Symptom: MCAS Brain Fog
This post comes to you with a reminder that while “Brain Fog,” is an apt descriptor, it should not be used to undermine the severity of the condition.
“These are fairly identical functional symptoms that people with Long COVID have, to the symptoms that people within a traumatic brain injury have,” says Dr James C Jackson, psychologist specializing on cognitive rehabilitation and Long Covid.
“Strictly speaking, this is not a traumatic brain injury (TBI) because there’s no external trauma. Which is why if we go down deep, this will be not a TBI that people experience. It would be something called an ABI, the lesser-known cousin of a TBI. Acquired Brain Injuries (ABI) happen often due to internal processes, not external medical processes, inflammation, the 101 other mechanisms that drive these injuries. And when we look at the brains of some Long COVID patients, we see brain damage on MRIs, we see indicators that are not dissimilar from those of people with mild cognitive impairment or a mild TBI.“
Dr Jackson is the author of Clearing the Fog: a book on navigating life with the cognitive and mental health impairments that often accompany Long Covid.
Quotes from Dr Jackson’s appearance on the Me Myself & TBI podcast, edited for clarity & brevity.
May Keable 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ September 14, 2025
@illmarks I should try to put my experience of brain fog into words at some point.
Deer Witch Nyx September 15, 2025
@Keab42 @illmarks I'd love to read it if you do & feel comfortable sharing!!
It defies words for me, but I know some of that is alexithymia-ish and some of it is "the worse the symptoms, the harder to find words" aspects of ME/CFS and MCAS.