Clearing the Brain Fog

If you have days or weeks or months with brain fog it’s incredibly hard to get anything productive done. You might walk into a room and forget why you’re there. You might sit and stare at your computer for hours. You might wander aimlessly around the house. It’s impossible to get anything done.

So how do you get anything done? Well, some days the best you might achieve is a shower, getting dressed and food. That’s ok. Another day you might get a load of washing on, tidy up and mow the lawn. I expect like me during your worst periods, life admin, phoning the dentist, paying a bill, fixing the car, is unachievable.

So here are my tips for getting stuff done:

• As soon as you wake up, or maybe over a cup of coffee if you’re anything like me, write down how you are feeling. It might be a couple of words, it might be a short novel. Write it all down. Now screw up that paper and throw it away. Let it go. Take a few deep breaths and say to yourself ‘my illness does not define me, you’ve got this’.
• If you’re struggling to take care of yourself set reminders in your phone or on your smart speaker or just write them down. Get dressed, eat something, go for a walk etc.
• Make a list of the big stuff. Now pass that list to someone else. A partner, a family member, a friend. Ask for help. Asking for help does not make you a failure. If you have no one to ask, write one thing off of that list down, stick it on the fridge and make it your top priority. On a day of clarity, you will get it done. Then move on to the next thing.
• If you reach halfway through the day and you’ve not achieved anything, get your shoes on and get outside. Walk fast and get your blood pumping or walk slowly and listen to the birds. Stay outside for as long as you need to. Hopefully, you’ll clear the fog enough to get something done when you get home.
• Try and be proactive with what you are doing. If you can’t get anything off of your lists done it’s ok. But it’s not ok to not look after yourself. Try to do something that will help you feel better: cook a new recipe for nourishing healthy food, read a book, do some exercise, meditate, have a long bath or shower, do whatever you can to heal yourself.

I hope some of these tips help. Remember that this too shall pass. You will be well soon. Stay strong.