Therapeutic Brain Challenge

Therapeutic+Brain+Challenge+

Catherine Mercado, Impact Staff

Challenge your ability to be creative while doing a simple exercises that will help you release stress and recharge you brain. When living in a fast paced environment constantly taking care of daily responsibilities, it is healthy to take time out for yourself and do something you enjoy. Whether it is a walk in the park, or reading a book. Completely removing yourself from your phone, the television and the internet gives your brain the ability to relax your mind.

I didn’t realize how creative I could be until I began to lose myself in my writing. I would often feel a sense of anxiety and I didn’t know how to handle it. I would shuffle through all of my social networks post up tweets one after the other, try to read a book but nothing could really take my mind off of the stress. My junior year of college my Professor gave the class a very difficult assignment. Little did I know that the assignment that I was about to do was going to become my future form of therapy. It is as simple as a free write that would help me channel all of my energy into a master piece.

My first free writing assignment I had no idea what do, or write about. The idea of writing 500 words on something I couldn’t Google for answers and ideas, challenged my ability to be creative. In grade school and high school we are taught to limit the creativity in us and channel our many thoughts into formatted essays and research papers. The traditional five paragraph essay suppressed the desire in students to enjoy writing. Although many of us have grown to dislike the concept of writing, because as students we have been forcefully writing fifteen page research papers and analytic essays for years. Writing does not have to be your enemy.

The night when I had to write my first free write it took me two hours to begin. I crumpled up over ten sheets of paper, because I didn’t know to write in an unformatted way. Before I gave up I decided to put myself in a bubble. With my cup of tea and one song on repeat, I put head phones on, chose an object and began to write. I turned off my brain from my surroundings and focused on my paper and the pen. Two hours later my hand did not leave the paper for a second. After putting together my thoughts I couldn’t believe how relaxed and motivated my brain felt after this exercise.

Every now and then when I feel like I have to shut myself out from the world, I use writing as my escape. It became a creative hobby, and a therapeutic brain challenge. The best part about free writing is that you can write about anything, there is no limit to how creative you can get. My favorite form of free writing is taking picture, and making it a story.

The free write below is based on a gif I found on my Tumblr. Challenge your mind to do the unordinary and the creativity within you will can unfold into something great.

And suddenly I felt nothing

(yes this is a picture from the movie Fight Club… But i haven’t seen it so it allowed me to make a story out of the picture)

I open the door scanning the room, targeting the oblivious intoxicated man standing in the far right. The musk of cigars that surrounds the place, clears around me as I observe every hopeless soul in this place. I walk to the bar. Drunken eyes follow my every step the minute they hear the sounds of a woman’s delicate heel hit the ground.

Stumbling and stuttering these fools fight with their seats to stay still as they lose conscious. This one man, sober enough to understand the puzzling idea of a woman in this place, gapes into my eyes. He’s trying to analyze my motive or desire. Gorgeous eyes, satisfying to admire. I look away before his eyes melt into what’s left of my soul and memorizes every living cell in my body. Then I would feel compelled to love him.

I take a seat ignoring the obstruction that is attempting to dispel my existence in this place. The lack of conviction that has taken over me is dangerous. I can still feel the untamed eyes desiring to breathe the fragrance that surrounds me. The guilty man of servicing these men to utter unconsciousness, slowly gravitates towards me. Night after night, he is the only soul that makes it out alive. He intends to keep it that way. The desire in his eyes to draw me into this group of circus clowns, ignites a fire of rebellion in me. Perhaps I will be one of this man’s entertaining puppets. I will give him a show he’s never seen before.

I collect my thoughts placing them in future chronological order of my offense. For a moment, I turn around and glance right into the eyes of this man on the far right. Intentionally it was only a glance that would last a second, but the Unrecognizable look in his eyes, froze my existence of time. It is the face of a man who once violently loved the late soul that dwelled in the body before him. His intoxicated eyes scream with recognition. While the Cigar he smokes burns over his glass. It clouded the air with overwhelming nothingness.

My surroundings become magnified and my senses highlight every unfamiliar detail around me. The lights grow dimmer. The wooden floor feels like a fight for my life against quick sand. The broken and rusty wooden clock ticks and ticks until it becomes a ringing in my ear. The tidal wave of senses condense into one making me cringe.  I am wishing for the sand to take what’s left of me. In the midst of my destruction I hear a familiar sound. It beats my mind into serenity.

My time is up. I set my glass of courage down. And I calmly arise and make my way to the man in the far right. In less than a seconds I am being followed by the many eyes that surround me. My pray is unconsciously aware of my attack. It took him minutes to recognize the woman who stood before him. He silently looks at me hopelessly pleading for his life.

He was the rattle snake that poisoned the blood of an innocent soul. The lion that deceived an innocent lamb. His poison became my strength, his life is my pray. Remorse is for the weak. The poison that runs through my veins and pumps blood through my body, will soon have a soul to dwell with.

They all watched as this game of Russian roulette ended.

TRY IT!!!!