In this podcast episode, we talk about Pandemic Brain Fog and how to cope with it.
Links to resources/articles referenced in the episode:
- Struggling with brain fog? You’re not alone – Susan Cunningham – 01/21/21 – UCHealth
- Pandemic Brain’ Is Real—And It Explains Why You Can’t Focus – Jenny Singer – 03/10/21 – Glamour
- Retirement blues: Taking it too easy can be hard on you – Nov-2015 – Harvard Health
- How Parents Can Handle Pandemic Brain Fog – Wendy Wisner – 03/18/21 – Very Well Familly.com
- How to Meditate – 01/31/19 – Mindful
- Which Type of Meditation Is Right for Me – Holly Berktone – 10/02/2020 – Healthline
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hello! Welcome to the Sally in the Zen podcast. I’m your host, Sally. I’m a Zen Buddhist caregiver of my elderly folks and always in pursuits to find Zen moments in everyday living. If you’re new to the podcast, welcome. If you’re not new and you’re returning, welcome back!
Hope all of you are doing safe and sound. Right now it’s Sunday, March 28th and as I’m taping this episode, I’m looking out my window and I see it’s cloudy, overcast. It had rained a little bit earlier and it’s wet outside so the atmosphere outside seems suitable for the topic that we’re talking about today. And today’s episode is about the pandemic brain fog. Now if you’re interested in finding out what exactly it is and how to cope with it, let’s get started.
Now I came across this topic when I was actually in the dentist office with Pop, when he was in the back of the dentist getting fitted with his dentures. And I was out in the waiting room for a little bit. I was watching the Today Show that was on the TV screen that was in the doctor’s office, and they were talking about pandemic brain fog. And that was my first time coming across something like that. And as they talked about it, I’m like, yes, that’s right! Yes, that happened to me! Yes, that’s exactly what I felt!
So that kind of cued me in that I think I wanted to go ahead and do an episode on it, and hence, here we are.
So how I’m going to do today’s episode is going to be slightly different from how I’ve done it before with the informative episodes. I will of course include the resources that I cite on today’s episode in the show notes for your reference, but I’m just going to summarize them in my own words but if you wanted to read the whole entire article of these resources, they’re available to you in the show notes.
So pandemic brain fog is what’s happening to most of us as a result of having gone through the pandemic. And I’m not talking about getting COVID, getting sick with that virus. I’m talking about as a result of the environment going through a pandemic and most of the country was shut down, and everybody had to basically shelter in place for months on end – that is the pandemic brain fog that I’m talking about.
According to UC Health, it’s the lack of mental clarity or foggy thinking. According to Glamor, it’s the fogginess or a low-level depression that comes with being isolated or off your regular routines. And further, from Glamor, it’s depression and anxiety still highest in younger adults, women, people with lower household income, people with a long-term physical health condition, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and people living with children.
Now according to Very Well Family.com the common symptoms of pandemic brain fog are as follows:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Short-term memory issues
- Trouble paying attention to details
- Diminished ability to multitask
- Having trouble completing tasks
- Having trouble planning
- Feeling extra sleepy, scattered or confused.
And here’s a food for thought, because I personally seen this when Mom and Dad went through the transition from working to retirement. There’s actually a mental condition or a mental period, however you call it, where when people retire,make that transition from full-time work to retirement, that there is actually a thing called retirement blues. And it’s a mental impact where it can actually stress out the older person. It will result with the symptoms that are not unlike that of pandemic brain fog. But I digress.
So for this particular article, I wanted to read it straight to you rather than summarize because it’s actually pretty good. So it’s the How Parents Can Handle Pandemic Brain Fog from the Very Well Family.com written by Wendy Wisner published on March 18th, 2021.
According to the article, let’s take a look at ways that can help you cope with brain fog.
- Routine, routine, routine. When you are quarantined at home, the days can easily blend into one another. Oh boy, yes that’s true because it was one perpetual groundhog’s Day. This feeling of not knowing what day it is and having no real routine for your life can contribute to feelings of brain fog.
I’m telling you it’s similar to retirement blues. Okay.
It’s good to create structure to your days with your children even if your activities are limited. So try your best to wake up at roughly the same time each day and create routines for you and your children and your family around activities, meals, and sleep. These small things can help give you energy and clarity.
Another thing – get outside. Gathering indoors with people outside your immediate family may not be safe depending on the community transmission rates in your area and other personal considerations, but outside time is always in style even during a pandemic.
