Does Your Brain Feel Like It’s Running on iOS 1? You walk into a room and forget why you’re there. You read the same sentence five times and still don’t take it in. You open a message… and the words just won’t come. That heavy, blurry, staticky feeling? That’s often brain fog. And no — it isn’t stupidity. It isn’t laziness. And it isn’t lack of effort. If this helped you understand brain fog in neurodiversity, explore the rest of the A–Z of Neurodiversity for grounded, real-life explanations. And if you’re navigating this as a neurodivergent mum, you’re welcome inside Mums Embracing Neurodiversity for support that actually understands mental load.

THE LAST MORNING OF THE RETREAT. Day ten, the end of the retreat, and it was a bittersweet kind of day. This morning was full of reflection. Looking at how we’ve all grown, the friendships we’ve created, and how we’ve gelled as a group of women together has been absolutely beautiful in so many ways. I woke up around 6:30-ish and nobody else was awake. I was the only one up. I’d already packed my bags the night before, so I didn’t really have much to do. There was no yoga this morning because it was the last day and breakfast wasn’t until nine, so it was a much slower start, but at the same time it felt like the morning went really quickly. We just settled into chatting, talking about what everyone’s plans were for the next few days, and everything felt very gentle and unhurried. I’m really glad I didn’t go out last night because I genuinely needed a good night’s sleep. I fell asleep before my roommate even came back from her massage, which just shows how absolutely knackered I was. EMOTIONS STARTING TO RISE. After breakfast, we sorted our bits and then had a sharing circle at 10 o’clock in the yoga shala, where we’d spent most of our time connecting and doing sessions. The morning felt strange for me. I was kind of just moving about, feeling a bit lost, not really knowing what to do with myself. There were a lot of emotions bubbling up for people as the reality of saying goodbye started to sink in. We sang happy birthday to a couple of the girls, one whose birthday was today and one whose birthday is tomorrow. It was really lovely to celebrate them in that roundabout way. Then I got my certificate for Reiki level one, which felt really special. We shared a little bit about our journeys and what we were grateful for, and honestly, I’m grateful for so many things I could be here all day listing them. In a nutshell, I’m grateful for the entire retreat experience. The growth, the healing, and the person I’ve become as a result of it. I feel so chilled now. I feel free of so much weight that I’ve been carrying for years.

A REALLY SOFT START TO THE DAY. Day eight in beautiful Bali, and the morning started off really chilled and really relaxed. I got up and did some yoga, and Leo joined us like he does most mornings, just casually turning up like he owns the place. After yoga, we had breakfast and then a short window before moving on to a sound bath with crystal bowls, crystal singing bowls, and crystal sound bowls. That session was phenomenal. Just one of those moments where your whole body drops and your nervous system finally gets the memo that it’s safe to relax. ENERGY WORK AND REIKI MAGIC. After the crystal sound bowls, we moved into a journaling session and then a Reiki attunement and introduction to Reiki level one. That was amazing for me because I love all of that stuff. Working with energy, chakras, tuning in… it’s always been something that’s really interested me. The Reiki session itself was beautiful, and then after that I had a one-to-one session with one of the girls running the retreat. That included a one-to-one Reiki session as well, which was incredibly relaxing and grounding. POOL LIFE AND PURE CHILL. For the rest of the day, I literally just laid by the pool. It was such a needed day of calm and peace. Just chilling, laughing, joking, doing absolutely fuck all important. At one point, I ended up saving one of the ladies’ glasses from the bottom of the pool because nobody else could dive down far enough to get them. So I dived down and rescued them like some sort of pool superhero. They’ve also got these beanbag things you can sunbathe on, either outside the pool or floating in the pool. So we got onto one of those, which was really cool, just drifting about. ME BEING A COMPLETE DOUGHNUT. At one point, I thought I was absolutely bossing it and decided to switch from laying on my tummy to laying on my back so my tan would even out. What I didn’t realise was how far back I was on the beanbag. So as I leaned back, I literally backflipped off the beanbag straight into the pool.

THE DAY JUST KEPT UNFOLDING. Day seven, and what a day. Like, as the days go on, things are just becoming more and more epic. I got up and did some yin yoga this morning with sound bowls, which was just absolutely phenomenal. It was such a gentle, grounding way to start the day, and my body really needed that after everything it’s been through. After yoga, we had breakfast. CHOOSING WHAT FELT RIGHT. After breakfast, everyone got ready to go to the monkey forest, but I decided that I wasn’t going to go. I didn’t want to feel anxious being around the monkeys today. After that first day where one was aggressive towards me, I just knew in my body that I wasn’t feeling it. I also needed to get my foot sorted because after yesterday’s time in the water, the blister was full of dirt and really needed to be opened and cleaned properly so it didn’t get infected. So that’s what I did. I sat with one of the staff from ARC, which is where we’re having the retreat, and she very kindly cut the blister open and cleaned all the dirt out. It took about 45 minutes because there was quite a bit of dirt in there and she was being really meticulous. She used alcohol cleaning spray and iodine to make sure the wound was properly clean and then dressed it. After that, I sorted my washing to take to the laundrette and headed off for a massage. THE MASSAGE (AGAIN, NEEDED). I went for a 90-minute Balinese massage, which was just divine in every sense of the word. It really was amazing. As I’m sitting here writing this, Leo, one of the cats at the retreat, has decided to get into one of my bags and is rustling around in there. Anyway… back to it. I fell asleep for part of the massage, which was just lovely and very much needed. Afterwards, I headed back to the retreat centre and just mooched around for a bit, enjoying the peace and quiet while everyone else was out for the day. A SHIFT I DIDN’T EXPECT. Then I got on the back of a bike and headed into the centre to a restaurant called Merlin’s.

PLAYFULNESS, EXPECTATIONS, HEALING & CONNECTION HOW THE DAY STARTED. Today started off with some laughter and playful yoga, which was really different to the normal kind of yoga that I do. It was fun and I actually really enjoyed it, even though I felt a little bit awkward at times and a bit uncomfortable. We don’t normally lean into our inner child like that, so it felt unfamiliar, but it was really good to do. After the morning yoga, we sat down and had breakfast, and my original plan for the day was to stay at the retreat. It was free time, so I was going to just chill there, maybe do some work, do some crocheting, do some journalling, and have a bit of downtime and me time. WHEN THE PLAN CHANGED. That plan changed. Some of the girls were talking about going to Kato Healing, which is a very famous healing place that was on Eat Pray Love, the film with Julia Roberts. It was something I’d really wanted to do, so I was like yeah, sure, I’m up for that. There was a bit of time waiting around for other people, which is not something I’m good at. I find it really difficult being in limbo and not knowing what to do. I didn’t want to get my laptop out and start working only to be disrupted, so instead I was chatting to one of the girls I hadn’t spoken to much before. We ended up chatting about life, which was really lovely, and getting to know her better. Me and her were both waiting, and she said, “Why don’t we just go? We’re both sitting here waiting anyway.” And honestly, she was right. So that’s what we did. HEALING EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY. We headed off, got a taxi into Ubud, and went to Kato Healing. We did the prayer meeting and blessing, and if I’m honest, it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. It was very short, very generic, and not very personal. I came away feeling really disappointed. With how much it’s talked up everywhere and by everyone, my experience just didn’t match that at all. It also wasn’t exactly cheap for Bali either, and for a two-minute conversation, it honestly felt like a bit of a rip-off.