Lately this very annoying condition has been plaguing me. I think of something but when I try to say it, half the words fly away from my mind, like a scarred flock of birds, and I end up playing charades with the simplest of sentences and thoughts. It’s very frustrating. Recently, in a restaurant the dialogue went something like this:
- “Waiter, can I have a…, that thing to eat with…”
- “You mean a spoon?”
- “No, the other one, to eat, you know…. not liquids…” I’m mimicking eating and pointing to a platter of salad in the middle of the table. He is looking at me with a mixture of annoyance and pity. Finally, he says “fork?”
This condition can be incredibly annoying and completely misunderstood. Many times people think I’m trying to be funny, or there is something mentally wrong with me and they regard me with pity and start talking to me as to a two year old. The only thing that has helped me during periods of mental fog, which ofcourse no one knows long are going to last or when (ususally in uncomfortable circumstances) they will present themselves, is to have a sense of humour and take it in stride. I have also become an accomplished charades player and try getting my meaning accross any way I can, even if I look silly in the attempt. Also, when suffering mental fog I try to have only necessary conversations. Never, ever, try to get into an argument of any sort with mental fog! That and rest, usually rest starts solving the problem.