I Can't Remember Sh*t: Let's Talk About Widow Fog

(00:00:00) I Can't Remember Sh*t: Let's Talk About Widow Fog (00:00:38) Introductions (00:06:11) Check-In & Debrief from Episode 1 (00:22:45) What Is Widow Fog? (00:39:21) Hygiene, Time Blindness & Losing Our Sense of Direction (00:41:53) Learning to Give Ourselves Grace (00:49:10) How Our Pets Help Us Remember & Maintain Routine (00:59:21) Finding Healthier Ways to Cope (00:59:59) 59:59 – Rebuilding Through the Podcast (01:05:31) Closing Thoughts & Building a Grief Community Grief brain fog, widow fog, memory loss, trouble focusing, and losing mental clarity can be startling parts of life after loss. Why does grief make your brain feel like it just stopped working? In Episode 2 of Stay-at-Home Widow, Sharmane Fury and LaVonna talk honestly about what happens when grief starts affecting memory, focus, routines, and everyday functioning. EPISODE 2: I CAN’T REMEMBER SHIT: LET’S TALK ABOUT WIDOW FOG We had never heard of widow fog until after we became widows. Then suddenly we were forgetting appointments, losing track of days, walking into rooms and forgetting why, missing plans, struggling with directions, experiencing time blindness, and constantly feeling like there was something we were supposed to remember. Neither of us expected grief to affect our brains this way. We talk about what happens when memory used to be something you could depend on and suddenly it isn’t. We also get real about how grief can disrupt the basic shit nobody talks about enough: showering, eating, brushing your teeth, feeding your pets, keeping appointments, maintaining your home, remembering people you love, and doing ordinary things that once happened automatically. Along the way, we share the systems we have built for ourselves—alarms, notes, repetitive routines, accountability check-ins, visual reminders, pets who refuse to let us forget dinner, and learning to ask for and accept help. And we talk about giving ourselves grace when those systems still fail. We also check in after releasing our first episode and talk about what it felt like to put such a vulnerable conversation into the world. LaVonna reflects on how the experience cracked her open and pushed her to share parts of herself she usually keeps guarded. Sharmane talks about feeling like she cannot put the cork back in the bottle anymore—grief comes out whether she intends for it to or not. If you have ever thought, “What the fuck is wrong with my brain?” this conversation is for you. Sometimes, it really is just the fog. ABOUT STAY-AT-HOME WIDOW Stay-at-Home Widow is a podcast where lifelong friends Sharmane Fury and LaVonna talk honestly about widowhood, grief, identity, and rebuilding after the sudden deaths of their husbands. Rooted in the experiences of Black and Brown women, the show makes room for the messy, tender, funny, frustrating, and sometimes absurd parts of grief. New episodes on the first Wednesday of every month. CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome to Stay-at-Home Widow 00:38 Introductions 06:11 Check-In and Debrief from Episode 1 22:45 What Is Widow Fog? 39:21 Hygiene, Time Blindness and Losing Our Sense of Direction 41:53 Learning to Give Ourselves Grace 49:10 How Our Pets Help Us Remember and Maintain Routine 59:21 Finding Healthier Ways to Cope 59:59 Rebuilding Through the Podcast 1:05:31 Closing Thoughts and Building a Grief Community COMMUNITY CARE NOTE This episode contains frank discussions of grief, the death of a spouse or partner, memory loss, difficulty with daily functioning, hygiene, and emotional vulnerability. Please take care of yourself while listening and engage in whatever way feels safest for you. DISCLAIMER Sharmane and LaVonna are widows speaking from our own lived experiences. We are not therapists, medical professionals, life coaches, or grief experts. Nothing discussed on the show should be taken as universal advice, medical guidance, or a substitute for professional support. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/stay... (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/stay...) . Stay-at-Home Widow is a monthly podcast about widowhood, grief, friendship, identity, and rebuilding life after the death of a spouse.New episodes on the first Wednesday of every month. Watch on YouTube:    / @stayathomewidow   Follow Stay-at-Home Widow: Instagram:   / stayathomewidowpod   TikTok:   / stayathomewidowpod   Facebook: Stay-at-Home Widow on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...) Website: https://stayathomewidow.com FOLLOW US Sharmane Fury Instagram: @sharmanefury YouTube: @sharmanefury LaVonna Instagram: @thevonnaview TikTok: @lavonnadenise Subscribe for monthly conversations about widowhood, grief, life after loss, loneliness, identity, and rebuilding after the death of a spouse.What is something nobody warned you ab...