If you’re living with Long COVID, you may have found yourself asking: “Why can’t I just get back to normal?”
It can be incredibly unsettling to feel that your brain isn’t working as it used to. You might forget simple things, lose track of conversations, or struggle to concentrate on a task that once felt effortless. Many people describe it as “brain fog”—a kind of mental cloudiness that makes even everyday activities feel harder than they should.
And if this is you, you’re not alone. Cognitive difficulties are one of the most common and persistent symptoms reported in Long COVID.
Studies suggest that anywhere between a quarter and a half of people with Long COVID experience measurable changes in memory, concentration, or problem-solving. Some research even finds higher rates, depending on who was studied and how the testing was done.
Importantly, these difficulties can occur in both hospitalised and non-hospitalised patients. In other words, even if your
COVID infection was relatively 'mild', you might still notice marked long-term effects on your thinking.
People often describe:
These aren’t just subjective experiences. Research shows that COVID-19 can affect working memory, attention, verbal fluency, and executive function (the set of skills we use to plan, focus, and get things done.
Scientists are still learning, but several factors are thought to play a role:
Most likely, it’s not one single cause but a combination of these processes that explains why some people are more affected than others.
One of the biggest challenges in Long COVID is that symptoms don’t occur in isolation. Fatigue, mood, and cognition are closely intertwined.
Often Long COVID “brain fog” is rarely just about the virus in isolation. It’s also about how fatigue and psychological factors amplify cognitive strain.
For some people, yes. Recovery can be gradual, with improvements over months. But for others, difficulties linger, and research shows that measurable changes can persist even a year or more after infection.
That doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do. Understanding the pattern of your difficulties is the first step in learning how to manage them.
If you’ve been struggling with brain fog, you may wonder: “Is this normal recovery? Or is something else going on?”
A neuropsychological assessment can help provide clarity. It offers:
Perhaps most importantly, it validates that what you’re experiencing is real, measurable, and deserving of support.
If you recognise yourself in these descriptions, you don’t have to struggle in silence. Cognitive changes after COVID-19 are common, and they are not “all in your head.” They reflect a real interaction between the brain, body, and immune system.
Understanding your cognitive profile can help you take back some control; whether that means finding strategies that ease daily life, seeking workplace adjustments, or simply having a clearer map of your recovery journey.
If you’d like to explore whether a cognitive assessment could help you, get in touch or find out more about the process here. Together we can make sense of what’s happening and identify practical steps to support your recovery.