Brain Fog – Episode ?
July 29, 2007 by laura
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
I have been really bad about keeping up with my series on brain fog. The reason is that I just keep forgetting that I have this series going on. I am brain fog personified. Even calender reminders aren’t helping anymore. To the few people that I have left to profile, please accept my sincere apologies. It’s not at all personal.
Now that I have apologized (again!), let me tell you what this series on brain fog is about. For the past several months, I have been profiling b5media bloggers (and anyone else who wants to join in) on their particular brand of brain fog, and what they do about it. I would recommend going back through the archives or searching for some of these posts, because these writers have given lots of great ideas on how to battle the fog.
Today, Alicia Sparks from Mental Health Notes is profiled. She has a really interesting post about tracking devices for people with cognitive dysfunction. A really great tie in for brain fog. She has a lot of great information on her site, check it out if you get a chance.
When I asked people about what kind of brain fog they suffer from, Alicia had this to say:
I frequently suffer from brain fog, haha. Leaving things in my pockets to be destroyed by the washing machine, forgetting appointments, calling friends/family then not remembering why, driving down the road and suddenly wondering a) where am I? b) where am I going again? or c) both, leaving apartment keys dangling in the front door all night…you get the idea.
I’ve been a bit absentminded all my life, but a lot of the more serious stuff now deals with the medicine I take.
That’s all fairly normal brain fog stuff, I think. Certainly I have done pretty much all of that on a regular basis. I definitely know that medicine can contribute to the fog – I wish I had a suggestion for that one, and other than copious amounts of coffee, I am stumped.
Unfortunately, Alicia didn’t let me know what she does to prevent any brain fog episodes – so I am just going to come up with my own suggestions.
I learned a very valuable lesson a few months ago, about leaving items in pockets before getting them laundered. So I have a two- fold system to prevent that from happening again. I check all pockets before putting the clothes in the hamper, and when its time to sort the laundry – I check it again. So far its worked. Since I started this system, the only non clothing item that has made it into the laundry is one dime.
Forgetting appointments – this is one that I am currently struggling with. I write things down, put them in my calender that has an alarm on it. I even leave myself a voice mail message to remind myself of an upcoming event. I still happen to miss them though. If you have better ideas, leave a comment.
However, for the phone call problem, I have this one licked. I write down the name of the person I am calling, the time of the call, and the reason on a post-it or in my book. When I am caught off guard, or my head starts to feel funny- all I have to do is look at the paper, and I am reminded of why I made the call in the first place.
Leaving your keys in the door is a problem, and there is a safety issue. I suggest getting one of those chains where you can where around your wrist, and attaching your keys to that. Slip it around your wrist when you are entering your building, or going up the stairs to your house, and then when the door is open, you have no choice but to pull the keys out, because you are wearing the key chain.
Thanks for sharing your brain fog story, Alicia. It’s good to know that there are others out there who deal with this mysterious symptom.
Thanks! Good to know it’s normal
I’ll have to try the phone thing – I’ve usually got a pen and pad handy.
And I’ll definitely keep my eye open for those key chains!
Alicia,
I use to suffer terribly from the phone fog. Occasionally, I still lose my train of thought in the middle of a conversation (exhaustion is the reason for this), but thanks to the stationary by the phone, I never forget who I am actually talking to, or why I called them.
The wearable key chain is genius!!! Without it, I would have lost my keys thousands of times.
Thanks for participating!
I think one of the worst things about frequent brain fog, is that you forget you can’t rely on your memory! We’d do all these little tricks all the time if we assumed we wouldn’t remember – but for some reason, give me a day where the noggin works reasonably well, or just being optimistic, and I fly through the day thinking that for sure I’ll remember the bread in the oven and the keys in the door!
Just like all those containers in the freezer. I really don’t need to label this one…
Jenna,
good point. the thing for me with the constant fog, is that eventually i learn my lesson. This is why I rely so much on the little tricks of the trade…if I don’t use them, I know the consequences.
Um, what does it say that on the same day I write about remembering the bread rising in the oven, I forget the bread rising in the oven?
Thank goodness for the forgiveness of sourdough. It was a yummy breakfast! Mental note: Must use yellow post-it notes and set the palm pilot when doing anything that has long breaks in between! (Between the two of us, we did manage to get through two loads of laundry in 6 hours…) How long do you think it’ll take me to forget that trick?
Jenna,
That ALWAYS happens to me. When I actually remember to do something (a few hours in the future) I actually forget to do it.
Maybe thats the trick…to do only forgiving stuff. Hmmm how do we go about making our lives forgivable. Will definitely have to ponder that one.
2 loads in 6 hrs….not bad according to my calculations. I too am one of those people who forget about the laundry….at least I forget stuff thats in the dryer, until I remember to do another load of laundry, often days later.