Blonde AND in a Brain Fog- Double Whammy!!

Before posting a response or deleting me from your favorites, please read the following disclaimer:

1.  I am blonde and I get most jokes.

2.  I do experience brain fog, and I have never used my blondeness as an excuse (at least not seriously, just jokingly).

3.  Most stereotypes are only good for one thing…………humor. Getting serious about a stereotype will do one of two things.  Either a person will blindly accept it as truth or invest their time and energy to prove it is false. Either way, contemplating the validity of a stereotype ends up granting more attention and merit to it than is warranted. Therefore, you will not find a thought-provoking sociological debate here. Here, you will only be subject to the musings of a blonde-haired woman who drifts in and out of a fog on a regular basis.

Now that I am off the hook, and you know where I stand on the whole stereotyping issue, I will share my expertise in this matter.

Brain fog takes the classic blonde stereotype to a completely new level.  Strange things happen when you are in a brain fog.  You forget how to do normal everyday tasks like brush your teeth or use the microwave.  Did you notice that I did not say FORGET TO DO these things, I said FORGET HOW to do these things. Like I said, it’s a whole new level of dumbfoundedness. Are you familiar with the old saying, “They looked like a deer in headlights?” It is a cliché sometimes used to describe a person who may have looked confused or caught off guard for one reason or another.  Well, with brain fog you don’t even get close to seeing the headlights, cause the fog’s too dense.  

It can get a little embarrassing when you have to ask how to put your car in park or how to use the TV remote. Do I hear an AMEN? Personally, my fog usually becomes as thick as pea soup when it comes to finding the right words to say.  I struggle remembering simple words like door, telephone or sweater. If I am lucky, my absent mindedness happens in conversations with my husband who understands brain fog, and is willing to help me by fill in the blanks. Sometimes there is a whole lota blanks.

In my experience, the best strategy for brain fog survival is learning how to laugh at yourself. This is especially good advice for the survival of the foggiest. Not fittest……foggiest- get it? Sure you did.  How about this one?

Why did the person with brain fog tip-toe past the medicine cabinet?

Answer:  They didn’t want to wake up the sleeping pills. 

Know any good brain fog jokes?  Please share.  Better yet, tell us the strangest brain fog experience you have had.  We promise to laugh with you, not at you.

Imagine that a whiney child reverts to using baby talk in an effort to get your attention. “Use your words,” you say, in an equally annoying tone. Magically, seemingly effortlessly, the child begins using vocabulary matching their age and IQ. Okay, so maybe it does not always work out that way.  But take heart my friend, use your words is good advice.  It is good advice for you and I as we attempt to explain lupus to family, friends and others.

In a chat with Cheryl Como, LGSW, Vice President of Client Services for the Lupus Foundation of Minnesota, I inquired about how a person might best describe their diagnosis to family and friends.  “Use your own words,” she advised.  Great advice I thought. The Lupus Foundation of America describes lupus this way:  “The immune system loses its ability to tell the difference between foreign substances (antigens) and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against "self." These antibodies, called "auto-antibodies," react with the "self" antigens to form immune complexes. The immune complexes build up in the tissues and can cause inflammation, injury to tissues, and pain.” How might you translate that into your own words?  What about life beyond the old stand-by, generic, impersonal, regurgitated explanations of lupus?

Chances are lupus has re-vamped the way you do life. There may be times in which you need to convey the urgency of a nap to your five-year-old who is begging to play. Maybe you find yourself in a position that requires an explanation to your boss about just how debilitating your fatigue really is.  What rolls off your tongue in these moments?

Christine Miserandino has inspired me to think creatively about how to share my lupus experience with my loved ones. Check out The Spoon Theory found at www.butyoudontlooksick.com/the_spoon_theory . It is our responsibility to help people understand how lupus affects our lives.

So, friends, this is my invitation to you to try USING YOUR OWN WORDS and journal about instances in which you have been lost for words about your lupus experience.  I would love for you to share your own creative analogy and/or description that depicts your personal experience with Lupus- It may prove therapeutic in its own right, and maybe even extend some much needed hope and encouragement for some of your fellow Lupusians!