www.brainfog.org ~ International online support community for the illness ME/CFS

Brainfog was created in July 2001 by Alison Petty. The product of a Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME) relapse, the website has become a leading international online ME support community. Focusing primarily on the non-medical aspects of ME, Brainfog was created to provide its members with a safe, fun and empowering environment where they can be free to be themselves, thus easing the enforced isolation which can be one of the most distressing aspects of this illness.

A quarter of a million people in the UK are thought to have this chronic, devastating illness, which affects the neurological, hormonal and immune systems. A bewildering range of symptoms include severe pain, flu-like feelings, mental confusion (Brainfog!) and crippling exhaustion, leading in extreme cases to paralysis. Official recognition of the illness in 2003 gives new hope that many previously undiagnosed yet seriously affected people will now have their condition medically and socially acknowledged as a valid and serious illness/disability.

There is at present no cure for ME, but given time, careful management, and the right support, many people can return to something approaching a normal level of functioning. Brainfog’s members see the site as an essential part of this healing process. Brainfog is free to join and is open to anyone with an interest in ME, whether or not they have the illness themselves. It is run entirely by volunteers and depends on the generosity of donors and sponsors for its continued existence.