{"id":9122,"date":"2022-07-10T15:55:03","date_gmt":"2022-07-10T15:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robmacps.vic.edu.au\/upschool\/?p=9122"},"modified":"2026-06-24T05:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T05:30:17","slug":"is-it-possible-my-brain-is-shrinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robmacps.vic.edu.au\/upschool\/?p=9122","title":{"rendered":"Is it Possible My Brain is Shrinking?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is it Really Possible my Brain is Shrinking?<\/h2>\n

Have you heard the term -‘ COVID brain fog’?
\nDo you sense that your memory is fuzzy, your mental focus fluffy, and your stamina to stay socially engaged impaired?
\nI hear it time and time again – ‘I am just so tired, and I can not seem to concentrate’ or, ‘I can’t stay motivated after the pandemic’.<\/em><\/p>\n

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There is a new phenomenon – a syndrome that has emerged alongside the COVID pandemic.
\nWe know COVID-19 causes neurological problems and severe fatigue, sometimes a complete loss of taste and smell, and can impair our memory and learning.
\nCovid infection or not – the pandemic has made us tired and unmotivated. The forced isolation (forgetting the virus) has affected our bodies in alarming ways, including shrinking our brains.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Loneliness is Shrinking Your Brain – Here’s how to stop it.
\nhttps:\/\/www.inverse.com\/mind-body\/science-of-un-social-distancing<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/strong>
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Good Intentions.<\/h2>\n

Initially, I was diligent during COVID-19 lockdowns, even amidst a lot of grief, loss and deep worry. I was mostly alone in those first years and had some massive changes simultaneously.<\/p>\n

Even so – I was still participating in my Pilates online, creating artwork endlessly and cognitively very sharp – quickly adapting my communication and technical skills to build digital content, design websites and create graphics for different clients.<\/p>\n

But as the time dragged on, the uncertainty of what was to come or when we could live again, and the chronic isolation from continued lockdowns, slowly filtered in – \u00a0all these high-functioning tasks became seemingly impossible to sustain. Over time I noticed how tired I had become, unmotivated and lonely. I would go weeks at a time without seeing a close friend, and I began to withdraw; I did not feel like joining online group activities anymore. I just faded out.<\/p>\n

As the lockdowns ended, life didn’t go back to how it was, and all that time in isolation alone had made things harder to get back to normal. My close\u00a0group of friends, my yoga community and the neighbours I had known – were all gone.<\/p>\n