By Steve Chatfield
Founder, AuDHD Companion
5 min read
“Brain fog” can be a useful starting description, but it leaves plenty unexplained. The experience may be different for you than for someone else using the same words. Giving it a little more detail can help you communicate what has changed and seek support, without needing to identify the cause yourself.
Describe the difficulty in everyday terms
Are you struggling to concentrate, retrieve words, remember instructions or keep track of several steps? Perhaps thinking feels slower, or you need longer to respond to a question. Consider one concrete example of how this affected your day, such as losing your place while reading or being unable to summarise a conversation.
It can help to compare this with your own usual experience rather than someone else's performance. Is the difficulty new, noticeably worse or something you have experienced for a long time? “I sometimes forget names” and “I can no longer follow my usual work meetings” are different descriptions. Both deserve to be heard in their proper context.
Keep possible context separate from conclusions
Brain fog describes difficulties with thinking and memory rather than a diagnosis. Sleep, stress and health-related factors can be involved. Finding an article that feels familiar does not establish ADHD, burnout or any other explanation. Healthdirect has further information about brain fog.
You can note what was happening without choosing a theory. When did you first notice the change? Were there changes in sleep, illness, routine or medication that you want to discuss with a clinician? Were other symptoms present? A brief sequence is often more useful than trying to decide which single factor must be responsible.
The impact matters as well as the feeling
Perhaps you can still complete a task, but it takes much longer or requires repeated checking. You may avoid joining a discussion because you are worried about losing your words. These practical effects belong in the picture, even if the work eventually gets done.
Try including what made the moment more manageable too. Written instructions, fewer simultaneous requests or extra time might have helped in a particular situation. These are examples of support to consider, rather than evidence explaining why the fog occurred. You can ask for a practical adjustment while also seeking advice about the change itself.
How AuDHD Companion can help you document mental clarity
Where brain fog tracking is enabled, you can record it alongside other relevant check-in measures. Use the journal to preserve the specific experience: “could not follow the meeting after the second agenda item” communicates more than a score alone. If recording feels difficult, one phrase is enough.
Over time, your records give you something to look back at when preparing a conversation about support. You can describe whether the experience varied, how it affected daily life and what was happening around it. Insights can help you explore recorded measures; they cannot perform a cognitive assessment or identify a medical cause. Your journal details remain material for you to interpret and discuss.
You may also keep everyday supports in your Toolkit, such as asking for written next steps or setting up a place to leave reminders. These options can reduce what you need to hold in mind during a task. They do not treat the underlying reason for cognitive changes, and you do not need to use an app when doing so would add to the difficulty.
A fictional example of useful notes
Imagine someone who initially says, “My brain has stopped working.” A few short entries help them explain more clearly: they have been rereading documents, losing the thread during calls and taking longer with familiar paperwork. They can describe roughly when this started and mention changes in sleep and other symptoms at an appointment.
The notes do not diagnose the problem, and they do not need to form a neat pattern to be useful. Their value is in preserving the experience while it is happening, so the person is less reliant on recalling everything later. They can also identify a practical request for now, such as written follow-up after a discussion.
One small way to support the next task
If it feels manageable, write down the next action rather than keeping the whole task in memory. You might also ask for one instruction at a time or move a non-urgent decision until you have support. Choose an adjustment that fits the moment; there is no requirement to complete a collection of strategies.
For a record, finish the sentence, “Thinking felt difficult when I tried to…” Add approximately when this began if you know. You can take that single example to a professional without waiting to gather more data.
When notes are not enough
New, persistent or worsening thinking and memory difficulties should be discussed with a health professional, particularly when they affect daily functioning. Sudden confusion needs urgent medical attention. In Australia, call 000 if sudden confusion occurs; do not delay to track it in an app.
AuDHD Companion supports self-reflection and organisation. It cannot assess cognition, explain neurological symptoms or replace medical care.
Keep a clearer account of a difficult experience
If recording is useful for you, the app offers somewhere to keep observations and context together at your own pace. Explore the app, or start free. You can begin with a short note rather than a complete history.