🧠 Brain Dumping My Way Back to Sanity
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When it Starts:
Some people meditate. Some people journal with beautiful prompts and pastel pens.
Me? I open a Google Doc or my Notes App at 11:43 PM, title it something like “AHHHHHHH” and proceed to word-vomit every thought in my brain until it stops buzzing.
This, my friends, is the art of the brain dump.
What Even Is a Brain Dump?
A brain dump is exactly what it sounds like: taking every swirling, nagging, spiraling, unfinished, half-formed, screaming thought in your head and dumping it onto paper (or a doc or the back of a receipt—you do you).
There are no bullet points. No structure. No aesthetic spread.
Just chaos. Blessed, unfiltered chaos.
It usually starts like this:
- I need to email that person back
- Oh crap did I take my meds?
- I think I forgot to buy cheese
- A design idea for Overwhelmed The Label?
- Wait, did I miss an activity sign up day for my kid?
- I’m tired
- Why am I like this
- Taxes????
-
What do I want to do with my life ??
And honestly, that’s the point. You’re not solving anything—yet. You’re just getting it out of your head so it doesn’t keep spinning like a fidget spinner of doom.
Why It Works (Especially If Your Brain Is Loud)
If you have ADHD, anxiety, burnout, or just a very overloaded brain, brain dumping can be life-saving. Here’s why:
- It stops the internal tab-hoarding
- You can see what’s actually bothering you vs. what’s just noise
- It gives your brain permission to stop looping that one intrusive thought on repeat
- It’s the first step toward action—even if the only action is sighing dramatically and walking away
Also, you can then re-direct all the energy you have spent thinking about all those things and off load it to a calendar or a list etc. Even something as simple that you do instinctually that is taking up space in your brain.
My Brain Dump Ritual (aka The Anti-Ritual)
No rules. No rituals. But here’s what I usually do:
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Open a doc or grab the nearest notebook
- Type like I’m ranting to my group chat or a brain map
- Absolutely do not judge anything I write
- Use caps lock if needed. Add “lol”s and “ugh”s. It’s all welcome here.
-
Stop when I feel lighter or tired or when my toddler finds me and asks for a snack.
Sometimes I brain dump in a single run-on sentence. Other times it turns into a color-coded action plan. Usually it just sits there for a bit like a mental compost pile, and that’s fine too.
What Happens After?
Sometimes I never look at it again.
Sometimes I highlight things that actually matter and turn them into a to-do list.
Sometimes I text my sister and say, “Okay so I dumped my brain and now I need help.”
And sometimes? I deleted it. The power move of “Wow, I actually feel better now. Delete forever.”
Final Thoughts
Brain dumping is not about productivity. It’s not about being organized.
It’s about survival. It’s about quieting the storm just long enough to breathe again.
So if your brain is loud, the world feels like a lot, and your to-do list is starting to feel personal… try dumping it all out. No judgment. No structure. Just a little space between you and the spiral.
You’ve got this. (And if you don’t? Dump it out and try again tomorrow.)
💬 Your Turn:
Got a brain full of chaos too?
Drop your favorite brain dump method (or your most unhinged late-night thought) in the comments.
Or just type “same” if your brain’s too fried to type anything else — we get it. 🧠✨