Brain dumping is one of my favorite ways to journal and I’ve been doing it for many years. There are no rules. You can write whatever comes to mind. No editing or structuring. No worrying about grammar or using profanity. It is a safe place to pour out all that your emotions and ideas.
This type of writing is an effective self-help tool and has been the subject of many scientific studies. Brain dumping is a way to put events and ideas into perspective, blow off steam or settle your mind before an important conversation. Here are three reasons to Brain Dump:
Combat overwhelm.
In our everyday lives we have innumerable responsibilities, goals, and desires. They can become a jumbles mess in our brains. Especially when we ruminate from one thing to the next without resolution. It causes frustration when we can’t clearly see what we need to do nor the accomplishments we’ve made so far.
Putting it down on paper externalizes your worries by getting the thoughts out of your mind and organizing them onto a page. You can now see the issues with a practical eye. This can allow you to develop action plans and manage what needs to be done. It will also let you see the difference between the things you can do and those you have no control over.
Often, I have a lot of projects going on at the same time. My head starts spinning. I can’t think clearly, and I feel anxious. By brain duping I get to clear my mind. Often finding the things I was worried about are not as daunting as I thought. Insights start to develop and soon I have a plan of action -sometimes with ideas I hadn’t thought of before. The act of writing doesn’t change the issues. It changes the way I think about the issues.
Sorting through emotions.
The freeing part of brain dumping is that you can say absolutely anything you’d like about a person or event without feeling guilty. If I’m having an issue with a person or situation, writing it out can give me a better perspective. When I write down “all the things I hate about X”, for example, I can work though the anxiety and come out with a better understanding of the situation. Sometimes X does turn out to be the blood sucking mass I thought it to be. But now I can start to find ways of either avoiding, working around, or making the best of the situation.
Preparing for Important Conversations
Brain dumping is perfect preparation for a contentious yet important conversation. Often, we go into these conversations with a lot of emotions and our conversation strays away from the topic at hand. Gruffly shouting, “-no you’re a butt head”, does not make for a productive discussion.
It’s good to realize that when we have strong emotions it’s often not just the result of what a person said or did. It is a result of our conditioning and environment. Here is one scenario. Maybe there is an incident in your childhood where a family member chided you about not complying with an ideal. You felt ashamed, or vulnerable. Now you’re in a situation that brings up those feelings of shame or vulnerability. Even a subconscious memory of that emotion from childhood multiplies your feelings in the current situation.
Writing out how you are currently feeling can help you recognize some of those past feelings. You are better able to categorize the situations. That was them and this is now. So, when you do have that difficult conversation, you are better able to separate your feelings toward the person you’re speaking to and that family member from your childhood. This exercise will help keep the conversation current, on topic and more productive.
How to Brain dump:
- Find a comfortable, private place to write.
- Writing by hand is preferable but a computer or phone can also be used.
- Think of an issue that you are concerned about.
- Write what comes to mind. Freely explore all your ideas and anxieties.
- There’s no time limit. Take as long as you feel you have something to say.
- After the session you can think about how you now feel. Have your feelings changed? Do you have new ideas, inspirations, or solutions?
- What’s next: If I’m working through a concept, I’ll now take what I’ve written and start formalizing a plan. If I’m simply writing to clear my brain, I don’t usually reread what I’ve written. I just allow the emotions to flow.
- This type of journaling can be done daily, weekly or even occasionally as needed. It’s important for you to develop a schedule that works for you.
As distasteful as it sounds, brain dumping is like vomiting onto a page. Why does one vomit? You took in something that made you feel unwell or unsettled. Taking in an emotion effects the mind like taking in food effects the body. Positive situations make you feel good. Good food nourishes the body. Negative situations work like bad food to your state of mind. With this type of brain dumping everything comes out onto the page- the good and the bad. Once you’ve written things down you can examine your emotions and ideas in a productive and empowering way.
If you’d like to read some of the studies done on journaling as a form of self-help, check out these resources:
https://ejournal.upi.edu/index.php/jpmipa/article/view/37217
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8935176/
Organized brain dump: https://www.developgoodhabits.com/brain-dump-worksheet/
Written by Audie Odum-Stellato, Certified Holistic Practitioner, Nutritionist, Herbalist and Fitness Instructor.
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