What is – and what isn’t – ‘brain fog’?
The Hindu
Sufferers describe experiences with brain fog as lapses in memory and concentration.
The COVID pandemic has introduced many scientific and medical terms into our everyday language. Many of us are now fluent in conversations about viral strains, PCR tests and mortality rates. “Brain fog” has joined these ranks to describe a now-familiar symptom of COVID and long COVID.
But what exactly is brain fog, and is it limited to COVID?
Brain fog is not a medical diagnosis, but rather the description patients tend to use for their symptoms. Brain fog is what doctors refer to as “cognitive dysfunction”. This describes problems with closely linked tasks such as concentration, information processing, memory, thinking and reasoning, and making sense of language.
Brain fog is exactly what it sounds like: a feeling something like being shrouded by a thick fog, not quite able to grasp ideas, feeling confused or disoriented, and having trouble concentrating or recalling memories.
Sufferers describe experiences with brain fog as lapses in memory and concentration, with some saying they “put food on the gas stove and walked away for over an hour, only noticing when they were burning”.
Other people say they “forget how to do normal routines like running a meeting at work”.
Brain fog can make even simple tasks like grocery shopping very difficult: navigating the car park, remembering a list of items to buy, switching attention between products and prices, and reading ingredients can be confusing, overwhelming and exhausting.
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