Last week, we talked about some of the reasons it’s difficult for PTSD survivors to connect, and the science behind what happens in the brain during a PTSD episode that makes it hard to explain what we’re thinking and feeling (read more about that here). I created a free resource, available in The Vault, to help you name what PTSD symptoms you’re feeling, track them and look for patterns, and use the information to connect with your people and yourself. Today, we’re talking about 3 different ways to use the PTSD Mind Map:
1. Circle or Strike
There are three versions of the PTSD mind map included in the resource in The Vault: one with 37 symptoms of PTSD listed, one with no symptoms listed, and a completely blank mind map.
In my own reflection and inner work on my PTSD this week, I used the PTSD mind map that lists out several possible symptoms. I looked at each symptom, circled it if it was something I was experiencing, and crossed it out if it wasn’t. Here’s what it looked like at this stage:
This process took me only a few minutes, but as I looked at each symptom, I realized that I wasn’t just feeling shut down and disconnected like I thought - there were so many other feelings coming up for me that I didn’t have a name for before assessing each symptom one by one. Naming and knowing what I’m feeling always leads to a deeper understanding of what I’m experiencing, and gave me follow up questions to journal about - what am I afraid of? Frustrated about?
In addition to journaling, identifying my symptoms gave me clear next steps to take - am I really in danger? Or is the situation I’m in triggering a trauma response because of a perceived threat? What therapy strategies can I use to calm my nervous system down and remind my body that it’s safe? Just having these simple next steps got me out of a place of feeling stuck and out of control, and gave me a safe and constructive action to take next. It didn’t stop the reaction from happening, but it did give me a guided step for where to put some of my energy. And when I’m in the extreme mental and physical distress that comes with a PTSD episode, even something that makes my experience 1% better is 100% worth it.
Instead of journaling, I decided to get out my markers and use this resource to not only show what my PTSD felt like that day, but also what it looked like:
The simple, methodical act of coloring was a welcome distraction, and it again brought insight into my feelings. I had marked that I was feeling frustrated, angry, terror - but shown that my PTSD looked and felt dark and empty that day. In comparison, consider what this PTSD mind map might share about my dominant emotions:
Creativity is an incredible outlet, and regularly allows me to demonstrate thoughts I can’t articulate. When I remember to integrate and utilize the creative part of my brain during a difficult stretch of my PTSD symptoms, I’m always grateful for the benefits it gives me.
More ideas for you to consider: painting your mind map, cutting out the pieces of your mind map and rearranging them on a colored sheet of paper, tearing up newspaper/old magazine pages/colored paper and gluing the pieces over your crossed out symptoms, cutting the pieces out and attaching them to a ziploc baggie so you can see right through the background, or crumpling up your mind map, smoothing it out, and tracing over the lines on the crumpled paper.
The end result doesn’t have to be fancy, and nobody but you has to see it. Any creative opportunity to get some of the energy and emotion out of your body is a worthwhile use of your time.
"Creativity is an incredible outlet, and regularly allows me to demonstrate thoughts I can't articulate."
2. Brain Dump
Another simple, creative way to express yourself is to use page two of the PTSD mind map resource and do a brain dump. Similar to journaling, a brain dump puts down your thoughts on paper, and gets what’s in your brain out. But a brain dump is a much more creative and expressive outlet for written word, and integrates a visual representation alongside the words to show what you’re thinking and feeling.
What is a brain dump?
A brain dump is a method of train-of-thought journaling that helps release stored thoughts and organize them on the page. When I brain dump, I write down whatever comes to mind, relevant to PTSD or not, in whatever form it comes out - single word, phrase, sentence. I don’t overthink what I put on the page, which almost always results in the opportunity to notice a thought or a feeling I didn’t realize I was having.
When doing a brain dump, all formal rules of paper structure go out the window - write left to right or right to left, upside down or sideways. Start in the middle and work your way out, or start at the bottom and go to the top. I like to turn my paper several times when I’m brain-dumping to see my work from a different angle and find just the right spot for my thoughts.
Since a brain dump is a creative activity, I use size, color, and directionality to highlight certain thoughts or feelings. Take a look at this PTSD brain dump I created this week:
Right away, it’s evident that I struggled with my sleep this week - “exhausted” dominates in the largest and most prominent writing on the page. But size can demonstrate feeling in many ways - large and dominant, for a primary or deep emotion, small and secluded for quieter thoughts and feelings, or through a mix of large and small in a single word or phrase. Consider the feeling before you put it on paper, and decide what size best demonstrates that emotion.
In addition to using size to highlight areas of your brain dump, color also helps draw attention to key words and phrases. I chose to use pencil, grey, black, and red in my sample, but rather than focus on the specific colors to use, I find it most important to focus on what colors best represent how I’m feeling. When I brain dump, I keep my colors next to my work page and choose which feels right for each word or phrase. It’s less important how the end result looks, and more important to find a way to express and release some of the energy and emotion inside you.
Another stylistic choice I make when I do a brain dump is the direction of the writing. The word “confused” in the bottom left corner, upside down, was one of the first words I wrote on this brain dump. I felt jumbled and out of place, and wanted to show that on the page. Likewise, circling the outer edge of the head, the words “over and over and over and over…” show the cyclical nature of my symptoms that day. Try to let go of your instinct to write left to right, and give yourself permission to visually represent your feelings in every direction on the page.
Putting everything down on paper in this way is such a simple, but powerful, way to express my creativity. When I finish a page like this it feels like I have just emptied my brain of all of its thoughts and I can start fresh. And, different from journaling, I can look at the page and see what I’m feeling. I love that this representation of my emotions visually shows how nonlinear my PTSD is. My PTSD is not neat and tidy and easily confined. It is explosive, messy, confusing and disorienting - and so is my brain dump.
"When I finish a [brain dump], it feels like I have just emptied my brain of all of its thoughts and I can start fresh."
3. Reflect and Connect
The final sheet in the free PTSD mind map resource is a completely blank mind map, designed with the intention of reflecting and connecting with a loved one. If you are trying to connect with someone who doesn’t have PTSD, but struggling to explain what you’re experiencing, try asking them to fill out this completely blank mind map. Ask them to fill it in with thoughts and feelings that show you what they’re experiencing in their body that day. When they’ve shared their experience through this mind map, set it side-by-side with one of yours, symptoms listed or blank. Talk about how different the experiences of your body are, and share as much information about what’s on your mind map as you feel comfortable. Take time reflecting on each mind map individually, and use that insight to connect about your PTSD experience and what you need. Even on a day when I’m not actively having a trauma response, my baseline is still very different than my trauma-free peers.
Bonus: Look for Patterns
There is so much power in patterns. Finding patterns in my symptoms, experiences, and trauma responses has helped me hone in on what to work on and target my energy towards. Spend a few minutes every day this week filling out a PTSD mind map, and then use this tracker (available in The Vault) to find patterns in your symptoms:
Bring this data sheet with you to therapy, or just share the information you’ve gathered with your therapist. This information is really useful for both you and your PTSD professional, and has deepened conversations in my own therapy sessions, like identifying root causes for the patterns and talking about what will bring those symptoms relief. I encourage you to use this information as a companion to your therapy sessions, and am excited for the possibilities that finding these patterns will bring your healing.
Which of these methods will you try first? Do you have an idea for how to use the PTSD mind map that’s not included here? Share a picture with us in the comments below!
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