Fighting The Fog – Pushing Through Pain-Induced Cognitive Problems

A surprising 14% of adults below the age of 40 report that they have regular issues with their memory. Instances of brain fog increase to a staggering 85% for those with pain disorders such as fibromyalgia. Cognitive impairment in the form of poor concentration, loss of trains of thought, difficulty accessing vocabulary and general poor mental focus is commonly known as brain fog. This fog is common to all forms of chronic pain disorder such as chemotherapy, fibromyalgia, CFS and injury recovery.

Research has shown that the link between the pain and fog may not be direct but could, in fact, be due to a lack of effective sleep and rest caused by the pain. With many chronic conditions having at least a partial psychosomatic element to them, the depression and frustration that can accompany this fog does little to help those diagnosed with a condition. By helping to reduce poor concentration those with chronic pain can help their overall health; and in many cases the way to do so is by focusing on that general health.

Not Overdoing It

For many years there was a worry that those with chronic conditions could become conditioned to accept bed rest and as such would never recover if allowed to simply rest. Even today there is a very mixed message regarding activity levels and chronic conditions, but the answer is actually very simple; do no more on a good day than you would on a bad. Conditions such as CFS are cyclical in nature meaning that those with the condition will have both good and bad days. The temptation very much is to achieve as much as possible on a good day before a crash follows.

Even in other conditions such as cancer treatment or fibromyalgia there can be a temptation to get as much done as possible on positive days. In fact the opposite is true. By trying to maintain a less ambitious level of concentration and activity that remains the same on both good and bad days, recovery is much quicker. Slowly increasing the level of both over time sees far better results than the feast and famine model that is prone to constant setbacks and crashes.

Healthy Mind In A Healthy Body

By looking after your general health you take the pressure off your body. Chronic pain and the related fatigue that cause brain fog take an enormous toll on the body. By adding any additional issues you will tax it further and make it significantly harder to find the energy needed to concentrate. A healthy diet is the foundation of good mental and physical health.

It is best to ignore any fads and instead focus on getting a good balance of nutrients that avoids being too high in carbohydrates. Make sure that your diet it diverse and gets its proteins from a variety of sources such as meat, dairy, pulses and fish. By maintaining diversity you help to ensure that all major vitamins, minerals and amino acids are part of your intake, but you also help to stimulate your brain. Toxins such as alcohol, recreational drugs and tobacco may give a momentary alleviation from your symptoms but in the long run they simply give more for your body to do and ultimately will cause a greater brain fog.

Brain Exercise And Support

For some, the idea of overcoming a brain fog is more about remembering even the most routine of things, rather than reaching the dizzying heights of being able to write or hold a conversation. When it is at its worst brain fog can be truly crippling. Even if your fog is very variable it still pays dividends to set as much up as possible to support your brain and memory. By taking the pressure off yourself for routine tasks, you free up your mind to focus on more challenging things.

Routines and endless lists have been shown to have a positive effect for those struggling with cognitive problems. Keep your keys in the same place, write out your routines and tick them off, and have everything you need organised into baskets or drawers. Simple steps can have big effects. While you keep your key tasks as routine as possible, it is important to vary the rest of your day as much as you can. Changing something as simple as the route you take to your doctors, will increase your cerebral stimulation, helping to keep your brain active. New activity creates new neural links in your mind which, in turn, causes an increase in your level of alertness.

Living with chronic pain is tiring, yet it can also ensure that you can’t sleep properly when you should. The impact of the pain and tiredness can be deeply depressing and lead to those who have such conditions getting lost in the fog of their minds. By reducing the pressure on your body by staying as healthy as possible, not overdoing things, making daily tasks routine and varying all other aspects of your day, you can help punch through the fog. Brain training exercises and mindful meditation have also been proven to be tremendously effective but they require a degree of concentration to get started with. Take the baby steps first and, when ready, move onto to the greater challenges and the rewards they will bring.