Mind Matters with Kyle MacDonald: Brain fog can be a symptom of Covid and post-Covid recovery but also a sign of being overwhelmed

If you're paying attention to what is going on in the world it can be hard to feel upbeat about much at present. Photo / 123rf

ADVICE

I haven't had Covid but I really feel like I have the brain fog people recovering from it talk about. In the last couple of months, I get tired easily and am having trouble focusing and completing tasks. I don't feel depressed, but I'm struggling to get moving and it's not like me. I don't know what's going on and feel like it's getting worse.

Brain fog is a thing all right, and yes it can be a symptom of Covid and post-Covid recovery, but there are also lots of other potential causes. It can be caused by some physical ailments, so it may be a good idea to go and get a check-up with your GP, just to be on the safe side.

Having said that, you're not alone in continuing to feel like something is off with your energy levels and general sense of wellbeing at present. Throughout the lockdowns, there was much talk about "languishing" and how it felt that it was hard to get engaged in things and feel upbeat and like we were thriving.

"Brain fog" seems to be another way of describing something similar. Frankly, if you're someone who pays attention to what goes on in the world it can be hard to feel upbeat about much at present. A chronic flatness, feeling little hope for the future, ongoing worries about the cost of living, Covid and other possible viruses lurking on the horizon.

But at an individual level, just like any other feeling we have to start by choosing to carefully listen to the experience of brain fog and see what sense we can make of it in our own lives.

Brain fog as a symptom is a sign of being overwhelmed - too much input, and not enough mental energy. In the context of physical illness, it is obvious why our capacity is reduced.

However, with enough demands on us, we can all end up feeling overwhelmed.

And there is no shortage of incoming demands at present.

When we start to feel overwhelmed we need to bring what I call the boundary of concern in, and turn off some notifications - literally on our phones, but also metaphorically in our lives.

One of the easiest inputs to control, of course - even though it can be very hard to look away from - is world events, news and catastrophes. It doesn't make you a bad person to momentarily need to look away.

The other boundary to assess is work. Have you let the boundary between work and home slip since the pandemic started?

Many of us have, and it can be hard to push that boundary back out again. Working from home doesn't mean working more - or being more available. But over the last couple of years, many of us have let those boundaries creep, out of necessity, and it may now be time to reassess.

But overall, listening to brain fog, exhaustion, overload or languishing means slowing down. It means getting off the device, going outside and reconnecting with the moment. It means making time for yourself and all the other cliched self-care tropes.

So stop the noise, bring the boundary of concern in, be realistic about how much you can do, and what you can achieve right now and try to create some peace and joy in your little corner of the world.

Soon enough, the fog will clear.