Talk:Brain fag

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Please don't delete this page - if you look at culture-bound syndrome, someone put a link to Brain Fag and I am simply adding the relevant article. This is a serious article. Cheers.--Conmalone 18:04, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

I added a link from "brain fog", which seems to be a western version of the same thing, but associated with other illness that might be somatic. I'm unsure if they should be merged, but brain fag does seem like a very specific West African syndrome, separate from the western version. Herd of Swine 20:23, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

They are certainly similar, but I wouldn't be in favour of merging the two. Brain fag is a very distinct culture-bound syndrome. Any interest in expanding the article? ;-) --Conor 16:11, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

it's not as culture bound as it sounds, brain fag has a long history in the US. It was in the dictionary in 1900:[1]. I've added some references to the article.

The connection with brain fog is interesting. brain fog has been used (in the late 1800s) as a synonym for brain fag, but seemed to mostly have a separate usage of confusion and lack of clarity, rather than an overworked brain. Both terms fell out of use after the 1950s, but "brain fog" has be revived as a symptom for potentially somatic illnesses such as CFS and MCS (google it, note a high degree of quackery associated with "brain fog"). I would think that "brain fag" would fit better, esp for CFS, but obviously the usage of the word "fag" is problematic, so "fog" is used. I suspect this might have led people to have more "foggy" thinking than "fatigued" thinking, since the word defines the symptoms in somatic manifestations. Herd of Swine 19:51, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Seems likely that "fag" is a contraction of "fagged out", Commonwealth English slang for being tired...or reaching the "fag end" i.e. approaching a conclusion. If it is in fact related etymologically to "fatigue", then perhaps only indirectly.drone5 (talk) 08:04, 4 January 2008 (UTC)