Codename: The Fog
Tap here to jump down to the TL;DR
You've had a lovely nightcap after a fun day with friends, now the conversation is winding down and the bill has arrived. "Put it on your credit card so you can get the points, and we'll just give you cash." someone suggests, everyone nods in agreement. "How much do we owe you?"
The total is $96 and there are 4 of you. Easy enough. You start calculating in your head: Okay, so 96 divided by 4... Let's break it down a little. 80 divided by 4 is 20 each. You feel pretty confident so far, which is good because all eyes are on you. Now for the rest, 16 divided by 4 is 4 —Shoot. Did I include the tip first? You pause to check the ticket and see that you didn't. Good catch. I'll find the individual amounts first, then add the tip. So, 4 and... Was it 20 or 23?
The confidence you had a moment ago is gone, you're holding up several fingers as you try to grab the fuzzy, indistinct number in your mind.
"You know what? I'll just use the calculator on my phone," someone else laughs as they pull a glowing brick from their pocket and begin tapping away. You feel your face flushing as you make a flippant joke to smooth over your embarassment.
You're not bad at math, especially when it's this simple. The numbers just didn't stay put long enough for you to work through them, scattered by a familiar haze. They got lost in The Fog.
A master of mental interference, The Fog doesn't bother stealing memories from your mental library, it simply rolls in and jams the signal before they ever have a chance to be recorded.
Official Title: Working Memory Deficit
The Fog's official file name refers to Working Memory Deficits. Working Memory is our brain's active temporary workspace, which we use like a mental scratchpad.
While the terms "Working Memory" and "Short-Term Memory" are often used interchangeably, many researchers today see short-term memory as the brain's temporary storage shelf, and working memory as the active process of taking things off of that shelf to work with them.
Okay, so how many pieces of information are we talking about? How big is the shelf?
Well, for decades the magic number was thought to be around seven pieces of information. However, more recent research suggests the true capacity is likely smaller, around four "chunks" of information; which feels much more familiar to those of us who struggle with The Fog.
A chunk isn't just one item, it's a unit that might contain a few items in itself. For example, the phone number 8675309 is seven digits long, but most of us remember it as two chunks: [867] and [5309]. This part is true for everyone: Once our shelf space is full, information is either discarded (it falls off the shelf), or moved to long-term storage.
If Working Memory is like a sticky note for the typical brain, for the ADHD brain it's a bit more like a wet-erase board in the rain. You can have the right tools to put all the info you need on it, but you can't stop the rain from blurring it into uselessness— which can happen pretty quickly.
For the Autistic brain, which may have relative strength in visuospatial working memory, this capacity can be affected deeply by the strength of the storm. The more inputs you have coming in to be processed, like sensory filtering and social processing, the heavier the rain —making it more difficult to maintain a clear mental picture of what you're actually trying to accomplish.
Why It Matters
For many of us in the neurodivergent community, the feeling of unexpectedly losing information to The Fog is a daily reality. In addition to these classic appearances, The Fog might also conceal a secret lair where The League of Executive Dysfunctions can power-up while waiting for their next chance to strike.
It enables The Gatekeeper by making tasks seem so complex that they feel impossible to begin; and we all know wherever he goes, the rest of The Everyday Horrors (Major Minor, The Time Thief, The Vortex) are sure to follow.
It also amplifies the power of The Imp (Emotional Dysregulation) by creating the perfect storm of intense frustration, anxiety, and ultimately overwhelm when you struggle to follow a sequence of steps, or keep up with meetings and lectures in real-time.
Don't worry though! All is not lost! There's plenty we can do to combat this nebulous nightmare (and some of these strategies are the most fun so far!). But first, let's talk about how to recognize its favorite haunts.
Modus Operandi (M.O.): The Fog's Primary Attacks
The Whiteout
A sudden, complete, inability to hold onto a thought or instruction. Especially under pressure or once interrupted.
The Revolving Door
As soon as a new piece of information comes in, it pushes the previous one off the mental shelf. When we're working at or very near capacity, which happens quite often with a smaller mental scratch pad, or with systems preoccupied by processing, it pushes the previous chunk right out of your conscious mind. This doesn't only appear during tasks or studying, but also during conversation.
