On brain fog (it's much worse than you think)
to me, that sounds something like: experiencing Alzheimer's disease? maybe your relatives are just really forgettable people!
these kinds of takes are very common, and they have to stop. brain fog is not burnout nor depression, and it's an insensitive thing to say.
so, i decided to write a little post about what brain fog is, my own experience with it, what we owe people with brain fog, and everything i know to help you cure yours. it has three parts:
for 9 out of 10 people i know with "brain fog", it's fundamentally neurological (analogous to dementia), not psychological (like burnout or depression would be). same is the case for me.
it often comes on randomly, and is largely independent of their mood, sleep quality, and other factors that'd affect a healthy person's cognition.
nonetheless, people who don't have brain fog tend to assume it's psychological, even when you explain that it doesn't feel that way. my suspicion is that most people's world models don't allow for young people experiencing cognitive decline. this makes it feel very isolating to have brain fog, because nobody believes you as your brain is falling apart.
