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Fog On The Shore
Nov. 24th, 2010 12:37 amIf there were one rule for living that I could tattoo to the inside of my mind so it would be there no matter what when I needed it, it would be "Don't try to estimate how long it will take to do things when you're fogged in."
Actually, that's not true... there are several rules that are more important for me to remember, but a permanent mental reminder for that one would be especially handy as I'm least likely to recall it on my own when it's most relevant.
Being "fogged in" is the state of mental fatigue I sometimes find myself in. I know some of my friends with chronic pain or fatigue have experienced similar states, or at least states that they find similar language convenient for describing... for me, having a brain full of fog means that everything seems to be moving in slow motion, but my reflexes are slowed even more. "Fog" isn't a perfect description... it's more like something that has the properties of both quick-setting wet cement and fog. It's thick and it's ephemeral. It's intangible and it's confining.
My memory suffers when I'm fogged in... I have a hard time calling things to mind and a hard time remembering things later that I ostensibly learned during th state. I tend to do a lot of nodding along with people during it. As I'm writing this I'm realizing that I really need to add just telling people that I'm not in a state to remember things to my life skills... most of my disability skills revolve around hiding or minimizing my disability, especially as it impacts my mental processes.
A lot of days... not every day... I go through a period of fog when I wake up, which I suppose is probably not all that unusual, but there are some days when the fog lingers. I've got some ways of beating it back, but then there are days when it just won't budge. It's not often... not even as often as once a week. But it makes it dang hard to get anything done, and even harder to gauge how much I'm getting done or how quickly.
Just on more thing I need to learn how to take into account. If I don't do anything when I'm fogged in, it's like the fog solidifies, but I think I need to start treating anything I get done in that state as a bonus instead of setting goals.
Actually, that's not true... there are several rules that are more important for me to remember, but a permanent mental reminder for that one would be especially handy as I'm least likely to recall it on my own when it's most relevant.
Being "fogged in" is the state of mental fatigue I sometimes find myself in. I know some of my friends with chronic pain or fatigue have experienced similar states, or at least states that they find similar language convenient for describing... for me, having a brain full of fog means that everything seems to be moving in slow motion, but my reflexes are slowed even more. "Fog" isn't a perfect description... it's more like something that has the properties of both quick-setting wet cement and fog. It's thick and it's ephemeral. It's intangible and it's confining.
My memory suffers when I'm fogged in... I have a hard time calling things to mind and a hard time remembering things later that I ostensibly learned during th state. I tend to do a lot of nodding along with people during it. As I'm writing this I'm realizing that I really need to add just telling people that I'm not in a state to remember things to my life skills... most of my disability skills revolve around hiding or minimizing my disability, especially as it impacts my mental processes.
A lot of days... not every day... I go through a period of fog when I wake up, which I suppose is probably not all that unusual, but there are some days when the fog lingers. I've got some ways of beating it back, but then there are days when it just won't budge. It's not often... not even as often as once a week. But it makes it dang hard to get anything done, and even harder to gauge how much I'm getting done or how quickly.
Just on more thing I need to learn how to take into account. If I don't do anything when I'm fogged in, it's like the fog solidifies, but I think I need to start treating anything I get done in that state as a bonus instead of setting goals.