You may try to hold a thought for the right time to speak, only to have it lost to The Fog as you continue to take in —and process— the information necessary to follow your speaking partner's train of thought.
The Fade-Out
You hear the words someone is saying, but by the time the sentence ends, your brain hasn't been able to hold and process the information into meaning. Leaving you with a single option: Asking them to repeat it.
If this one is a significant issue for you, it may be worth looking into support for Auditory Processing Disorder. A condition that not only co-occurs with ADHD with relative frequency, but produces similar symptoms even when it presents separately.
The Stitch Drop
In fiber arts like knit and crochet, dropped stitches can continue to fall and unravel specific sections of your work, creating holes that grow over time.
Depending on the intricacy of your project, you may not notice this right away. Fixing a dropped stitch might mean having to rip back your project to pick it back up again, or using a special tool to pick it up and add it back in the right place so you can keep moving forward.
But you can't do that if you don't know how to notice it dropped in the first place, especially in complicated projects and stitch patterns.
Losing a train of thought mid-action, or mid sentence, feels similar to me.
Armor Up: Wards and Counterspells
Wards
Preventative measures to keep The Fog at bay.
Buff Your Stats: Assemble a Maintenance Crew
Sleep, nutrition, and (I hate to say it, but) exercise are all essential for keeping our mental "countertop" clear and ready for use each day. But just saying that feels awfully boring to me, honestly just having to type it made me wilt a little, so instead I think of them as a mental Maintenance Crew.
Mr. Sandman
A jolly BFG, if you will, popping in at the perfect time of night to take my imagination on a new adventure — one that would probably be impossible in real life. Some of my best ideas have hit in the middle of the night or right after I wake up, so he's definitely one I want to keep around.
The Lunch Lady
I like to think of her humming softly to herself while she wipes down her workstation at the end of the day, or kindly reminding me to eat more beans as she gives me an extra scoop of mashed potatoes with a conspiratorial wink.
Maybe your lunch lady wasn't nice, but mine was, so this works for me. You might be better off with a Personal Chef or a Nutritionist, especially if you'd like to focus on eating healthfully.
The Hype Beast
A literal monster. Maybe not in the best shape himself, but that's just the breed of monster he is. In my imagination my Hype Beast kind of looks like Sully from Monsters, Inc. (except he's gay) and I have no idea why, but this works!
He makes sure I stay hydrated and reminds me to stretch so I don't get too sore after a workout. And he can be really tough when I want to give up before I've put in the reps, but he also tells me it's okay to rest when he can see it's been a tough day, so that's good.
The Focus Forge
Cultivate a mindfulness practice to strengthen your ability to focus, fine-tuning your relationship with working memory. Meditation doesn't always mean adopting a stereotypical position and sitting with your eyes closed, it doesn't even mean sitting or closing your eyes at all! It's just about concentrating all of your focus onto a single thing, while allowing anything that might pull your focus away from that thing to simply pass by and not take you with it.
You can also do it anywhere! When I'm sitting in traffic or standing in the grocery line I'll often take a few moments to focus on the sensation of my belly expanding and contracting as I breathe. Try focusing on the feeling of each step when you're out for a walk, or put a hand on your chest to feel your heart beat while sitting at your desk, the possibilities are endless.
You can also use an object like a fidget tool as a focus point, or stand on one leg and put all your focus into keeping your balance. It doesn't have to be for long either, just a few minutes a day is enough to create meaningful change in your ability to control your working memory!
Orchestrations
Learn a skill that demands coordination, timing, and concentration. Juggling, learning a new dance, martial arts, and playing musical instruments are all examples of Orchestrations.
Engaging in complex motor learning doesn't only work your muscles, it gives your working memory a boost, too! These activities strengthen the neural networks that connect different parts of the brain —particularly the prefrontal cortex (the hub of executive function!) and the cerebellum. This enhanced communication and efficiency in the brain doesn't just apply to the skill you're learning, it creates a more robust system for processing all kinds of information.
