Wondering How To Get Rid Of Brain Fog? Take This Survey And Find Out

Brain fog. It seems to go hand in hand with chronic stress, life change, or just plain fatigue. You feel like your memory’s shot, your thought process is cloudy, and you wonder how this phenomenon crept up on you to be your new normal. You find yourself wondering how to get rid of brain fog, and regularly asking yourself questions like:

– Wait, what was I JUST going to do?

– DID I lock the door/load the washing machine/turn off the oven before I left the house?

– Did I remember to send that email? 

 

Experiencing brain fog is one thing, and hard enough. But it really becomes a concern if your brain fog is causing you anxiety, or even worse – scaring you that something else might be going on. 

If you want to know how to get rid of brain fog, the first step is to assess what might be causing your brain fog, and especially if it could be a result of something health-related.  So I’ve put together some survey questions to help steer you toward common brain fog causes. 

Take this survey to uncover what might be causing your symptoms, and you will have a much clearer idea of what you can do to get rid of brain fog. 

 

Brain Fog Causes: The Survey

You…

1. Get at least 7 hours of sleep per night

__Every night
__5-6 nights/week
__1-4 nights/week
__How does anyone get that much sleep?

 

2. Exercise yourself challengingly (meaning, feel like you released tension, worked your  muscles and stretched well) for 30 minutes, 3xs/week

__Every week
__Most weeks
__Some weeks
__Never

 

3. Eat whole grains, ample protein, and minimal sugar/processed foods

__All of the time
__More often than not
__More not than often
__Big Macs and KitKats (or similar) are your staples

 

4. Are able to control chronic stress and anxiety

__All the time

__More often than not

__Sometimes

__Seldom

 

5. Have ruled out medical causes*

__vitamin or mineral deficiency

__hormone/thyroid deficiency

__heavy metal toxicity

__medication side effects

__autoimmune, digestive, or infectious disease 

__allergy to wheat/gluten, dairy, or other food group

 

*A reputable integrative physician can make these assessments.

 

As you can see from the above questions, there are many possible causes for brain fog, and as many ways to get rid of it. While brain fog can be a result of chronic anxiety, lifestyle habits run amok, or a more serious health issue, the range of  possibilities alone can leave you feeling overwhelmed, and more cognitively depleted. Resist the urge to give up, and instead use the list to see where the likeliest causes may lurk. Do you need to improve your diet? Restart your exercise, or get better sleep? Or do you need to schedule a thorough check up?

Once you have some ideas about where your brain fog could be coming from, pick the two most likely avenues to tackle, and make a gentle plan. A first step, for example, could be making a healthier grocery list or setting aside more time to sleep or exercise. Or perhaps finding a good internist and making an appointment is what makes the most sense.

No matter where you start, know this will be a process and take it one step at a time. Also recognize with your new cognitive “normal” that you might need some help. Reach out to encouraging friends and family, or a professional therapist to support you as you figure this out.  In the meantime, be gentle and forgiving with yourself – it can take time to tackle solutions when you are still adjusting to your new normal, and struggling to simply feel yourself.

In wading through your brain fog and searching for answers, be deliberate in prioritizing self care until things improve. 

 

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Photo by Volkan Olmez on Unsplash