Brain Fag edit
Brain fag describes a condition experienced by high school or university students in response to the challenges of schooling. It is also known as Brain Fog, Mental Fatigue, or Brain fatigue
Symptoms edit
There is a reported case of brain fag from a 27 year old male student at an Eastern Cape university. If using the DSM to diagnose his symptoms, he would have probably been diagnosed with anxiety disorder. However, his case included blurred vision, watery eyes, a crawling sensation, and headache. All of these symptoms are characteristic to those who claim to have brain fag.[1]In order to collect information on brain fag symptoms a study has been conducted in Nigeria in 1960 on apprentices. The study found that some predisposing factors to brain fag syndrome include nervousness, "motivation for achievement, and psychostimulant use." Other variables associated with brain fag syndrome include homework,exams, and written work.www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12590195
- Loss of mental acuity
- Decrease of short term memory
- Feeling of "spaciness"
- Decreased attention span
- Mild depression or anxiety
- Difficulty concentrating
- Lack of spatial awareness [http://naturopathconnect.com/articles/brain-fog-symptoms/}
Treatment edit
Some treatments of brain fag symptoms include:
- Calcarea phos
- Silicea
- Kali phos
- Natrum mur
- Magnesia phos.[2]
Causes edit
Studies suggest that the part of the brain responsible for higher functioning can be fatigued. If so, then strenuous mental tasks such as taking the SAT, or simply making decisions can lead to impaired brain performance afterward. In fact, it is suggesting that decision making is equally exhausting to the brain as activities that require a lot of focus and regulation.[3]
Case Studies edit
"Brain Fag Syndrome has historically affected Nigerian college students, but has also been documented among non-Caucasians in Liberia, Uganda, the Ivory Coast, and South Africa, and very rarely those in Brazil, India, Malaysia, China, and Ethiopia."Case Study: "A Yoruba male … who when studying for an exam began to have sharp pains in his head and could not grasp what he was reading. He slept more than usual, and had difficulty forcing himself to go to school in the morning. When writing the examinations, he felt he knew the answers, but was unable to recall them; his mind was blank. His right hand was weak and shook so that he couldn't write. Because of these symptoms, he was forced to postpone the writing examinations for several years. His symptoms improved greatly with Largactil (an antipsychotic medication) and reassurance." [4]
Culture Bound Syndrome edit
"The question of the CBS[Culture bound syndrome] status of brain-fag demonstrates the need to clearly differentiate such disease features as symptom clusters, labels for those clusters, and notions of etiology. Failure to keep such features distinct has led to considerable controversy, but if the proposed definition is strictly adhered to, brain-fag does qualify for the CBS[culture bound syndrome] designation"(Prince)An investigation of brain fag syndrome in South African Secondary School pupils suggests that Brain fag syndrome is closely related to anxiety an depressive disorders.(Peltzer)
References
1. Peltzer, K.; Cherian,V.. "Brain fag symptoms in rural south African secondary school pupils". Psycological Reports 83: 1187-1196.
2. Prince, R. (1985). The concept of culture-bound syndromes: Anorexia nervosa and brain-fag. Social Science & Medicine, 21(2), 197-203. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(85)90089-9
3. 'Brain fag' symptoms in apprentices in Nigeria.2002Morykino, O. Accessed March 2012. [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12590195]
4. A Bad Case of the Brain Fags And other mental problems you probably won't get in America.July 11, 2011Jesse BeringAccessed March 2312.[www.slate.com/articles/health.../a_bad_case_of_the_brain_fags.html]
5. Health24.Brain Fag.Monday, March 15, 2004.Extract from Psychology: An Introduction for Students in Southern Africa by Louw, DA and Edwards, DJA (1997) Heinemann: JohannesburgAccessed March 2012.[5]
6. BrainFag.International Academy Of Classical Homeopathy, Alonissos, Northern Sporades, Greece. Accessed 14 March 2012.[6]
7. "Science of brain "fatigue"Pescovitz,D.July 22,2008.Scientific American.Accessed March 13,2012.[7]
8. Neuropathconnect.Brain Fog: Common Symptoms. Accessed Sunday,April 22. [http://naturopathconnect.com/articles/brain-fog-symptoms/}