The National · 2021 · 3 min read
Brain fog — causes, consequences, and what actually works
Dr Ioannis was interviewed by The National on the rise of brain fog complaints — why so many people now feel mentally clouded, and what the evidence says actually clears it.
Brain fog is not a diagnosis. It is a description — and what is driving it is what matters.
Patients describe it the same way again and again: a heaviness behind the eyes, words on the tip of the tongue, working memory that suddenly will not hold, and a slowness that wasn't there before. From the outside, life looks normal. Inside, everything takes longer.
Where it usually comes from
In clinic, the most common drivers are sleep that has been worse than the person realises, untreated depression or anxiety, ADHD that was never assessed, hormonal shifts (thyroid, perimenopause), post-viral syndromes including post-COVID, chronic stress, and side effects of medication. Each of those has a different treatment path.
Treating brain fog without knowing the cause is like treating a fever without knowing the infection.
The first step is always an assessment that takes the symptom seriously. Once we know what's driving it, the plan is targeted — sleep work, treatment of an underlying psychiatric condition, medication review, hormonal investigation — whichever fits.
Originally published in The National, 2021.