leaving you scrambling trying to recover what you're trying to say or do!’

 

Karen @klcrear author of ‘Teapots and tequila shots’ told me ‘A few years ago I had the most terrible brain fog which became pretty debilitating but it was due to calcium deposits build up in my brain. It's like when you come out of a dream and you can't quite remember it or put your finger on things. Like words and thoughts are somehow just beyond your grasp.

I used to put post it notes all around the house to keep me right’

 

Verity owner of @mywonkylittleheart told me ‘I would describe it as feeling like someone else has taken over my brain. Like they know everything and I'm just a stranger left to guess at what needs doing. I feel quite lost when it happens, very empty. I'm embarrassed and upset, annoyed with myself. I haven't learnt how to deal with it yet - I set reminders in my phone but I actually got those completely mixed up this week too.’

 

This is just a handful of the responses that I got from the questions, as you can see if you’re suffering with brain fog, you most definitely not alone. It is frustrating and sometimes debilitating.

 

This is where some of the inspiration for a few, of my designs came from.

 

‘ Some Profound Shit…. But brain fog.’

This one is when someone says ‘ oh what does your T-shirt say?’

And of course you can’t remember because brain fog !!!

 

 

'What did I Come In Here For?'

 

This one is for everyone who walks into a room with such purpose and then forgets why they walked in there! For me this happens multiple times an hour and it's all because of brain fog!

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on brain fog, how it feels to you? how you deal with it?

 

For me for now, I’m just thankful I remembered to finish this blog!

 

Sam x