tornado brain

English

Etymology

Compare baby brain, chemobrain.

Noun

tornado brain (uncountable)

1. Mental health difficulties faced by the survivors of a tornado.
   • 2016, Stan Cox, Paul Cox, How the World Breaks: Life in Catastrophe’s Path, from the Caribbean to Siberia, page 288:

     She told us that in the three years it took to get Greensburg fully cleaned up, “we all had ‘tornado brain.’ There were far too many things to focus on. It became hard to get up in the morning. […] ”

   • 2022 January 3, London Bishop, quoting Tammy Detty, “Juvenile Court remembers clerk who pushed through medical problems to help children”, in Dayton Daily News:

     “Families a lot of times wouldn’t do what they’re supposed to because they come in with this tornado brain,” she said. “So we sit down with them and support them through the process.”

   • 2024 February 19, Jennifer M. First, Megan Carnahan, Mansoo Yu, Sangwon Lee, J. Brian Houston, quoting anonymized tornado survivor “Terri”, “‘Recovering from Tornado Brain’: A Qualitative Analysis of Long-Term Needs after One of the Deadliest Tornadoes in U.S. History”, in Clinical Social Work Journal, →DOI, →ISSN, page 4:

     I need help concentrating and recovering from what we call ‘tornado brain’ in Joplin. Every time we hear the rumble of the storm, we think and hear the tornado happening.