Mom Brain is Real — 5 ways a journal can help you survive it

Does having children make you more forgetful? Do you find things harder to process?

Have you ever felt a sense of overwhelm from things you previously navigated with ease?

If so, you wouldn’t be the first to blame it on “mom brain.”

And while that’s an excuse over which your mom friends will share an empathetic laugh, would it freak you out to learn that “mom brain” is real?

There is evidence for the neuroscience behind this, but there are also other more practical reasons. Forget that you are exhausted — ALL THE TIME. The sheer volume of information you have to keep track of once you have kids is daunting.

Because being a mom can be a logistical nightmare:

• You have to keep up with ever changing schedules — what do you mean I was supposed to have you there at 7am; I thought it was 8am?
• You have to stay on top of inventory — seriously, two gallons of milk should last a week.
• You are the keeper of the personal information — shoe sizes, birthdays, who goes to which practice when, and who does/doesn’t eat what.
• You are the creator of your family culture: navigating media, fitness, education, art, and other experiences–let’s try Chopin, because “Baby Shark” is legit threatening my sanity.
• You manage the budget–no, you may not have my credit card to buy a new outfit for your Fortnite character.
• And — as if that wasn’t enough — you are also supposed to listen intently when these little people talk with you. Even if that includes an hour of MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY or your 6-year-old with a joke book from the school library (which could put anyone’s brain permanently on the fritz.)

If you’ve said the phrase “mom brain” in the past month, here’s some good news: starting a journaling practice can really, really help.

Here are 5 ways a journal can help you survive:

A journal gets things out of your head and in front of your eyes.

Ninety percent of the information that goes to our brains is visual. In fact, large amounts of brain real estate…