Fried brains is a condition that plagues writers, students and anyone who depends on inspiration to produce work. When I could not think of a good subject for this blog, I realized my brains were fried. Then it occurred to me that talking about fried brains was as good an idea as any.

So, I Googled fried brains and read tips on how to deal with them. For example: distract yourself, meditate or relax. I recalled watching something on TV illustrating how distraction worked to relieve anxiety in military operations. The program showed parachute jumpers dropping into a war zone as they challenged one another with quotations. One jumper would recite a quote like “There is nothing to fear but fear itself,” and the next identified the quote’s source as Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)’s First Inaugural Address. Before ejecting, the airman quoted something else and so on.

I agree with these remedies, but note that fried brains are a recurrent state of mind induced by stress, boredom, discomfort, anxiety and/or pressure to perform. Unlike frozen brains which are briefly numbed and do nothing, fried brains produce excessive awareness of discomforting details in our environment. This awareness further heats our mind creating a vicious circle.

If you cannot bring yourself to do what you feel needs to be done, your brains are fried. Either understand and deal with what has fried them or wait until they cool down. By all means do use a pleasant distraction that requires concentration but beware of getting hooked by the distraction.

Good Luck!