What Is Brain Fog Anyway?

I saw a post on Facebook about what it is like to live with Fibromyalgia and Brain Fog. Well, I’m fairly certain that I can speak on this very topic. I have four autoimmune disorders and three of the four have brain fog associated with them, and then three of the medications I take have brain fog as a known side-effect. And I had COVID-19 and my doctor said that I likely have long COVID, and well, that shit also has brain fog associated with it as a long-term issue.

So what is brain fog? Brain fog is characterized by confusion, forgetfulness, and a lack of focus and mental clarity. This can be caused by overworking, lack of sleep, stress, and spending too much time on the computer.

Me, I think Brain Fog is the most annoying and frustrating side effect that I have. The pain is annoying and upsetting, but not nearly as frustrating as brain fog.

When I talk, I actually get scared sometimes, as I don’t know what in the hell might come out. I find myself tossing in words that certainly do not belong in what I’m trying to say. And it isn’t just talking, it is that way for typing and writing as well. I will read a sentence that I recently typed and will have no clue what in the hell I’m trying to say. I drop words and names all the time. I can walk up to a co-worker that I have worked with for the past 15 years and call them the incorrect name and in my mind, it is like, it fits, lol.

I also forget things that I should not forget. You know the date, time, or person that a very significant event took place. Like maybe I forget someone’s birthday and it is not like I forgot a birthday, I pretty much forgot that the person actually has a birthday, or better yet, I will swear that it is three or four months away.

It just gets frustrating when you are around people who do not know you well or know what you are going through, you just come off as a total asshole and well, I am an asshole, but not like that kind of an asshole.

I can be talking to someone and then I stop and my brain is searching for the data, but it isn’t a computer searching, it is my brain looking through drawer after drawer and file after file of data. And the funny part is that once I find the data, my brain doesn’t file it where it belongs, it just tosses that shit over my head and lets it fly, while saying, “screw it, that is future me’s problem”.