I completely forgot what I was originally going to write about today. In fact, until this morning when a friend reminded me it was Tuesday, I had completely forgotten today was a blog day. If you’re like me and regularly forget even the most basic of things, you might have what I refer to as Chronic Swiss Cheese Brain (CSCB).
See, Chronic Swiss Cheese Brain Is More Than Just Being Forgetful.
When you have CSCB, your brain just sort of exists in a whole different dimension. Sometimes, your brain is present and can catch every little tiny detail of something. Other times, information will just go in one ear and out the other. It doesn’t matter what that information is- it could be you remembering an event, a word, what you were supposed to be doing. It could even be someone telling you something. And that doesn’t mean you’re not paying attention. Because you are paying attention. It’s just that the holes in your brain can’t catch what’s going on. Chronic Swiss Cheese Brain.
CSCB isn’t consistent, too. What is and isn’t in your brain can, and will, change. Something that existed in your brain five minutes ago may suddenly disappear. For instance, what I was originally planning on writing about.
Conversely, something that had previously slipped through the Swiss cheese holes of your brain may make a sudden reappearance. Like last night when I had a eureka moment, suddenly remembering something that I thought my brain hadn’t retained at all.
Sometimes, It Can Be Funny.
Even though in the moment it can be frustrating, it is humorous (in hindsight, and also for anyone else present) when you cannot for the life of you remember what a fork is called. Dinglehopper, sure, but not fork.
A lot of times, though, CSCB is frustrating. People will get annoyed with you because you’ve told them the same story seven times in the last three days. You need a word for something, but you can’t quite recall what it is. You get up to get something and then right after you stand up you forget why you went to stand up in the first place.
And like I said, CSCB is different than just being forgetful. It comes with the brain fog– the difficulty focusing and thinking.
What Is Brain Fog?
Simply put, it’s when it’s like your brain is in the middle of really thick fog. Think like London fog, but in your brain. You can’t quite think, everything feels more like a distant memory than a fact, and motivation to do anything usually disappears.
So What Causes Chronic Swiss Cheese Brain?
Anyone can have CSCB, but it definitely appears to be more prevalent in zebras and people who aren’t neurotypical. So if that’s the case, how can we combat CSCB?
Well, your guess is as good as mine. As someone with CSCB, I often don’t have the mental clarity to think things through. And you can bet your bottom dollar that if I had some solution on how to deal with CSCB, I’d be shouting it from the mountaintops. But alas, I do not.
Due to CSCB, today will be a shorter post than usual. But if any of y’all have any tips or tricks you use to help deal with CSCB, definitely comment them below!
Until next time.
-Nick
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