Brain fog and IQ

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I've experienced a lot of "brain fog" over the years, but it's probably not worse now than it's ever been. It's hard to know whether it really affects my mental performance. It feels like it must, but when I've told people I'm feeling foggy and that I doubt my ability to make sense, they've been surprised and have assured me that I've been perfectly coherent.

I've noticed that I feel foggy when I try to work something out that I didn't have the skills for (or simply can't understand the remit) - e.g. some of my schoolwork, and following the plots of movies. So maybe in my case it's nothing more than feeling confused when attempting to do something that's confusing, which for a while can feel as if my brain has shut down. It shouldn't be that way, I should be able to either solve the problem or explain what information is lacking that stops me from solving it, but I get stuck in the detail and all my brain does is to say "errrrr.........errr........." I remember some biology homework I failed to do, and the only excuse I could muster was "I didn't understand it" - I had no idea what was unintelligible to me about the task, all I could see was a blur. Could be the same thing that a guy I knew was talking about when he complained of "brain cramp" at meetings, where the problem was that he was trying to listen at length to people rambling on and on in an inaccessible way about matters he neither knew nor particularly cared to know. Just trying to listen to an unclear communicator can bring on my foggy feeling.

I think part of the trouble is my difficulty in shifting my attention from the detail to the overview. It feels precarious being unable to see the big picture, as if I can't be sure I'm succeeding unless I have an aerial view of my position in the maze. Problems of any complexity seem vast and daunting, and I can't believe I can solve them.

I've also got a theory that if an Aspie becomes aware of their hyperfocus tendency, and the harm it can do them to get sucked into a subject for days on end, then they might start trying to compensate by becoming reluctant to really get mentally involved with anything. When I first see a complex issue or problem, my brain will often balk at thinking about it in any depth. And if you take hyperfocus away from an Aspie, there's not a lot of focus left. To put it another way, when an Aspie puts their mind to a subject, it's a much bigger investment of time and energy than it would be for anybody else, so you might expect an experienced Aspie to be economical with what they put their mind to, almost by reflex, which may lead them to believe that their brain isn't working properly.

I think it helps me to look at the task and decide whether it's something of natural interest or not. If not, I needn't be surprised if my brain feels foggy when I try to study it. Another thing that helps me is to stop working on a mental task for a while. I often find that what looks completely unfathomable at first will become much clearer on the second or third pass. If I'm still not getting anywhere, it helps me to change the task from "solve the problem" to "identify why I can't solve the problem."

I'm not saying that's the only kind of brain fog, but I think it's good to bear in mind that you might not be anything like as stupid as you think you are.

I think ADHD and boredom can also be at fault. (Or ADHD and depression.)

When I found something to get excited about, all my mental energy seemed to come back.

I used to have a lot of fixed ideas about how things should be done - stepwise, with uninterrupted focus. But, recently I have been learning that this is not how our brains are made to work. [A book talking about this is "How We Learn" by Benedict Carey.]

I am not sure where I got the idea that things have to be done the same way every time, and in a fixed sequence of steps. But, it really doesn't matter where I got the idea. Now what I have realized is that by following interests where they lead and learning in a way that is more natural to how our brains are wired, I can have a lot more fun and my brain feels much clearer.

By the way, evolutionary scientists theorize that the purpose of play is to learn. This makes so much sense. We learn so much more when we are having fun. Of course, it may be hard to get interested in something if you are depressed (actually, I know it is), but if you can find something that grabs your interest, it may be what is needed to pull you up out of your depression and bring you mental clarity.