Brain Fog: Is Your Head in a Cloud?

We've all experienced it: forgetting someone's name during an introduction, spacing out when we're asked a simple question, or fumbling to find the correct word and it never comes. When it happens too often, everything from Alzheimer's to brain tumors surfaces to mind. But brain fog, going blank, having a "senior moment" or whatever you want to call it is more common than you think - especially in a highly-connected and informed society where we are perpetually bombarded with, well... way too much information!

Flash back to 100 years ago when the term "brain fog" didn't exist in the everyday vocabulary. People only had to learn what they needed to know to survive; information that was irrelevant to a person's work and lifestyle was not needed, or readily available. But as time progressed, those who had the opportunity to expand their knowledge base were presented with greater prospects - and thus the quest for knowledge became a means of getting ahead, the beginning of information overload, and the brain fog that subsequently developed from those little neurons being set into perpetual overdrive!

Today, information is so readily available that any dilemma or query can be solved with a few clicks of a mouse - although the information that surfaces is rarely a representation of truth, since slapdash opinions are readily published alongside verified sources.

The Truth isn't Out There...

Through a myriad of published opinions, beliefs and attitudes, the truth will always be in flux. So the more you're informed, the more you will continue to experience conflict in the brain (another brain fog culprit). Those who continually absorb new information are forced to find new ways to file, store and recall it for later use; but if solid conclusions are not drawn from the onset, then the resulting conflict rests heavily on those little neurons. Being open to the beliefs and attitudes of others while being able to draw your own conclusions is the basis of reasoning, and it's that ability to reason that will help you to decide what makes sense, and what doesn't.

Blaming Brain Fog on TV Ads?

The media is a prime example of a vehicle that presents conflicting information causing our brains to be in a constant state of flux. The general population is continually being handed propaganda that is presented as "truth," but in actuality it almost always contradicts itself.

For example, a recent TV ad campaign suggests if you want to "feel young," or "revisit your youth," you should drink Diet Pepsi. But several sources on the Web state that the chemical used as the primary sweetener called aspartame causes a variety of health problems with prolonged use. Since health problems are not usually associated with being young and vibrant, an unresolved conflict develops in the brains of those who are actually paying attention.

The Simple Life...

Perhaps this is where the adage ignorance is bliss comes from. The less you know, the less conflict you have in the brain, and the less time you spend trying to "work things out." This isn't to say you should stop learning - learning is essential to finding your own truth. It's not how much you know, it's how you deal with the information that is presented to you that is a measure of your intelligence.

So the next time you're struggling to find the perfect word, or having trouble articulating your opinion on a certain subject, or anything else that constitutes brain fog, chances are your brain is just dealing with information overload. Always try to keep an open mind, absorb the plausible and discard the hearsay, but most importantly, don't believe everything you read and trust your own judgment.

Remember, the most opinionated, arrogant and prejudiced people are indisputably closed-minded. The defining characteristic of the closed-minded is shutting the door before hearing both sides of a story. This is why the ignorant have little conflict in the brain, and don't seem to struggle with brain fog issues; it's because they don't bother giving new information a chance. And with the arrogant being so smug and self-righteous, they prove that ignorance is bliss, the bliss of never having to deal with information overload, or - brain fog!