How much information do we have to process every day? From the moment we wake up, we have a big data set of information about ourselves, our surroundings, or the people around us. This can lead to overthinking, anxiety, depression, insomnia, or paralysis in decision-making and the list can go on). This is where Brain Dumping comes in! It’s a magical technique that helps to clear your mind.
How I discovered the concept of Brain Dumping
It’s a classic story about a girl living in a cozy little fairytale cottage that was invaded by ants. I mean dozens of ants that crawled in her food and in every tiny corner of her house, searching for crums or anything edible! Ants are not harmful, so you can live alongside them for a while. But what happens when they monopolize your space? Also, why were the ants even there in the first place? The girl noticed she left all the windows and doors open and the ants just invited themselves in. She did manage to set a bait outside of the house, a giant piece of cheese (bigger than her) that made the ants get out of the house. She then took the cheese with the ants on it and left it further away in the forest. The ants might try to come again, but the girls decided to at least not lt her doors and windows wide open all the time.
As you can imagine, the cozy cottage is our mind and the ants are our thoughts. A cottage will always have insects crawling around in hidden corners, most of the time not necessarily bothering anybody; but when there is an invasion, then we need to do something about it!
In my case, I did experience overthinking and very strong emotions as a result. I strongly believed that the thoughts and feelings were my reality, were “the truth”. I thought that “if I am thinking and feeling it then it must be true, right?”. Wrong! Just imagine that the girl in the story would see the ant invasion and would think “alright, I live with ants now, might as well start making tiny beds for all of them so they can sleep well!”. NO! She got up and found a way to get rid of the invasion so she could enjoy her cozy cottage in peace. This is why it’s crucial to get rid of the ants aka get rid of the unnecessary thoughts!
Why are Brain Dumps important?
But what are some of the actual benefits of getting rid of your ant invasion? Here are some of the great effects of practicing Brain Dumping:
- Maintaining a daily mental hygiene
- Less stress, while enjoying the moment
- Leaving more space for you to be in touch with what you are feeling
- Opening up more space for creativity
- Easier to get things done
- Improved communication and healthier relationships
4 easy Brain Dumping techniques
Clearing your mind should be a part of your hygiene routine.
Periodically cleaning your mind is as important and fundamental as eating or showering. It should be a daily necessity that can help you avoid many mental health problems.
There are many simple ways to do it. Below are some examples of brain dumping that have worked for me:
1. Writing technique
I am fascinated by the therapeutic power of writing!
Write down on a piece of paper or a word document everything that pops into your head at that moment. My advice is to write, without thinking about grammar, punctuation, or if it’s logical or not. Don’t control anything you have in your head. The tendency is to say that your thoughts are stupid and to stop writing. The truth is that they are stupid and you will realize that after you release them. Please ignore the fact that you are jumping from an idea to another, or that you are too rude or inappropriate. Write those words as you feel them, regardless of the mood you are in (furious, grateful, humouristic, sad, etc.)
First, you will materialize the thoughts, and let them out. Those words are now part of that piece of paper or word document, the words. Not your problem anymore! It’s like a spider crawling on you. It gives you the creeps and you release it into an open field so it can run somewhere else than on your body. Problem solved!
Try to practice this exercise every day (or whenever you need to clear your mind). You will see that there is no reason to worry about most of your thoughts. Those thoughts are connections in your brain formed from experience or beliefs.
I am fascinated by how much I find out about myself during this exercise! I now see better what my fears are or what different unresolved issues pop-up in my reality. Self-awareness is critical for an evolved human being, so don’t take it for granted.
Some tools that I used to write more:
- Journaling (on paper or digital)
- 750 words a day
2. Planning aid
Do you have moments when you have a lot of things to do, that are lingering in your head? Days go by and you still don’t put them on paper. You say to yourself that your memory is a good enough “to-do list”. What you don’t realize is that keeping future tasks in your mind takes up space and requires a lot of additional energy. Keeping to do’s in your memory will only stress you out!
You need to move the information from your mind to an external place (a piece of paper, calendar, OneNote, etc.). This is by far the simplest technique! When you feel overwhelmed, write down everything you have to do and start planning each task!
I am not a natural planner, but I learned that I can organize myself better if I first clear my mind and make a list.
To do’s don’t seem as overwhelming and scary outside of your mind!
3. Go for a walk and make it a long one!
It’s incredible how impactful a 1-hour walk can be! It refreshes your brain, gives you time to have a talk to yourself, and cleans up your chain of thought. Just walk!
The psychological idea is that your body creates the feeling that you are moving forward and it allows your brain to unlock any loop of thought you are stuck in.
I normally go for walks with the dog (so even when I don’t feel like it) and I manage to clear my mind every time.
4. Stand still, breathe, and meditate.
I know that this is an oversaturated topic, but sometimes your brain needs to calm down and observe the thoughts rather than control them. It’s like setting your brain to airplane mode for a while and detaching from your thoughts. Take yourself back to your non-overwhelmed side and remember three things:
- Everything is temporary, this too shall pass.
- It’s going to be ok, it always is.
- Any bad feeling is an absence of love.
Imagine that you release all the unnecessary thoughts with every breath you take.
Time to take control of your mind!
Brain Dumping is a serious self-care routine that we should apply in our daily lives. Let’s take control of our minds and avoid unnecessary stress! (or future mental health problems)
1 Comment
Very good first article, looking forward to reading more!