- So the next one is move your body. The mind and body are linked and if your body is sluggish, chances are your mind is too. So get moving and whatever way you enjoy. It can be a dance party with your children, walk around the block or even a sweat session on your exercise bike.
- Next one – eat wholesome invigorating food. You are what you eat as they say. Many of us have taken to eating comfort food during a pandemic and there’s nothing wrong with that. Oh yeah, we had lots of comfort food and I think it was Italian food. I actually forget what it was that Mom made now but I gotta go back. Anyway, next one.
- Name your emotions. One way to manage the swarm of emotions many of us are feeling during a pandemic is to name what you are experiencing. It’s so easy to go through your day feeling everything – every worry, every irritation, every feeling of sadness and not even realize what you’re feeling. This can lead to feeling completely overwhelmed so taking the time to name your emotions, writing it down or sharing it with a loved one can help you feel a little more control over how you are feeling and even lessen the emotion can have on you. Well, that’s true.
- Don’t try to multitask. So parents are the ultimate multitaskers. Some of us don’t know how to function otherwise, but multitasking actually can contribute to feelings of brain fog. Your brain simply becomes overwhelmed and can’t properly concentrate on any one thing, thereby doing a poor job with each thing you are task to do. So setting time aside to concentrate on each test separately will increase your overall focus as well as your patience.
- Next, get organized. Any way that you can take control in a time where control seems to be lacking will help you with your mental health and your feelings of fuzzy brain. But you don’t have to be in charge of this yourself. Technology is on your side. So you can use apps on your phone to create to-do lists, grocery lists, and to store other important things so it doesn’t slip your mind. Next one.
- Speak to a therapist or a counselor. Since brain fog is a symptom of stress and anxiety, it might be helpful for you to take charge of your mental health by consulting a professional. These days therapist services can even be accessed virtually.
Now when I think about how we cope, Mom loves crossword puzzles, any kind of brain teasers. And thank God for smartphones which never leaves her hand, we hooked her up with crossword puzzles, with these coloring book games, and she’s literally tapping away on her cellphone all day long.
As for Pop, we came across Chinese Opera on YouTube. Thank God for YouTube. And he would sit there and sing along with the Chinese Opera. I can’t get into it. I don’t even understand the language. Yes, I’m Chinese, thank you very much at all but Cantonese is not my strong suit at all, and the Chinese Opera that he’s been looking at is in all Cantonese and he understands everything about it. And he sits there and sings while I just listen and try to understand what’s going on. But more than likely I just walk out of the room and let him enjoy himself.
Now as for me, how I’ve been coping…I remember very specifically that the first two weeks when we first had to stay at home in March of 2020 – those two weeks were so painful and I think when we look back at it now, it was the onset of the brain fog. And what I instinctively knew to do for my own mental health was to bump up the number of meditation sessions that I did. So as soon as I wake up I meditated for about 30 minutes to an hour, nd at the end of the day I would do the same thing.
Now I’ve said this before because I kind of hesitate about talking about meditation – because it’s such a personal activity that is very different per person. But if you are interested in learning how to meditate, I’m not the person to teach you. I’ll be straight up about that. It’s a very individualized activity but I can point you in the direction if you’re interested of learning how to do in the first place.
So while I was googling for you guys I actually learn something. So I came across Mindful.org – how to meditate. That was actually a very good article which teaches you the beginning steps of how to begin to meditate. Cuz long ago in an age younger, younger, younger than right now, I’d say in my 20s maybe, when I learned how to do meditation, it was through my father. So the steps that we took were pretty similar to this article so I’m going to recommend it.
And then while I was also researching for you guys I learned something new about meditation. So from Healthline.com, there are multiple types of meditation which I was not aware of. So, that was pretty interesting and I’m going to share my findings with you.
So according to the article, there are nine popular types of meditation practice. Who knew? Anyways.
- Mindfulness meditation
- Spiritual meditation
- Focused meditation
- Movement meditation
- Mantra meditation
- Transcendental meditations
- Progressive relaxation
- Loving kindness meditation
- Visualization meditation
If I had to choose what meditation that I do, it would be spiritual, mindfulness, focused and transcendental. Beyond the titles, I don’t know what they mean, but there you go.
So we’ve reached the end of today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions or comments, send me an email at Sally@Sallyinthezen.com or you can DM me on Instagram under the same handle. Depending on your comment maybe I’ll feature it on a future episode. We’ll see. I thank you, thank you, thank you guys always for spending a few minutes of your time with me in pursuits to find Zen moments in everyday living. Have a great week and talk to you again soon.