I Brain Dumped For A Week & It Was The Reset I Needed

In Her Campus’s series The College Try, our writers test out viral wellness, dating, fashion, productivity, and pop culture trends firsthand. This month, Marie Gomez gives “brain dumping” the ol’ college try.

Sometimes, I have so much on my mind that I feel like I’m burning myself out. After all, going to class every single day and doing homework every single night — on top of having responsibilities, chores, and extracurriculars — is mentally exhausting. So, when I came across the practice of “brain dumping,” I knew I had to try it out for myself.

Brain dumping is essentially writing everything in your head onto a piece of paper, journal page, sticky note, or even a napkin without any organization. You just write, get it out, and fill the pages with your mindless thoughts. It’s kind of like venting, but with a pen and paper.

And, as it turns out, brain dumping can actually be really good for you. “Brain dumping is a form of communication with yourself to prepare your thoughts for whatever form of activity you’re [going to] immerse yourself in [after],” says Sammie Walker Herrera, Executive Communication Trainer & Certified ADHD Coach at Speak Y’all. “Our brains aren’t meant to be our storage systems, [and] trying to keep everything in your head while also trying to act on all of that information is daunting.”

And, according to Herrera, there is no right or wrong way to do a brain dump. “Most folks think of writing everything down on a piece of paper, freewriting style,” Herrera explains. “You start writing, and you don’t stop until you’ve fully offloaded your brain.”

However, brain dumping doesn’t have to look like sitting down at a journal. “Another way you can do this is writing each idea or task on a sticky note,” she says. And, yes, while you may have a lot of sticky notes, Herrera says this can be an effective way to organize your thoughts “into quick wins, long-term projects, and tasks you can delegate or let go of.” 

With that in mind, I thought (since I overthink everything already) I would try to detox my brain for a while. For five days, I brain dumped, and here’s how it went.

Day 1

I brain dumped at night this time, since I thought it would help me unwind. So, I grabbed a blank piece of paper and wrote — no timer and no rules.

At first, I overthought this because usually I have a structure when I write things down — whether that’s a to-do list, setting a reminder, or leaving a note for someone. But within a minute of sitting down, so many things came to my mind, in no particular order, and I wrote them down as fast as I could.

After a few minutes, I felt very different: My brain didn’t feel overwhelmed or overloaded like it usually does. I didn’t have a headache. I wasn’t stressed. I felt like writing down random things cleared a huge space in my brain, which is a good thing.

Day 2

On the second day, I set a 10-minute timer and sat outside while the sun set for my brain dump. I found myself practicing gratitude, as I mainly wrote about things I was grateful for.

I noticed that I was thinking, but not really thinking. Writing down the first thoughts that came to mind and “spilled” them onto my little notebook. Afterwards, I felt a sense of relief, as if everything was going to be OK. Who doesn’t love that?

Day 3

For a different form of brain dumping, on Day 3, I decided to write down my thoughts on sticky notes and organize them into categories. I brain dumped on a few big ideas, like how I could be more social or how I can better prioritize my health. And for a quick activity, I spent some time drawing whatever came to my mind. (Brain dumping isn’t just about words!) 

Day 4

On Day 4, I brain dumped in my planner — but on an empty day in the past. I wrote down what I would’ve been doing on this day or what I would be doing if this day came back around again.

Day 5

For my last brain dump session, I decided to take a different route: typing out my thoughts on the Notes app. I wrote about shows I was thinking of watching, as well as my thoughts about shows I was currently watching. And honestly, this was the easiest one yet: I really didn’t have to think about it. Out of all my brain dump sessions, this one was my favorite.

So, would I brain dump again? Definitely. I ended each session feeling more focused, centered, and ready for whatever I had next. And, with a schedule as wild as mine, it definitely helped.

• HC The College Try
• mental health
• wellness