What does "brain fog" mean to you?

[xankab]

I have seen this term used often, and I am not sure what it means, and what people use it to mean. Here is one interpretation that matches my experience, but maybe I am describing a different phenomenon.

When I am exposed to a trigger and have made up my mind to PMO that night, I notice that I am a bit "drunk"; there is anticipation, a buzz. I don't think my technical problem solving ability is impacted in any way (I mean doing math, coding, etc)---but I may be wrong about that. Maybe it is in fact a bit improved, but I have no evidence to back up that feeling. What IS impacted is my decision making: I am more likely to mindlessly reach for that coffee, that sugary thing, and so forth. Next time I find myself in that state, I will make sure I observe myself better, and also try to knock myself out of that state.

As described above, this state is "lack of sobriety".

Is this what you mean by brain fog?

Cheers, and happy new year,
  Xan

 

[gazz]

Funny, I use it in a very different sense. Not sure what the official no fap definition is. Anyone??

For me, it's the number one thing that makes to want to stop porn. a numbness in my head after watching a lot of porn. I cant get up and do life. I can only sit down, comatose, and cant communicate with people. feels like a 'fog' in the brain. perhaps I've mislead a lot of people of the forum by using this term! this paragraph sums it up for me:

porn leaves you feeling empty and worthless, porn blunts the senses, and stops you appreciating the subtleties of life. it is a way of numbing or escaping certain situations, but like other addictions, it never delivers, cos the more you view, the more you want to view, and the more extreme stuff you seek out. it has a negative hypnotic effect, grabbing and keeping your attention locked, til you wake up from the porn trance, feeling exhausted and miserable, your self esteem destroyed.

 

[MarcusSecret]

Funny, I use it in a very different sense. Not sure what the official no fap definition is. Anyone??

For me, it's the number one thing that makes to want to stop porn. a numbness in my head after watching a lot of porn. I cant get up and do life. I can only sit down, comatose, and cant communicate with people. feels like a 'fog' in the brain. perhaps I've mislead a lot of people of the forum by using this term! this paragraph sums it up for me:

porn leaves you feeling empty and worthless, porn blunts the senses, and stops you appreciating the subtleties of life. it is a way of numbing or escaping certain situations, but like other addictions, it never delivers, cos the more you view, the more you want to view, and the more extreme stuff you seek out. it has a negative hypnotic effect, grabbing and keeping your attention locked, til you wake up from the porn trance, feeling exhausted and miserable, your self esteem destroyed.

I relate  a lot to what porn does the way you described it. Life without it is worth it.

 

[Big H]

I thought it meant that you can't think clearly

 

[xankab]

I am glad I asked Thanks for the responses, which pointed out two different sense than the one I had thought it meant.

@gazz: also have the feelings you describe. Didn't have a word for it, though.

@BigH: Just so I understand better, can you say a bit more of when you encounter brain fog most (i.e., in what phase? pre-relapse/determined resistance to relapse/post-relapse/flatline, etc?)

 

[TelekineticOwl]

I have seen this term used often, and I am not sure what it means, and what people use it to mean. Here is one interpretation that matches my experience, but maybe I am describing a different phenomenon.

When I am exposed to a trigger and have made up my mind to PMO that night, I notice that I am a bit "drunk"; there is anticipation, a buzz. I don't think my technical problem solving ability is impacted in any way (I mean doing math, coding, etc)---but I may be wrong about that. Maybe it is in fact a bit improved, but I have no evidence to back up that feeling. What IS impacted is my decision making: I am more likely to mindlessly reach for that coffee, that sugary thing, and so forth. Next time I find myself in that state, I will make sure I observe myself better, and also try to knock myself out of that state.

As described above, this state is "lack of sobriety".

Is this what you mean by brain fog?

Cheers, and happy new year,
  Xan

It's like pulling an all nighter on redd itor playing video games while smashing down 5 cheeseburgers and a lot of soda... then going to school the next morning to take an exam.

You just feel like shit and because of it, you can't really think staight. Some guys report being all jittery and anxious and all this other shit.

For instance, I'm generally a funny guy, but when I watch too much porn and jerk off a lot, I feel like a zombie. No jokes come out right cause I have zero motivation. And then I get all self-concious and BLAH.

No bueno.

 

[MarcusSecret]

I have seen this term used often, and I am not sure what it means, and what people use it to mean. Here is one interpretation that matches my experience, but maybe I am describing a different phenomenon.

When I am exposed to a trigger and have made up my mind to PMO that night, I notice that I am a bit "drunk"; there is anticipation, a buzz. I don't think my technical problem solving ability is impacted in any way (I mean doing math, coding, etc)---but I may be wrong about that. Maybe it is in fact a bit improved, but I have no evidence to back up that feeling. What IS impacted is my decision making: I am more likely to mindlessly reach for that coffee, that sugary thing, and so forth. Next time I find myself in that state, I will make sure I observe myself better, and also try to knock myself out of that state.

As described above, this state is "lack of sobriety".

Is this what you mean by brain fog?

Cheers, and happy new year,
  Xan

It's like pulling an all nighter on redd itor playing video games while smashing down 5 cheeseburgers and a lot of soda... then going to school the next morning to take an exam.

You just feel like shit and because of it, you can't really think staight. Some guys report being all jittery and anxious and all this other shit.

For instance, I'm generally a funny guy, but when I watch too much porn and jerk off a lot, I feel like a zombie. No jokes come out right cause I have zero motivation. And then I get all self-concious and BLAH.

No bueno.

I feel exactly the same, no more of this, its all over.

 

[BKM]

Brain fog for me is just not being able to think clearly, I get it quite a bit, it is almost self perpetuating. I get nervous and anxious not being able to think properly and it goes round in circles , I don't think properly, get more anxious, which makes me worse and thinking, so I get more anxious. I end up not being able to think of anything, my mind goes blank. I used to suffer this a lot in exams. I wonder whether for other addicts it means all they can think about is porn so everything else is fogged out until they get their porn fix.