(and he is apparently still partially deaf in one ear. Good times at the Eldridge nursing home!)
It's a really strange, frustrating feeling. It's like the pathways in my brain are covered in mud. For someone like me, who makes her living quickly connecting words and then, well, selling my word skills, switching between oncology and lemonade and baby food and beer and IEPs, all while my children are screaming and demanding things, this muddled-ness seriously messes with my livelihood.
I have no idea what my husband does all day (and I certainly cannot figure it out now with the brain fog!). But he seems very important, sometimes yells at people AND has a stable income with health insurance, so I assume things are tough for him too.
It feels like I smoked pot, but did not have the fun, relaxing side effect of pot use. It's like a total bummer, you guys! I was briefly beside myself, but then forgot why (brain fog!).
So, of course, I turned to the professionals on this matter. By professionals, I mean I texted an array of friends and Googled my problems! (If you try to call the doctor you are on the hook for at least 1 hour of waiting and my brain fog does not allow me to focus long enough to be on hold!). Here's what I learned:
1. Brain fog is real and has been observed in people with COVID-19, although some debate over the technical term "brain fog." It should really be called "short term memory dysfunction, processing delays and attention disorders following COVID-19 infections." (I made this up in a short burst of function!).
2. There are several solutions including: doing brain teasers, eating fish, doing puzzles, learning a language and meditating.
3. No one really knows anything and hired writers like me (before the fog!) to write these pieces.
In my discussion with friends, we came up with some very meaningful, feasible solutions:
1. Constant consumption of tuna from a pouch while walking and listening to foreign language podcasts.
2. Using Rosetta Stone to learn French!
3. Doing IQ puzzles at a random intervals during non-video conference calls that are boring anyway.
I immediately did an IQ puzzle at my desk and was so proud! Then I looked at the answer key and my solution was wrong. But I checked it and it was correct! Then I began writing a strongly worded DM to the publisher of the IQ puzzle book about their incorrect answer key. I checked again and realized I was looking at wrong answer key! The good news is my puzzle results were correct, the bad news: I WAS UNABLE TO USE AN ANSWER KEY! Brain fog!
I was beside myself.
BUT then, a surprise foe landed in my email box! I had to give someone a tongue lashing as a result of their ridiculous email. I had to cite research journals, use BIG words (like efficacy!) and basically tell them to bless their hearts!
And guess what, I AM BACK BABY!! (and off to eat tuna from a pouch and listen to French and do a puzzle of cats and pick some fights with strangers online, just in case the fog returns!).
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