Some research suggests that long-term engagement in these "coordinative exercises" may enhance the brain's ability to share resources when handling demanding working memory tasks. Studies on expert athletes, like football players, have shown that they possess superior visual working memory capacity that has a "transfer effect" —meaning that capacity transcends the familiar context of the game to meaningless or abstract patterns as well.
So find an orchestration you enjoy and keep at it!
Play a Game!?
Tabletop Role Playing Games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons require you to hold a complex set of information in your mind simultaneously. You have to retain your character's abilities and backstory, keep track of the evolving narrative, remember the rules, and plan your next move — all at the same time! This constantly updating information is a direct workout for your working memory. A dynamic and engaging one at that!
Strategy Games (Digital or Analog) like Chess, Civilization, and turn-based tactical games are all about planning and foresight. To play successfully, you have to hold your long-term goal in your mind while simultaneously managing short-term actions and reacting to your opponent's moves by constantly running simulations like "if I do X, they'll do Y."
This process of manipulating information, planning future steps, and flexibly adapting your strategy is a high-level workout for the central executive component of working memory.
Spatially Complex Puzzle Games like Tetris might seem simple, but games that require rapid visual processing and mental manipulation of objects in space can have surprising benefits! In Tetris you have to quickly identify a shape, mentally rotate it to fit an available space, and execute the move, all while the next piece is already on it's way.
This places a high demand on what's called visuospatial working memory —the technical term for our "mental sketchpad." Strengthening this system can have broad benefits, as we use visuospatial skills for everything from navigating a city to organizing items on a shelf.
The cognitive effects of Tetris are so well-studied that they are clinically known as "The Tetris Effect." A foundational study found that playing Tetris led to an increase in cortical thickness in the brain regions associated with planning complex movements, integrating sensory information, and vision!
Counterspells
Start here when you're already fogged up.
The Thumbdrive
Offload to an external Thumbdrive by using sticky notes, a small whiteboard, a notes app, or your Bookmark to hold the variables of a task while you work on it. Freeing up your mental RAM to do the processing without having to hold all of the steps at the same time.
The Sonic Loop
When given instructions, repeat them back aloud. This engages an auditory loop in the brain, giving the information another pathway to "stick" on while you act on the instructions or write them down. It can also help avoid misunderstandings when directions seem unclear by providing an opportunity to get feedback on your interpretation of a task versus what the instructor may have meant.
The Picture Frame
One thing at a time, like a picture in a frame. When faced with a multi-step process, consciously block out all but the first step by putting on metaphorical blinders. Tell yourself the only thing that matters right now is the one thing you are working on, whether that be generating a report, writing an email, or refilling your water.
You're not ignoring the other steps, you're just refusing to allow them to take up space that you need for processing until it's their turn.
This might look like using separate sticky notes or index cards for each step in the process and stacking them so that only the one you're working on right now is in front. Or using an Altar with Tokens assigned for each step rather than just each task.
The Gameful Warm-Up
Play a quick round of Tetris to reset your mind and get the neural pathways that handle visual and spacial tasks flowing. This one works best before tackling real-world equivalents like organizing a room or packing a bag, but taking a little time to dust off your mental shelf certainly can't hurt when you're having a foggy day overall.
✂️ TL;DR
The Villain: The Fog is the personification of Working Memory Deficit. It's not simple forgetfulness, but an insidious mental interference that "jams the signal," causing thoughts, plans, and instructions to vanish before you can act on them.
The Cause: This happens when our brain's active workspace, or "mental countertop," gets overloaded. For many neurodivergent minds, this countertop is smaller or gets wiped clean easily by distractions or the heavy cognitive load of social and sensory processing.
The Wards (Prevention): You can strengthen your working memory over time with proactive habits. This includes assembling your "Maintenance Crew" (sleep, diet, exercise), cultivating mindfulness in "The Focus Forge," learning complex "Orchestrations" like a new instrument, and playing specific types of games that give your brain a workout.
The Counterspells (In the Moment): When you're already lost in The Fog, use an immediate tool to find clarity. Offload information to an external "Thumbdrive" (like a sticky note), repeat instructions aloud in a "Sonic Loop," or focus on one single step at a time with "The Picture Frame."