Not the foggiest idea… What’s the funniest thing M.E brain fog made you do?!

by Jonathan Fitzgerald

There are two well-known sayings: “If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry” and “Laughter is the best medicine”. With these in mind, I’m inventing a new saying for us: “If M.E makes you daft, share it and have a laugh!” 

Whether you’ve steam-ironed the cheese and tried to grate your shirt for dinner, forgotten why you were going upstairs by the 2nd step, typed your credit card PIN into the microwave or accidentally called one of the children into the room using the name of a pet that died seven years ago, we’ve all done or said something silly because of the brain fog.

I know I have. The effort of memory recall and concentration seem to be the main culprits. Sometimes, I think my memory is so bad I could plan my own surprise party.

Planet Jonathan – where my brain often jets off to for an unannounced break – has witnessed some foolery of the highest order. You can be frustrated about it, you can beat yourself up about it or – as long as it’s not causing any serious risk – you can learn to chuckle at yourself. Don’t worry, we’re here to help and share back!

So for this blog, it’s over to you! However, I’ll get the ball rolling for you with some of my brain fog blunders, where mind and body weren’t connecting and I really didn’t have the foggiest what I was up to!

My Top 5 Brain Fog Moments

• On my way out of the house to an appointment, I took a full bin bag with me but forgot to put it in the wheely bin on the way past, so the smelly sack joined me in the car journey!
• Pointed my car keys at the office back door at work, pressed the unlock button and then stood there waiting for it to open.
• I’d remembered putting a leftover slice of pizza in a sandwich bag but it wasn’t in the fridge when I came to eat it. I found it several days later. It was in a sandwich bag alright… and back in the sandwich bag drawer.
• I frequently get my children’s names mixed up. To be fair, this is probably common in most parents; I can remember my Mum doing the same and with three boys it’s understandable. But, much to my kids’ despair, their names are interchangeable despite one being a girl and one being a boy! “Can you call Emily for dinner, Emily?”
• HOT-CHOC OFF THE PRESS! This one happened on the day I was finishing writing this blog, aptly enough. Very dark chocolate is supposed to be good for people with M.E. However, it’s not so good for us if, like me, you leave it on your passenger seat all day on a very hot day… and then try to pick it up… I got very hot, liquid chocolate all over my seat, gearstick and, well, my lap. My car looked like Augustus Gloop had been unwell in it.

Top 5 Steps to Mindfulness

I’ve found that practicing mindfulness – the opposite of forgetfulness – has really helped me though; it’s about getting your brain focussed ‘in the moment’ instead of letting it wander off to the next thing before you’ve done or said what you were about to do first. Think of your head as a computer – when you have too many windows open at once, it’s going to slow a poor processor down. It might even crash. Juggling multiple thoughts or worries consumes precious energy! So visually minimise or close the windows in your mind until you actually need them to be open. Consciously concentrate on one thing from moment to moment. Write the others down to get them out and then leave them somewhere else until a set-aside time to deal with them arrives. Your pizza and passenger seats depend on it! It’s well worth a go – try these top 5 tips for mindfulness.

How about you? What muddlesome misfortune has our befuddling brain fog made you do or say in the past? Please – share in the comments below. 

Extra Reading: Here’s an interesting article about a study which sought to explain brain fog in people with M.E.