Quote:
Originally Posted by Frogm4n
I've read on and off for years, but there wasn't usually more than a week gap at the longest. Then, I came down with multiple rounds of COVID-19 and have lasting effects including brain fog. At times I simply can not read without constantly losing my place on the page or becoming suddenly exhausted. There's something about long form reading that is especially taxing, be it books or articles or movies. It's quite a contrast in that long form reading is difficult, but random things like forums, short form news, social media, etc. aren't especially taxing.
On good stretches I can read and read and burn through a few books. If I get too much mental or health stress then I'm only going to be good enough to watch YouTube videos and space out. I'm very sure I've lost IQ points from it, but I get to wait for a(n upcoming) medical evaluation to confirm how poorly it's gotten. I've started using a phrase that sounds silly, but is effective at communicating a bad day: "Sorry, I couldn't brain enough to get X done today."
What I find also interesting is that I was a tutor for adult students with learning disabilities/TBI when I was in college. I'm now experiencing exactly what some of those people were.
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That's very interesting. I have an acquaintance who's going through perimenopause with its classical symptoms (hot flashes etc.) and she has also described such a brain fog. Her solution was to turn to audiobooks instead of written text.
I'm (presumably) going through perimenopause as well (I don't have any particular physical symptoms, though, so it's only a guess based on my age) and while I'm not experiencing a brain fog, exactly, my ability to focus for long periods has taken a considerable hit in recent years. I can still focus, but for shorter periods than I could before; I get impatient, put my ereader aside and do something else, then pick the reader up again. Oh, I miss the times when I could read for 10 hours nonstop!
The only consolation is that hopefully this is not permanent. Audiobooks are not a solution for me, as I don't enjoy listening.