Keeping a journal can be a helpful tool for individuals dealing with chronic illness. It can serve as a means of tracking symptoms, emotions, and treatment progress.
Here are 20 types of journals that may be beneficial for those with chronic illnesses:
Symptom Tracker Journal:
Chronically ill individuals have a wide variety of physical and emotional symptoms, depending on what’s happening in their lives. It’s important to record them daily, as well as their intensity, and any potential triggers.
Pain Journal:
The chronically ill experience a lot of pain every day. It’s sometimes eye-opening to track our pain levels, locations, and factors that worsen or alleviate pain.
Medication Journal:
Many chronically ill individuals take 3 or more medications. It’s important for us to write down our medication doses, times, and any side effects or changes in effectiveness.
Diet and Nutrition Journal:
Many of us struggle to eat well. Yet some foods may even cause triggers. Therefore, keeping a record of daily food intake to identify any dietary triggers or patterns can be very helpful.
Exercise Journal:
The chronically ill may struggle to exercise because of fluctuating energy levels. This is why it’s important to document physical activity and its impact on your condition, noting any improvements or exacerbations.
Sleep Journal:
The chronically ill have a difficult time to sleep well. Pain, discomfort, and much more can cause sleepless or restless nights. Track sleep patterns, disturbances, and how they affect your overall well-being can be valuable information.
Emotion Journal:
Many of us are moody and irritable. Experiencing continuous pain can do it. Therefore, taking the time to record our emotional state, stressors, and coping strategies can help us feel more in control of our emotions.
Appointment and Treatment Journal:
Mamy of us forget what our doctor tells us when we go and see him or her. Therefore, keeping track of doctor’s appointments, tests, and treatment plans and how things go between our appointments is important.
Gratitude Journal:
Many chronically ill individuals focus on the negative aspects of their lives. There is always more pain, discomfort and hardships that we endure. When we try to focus on the positive aspects of your life to improve mental health and outlook on a regular basis, we can feel better. So, try and come up with five things every day that you happy about. It could be as simple as sipping this cup of tea in front of you.
Energy Level Journal:
The chronically ill have low energy a lot of time. We tend to wake up with very little gas in our tanks a lot of the time. Therefore, taking the time to write down our energy levels throughout the day and factors that affect them can be helpful information.
Symptom Trigger and Relief Journal:
It’s important for chronically ill individuals to identify potential triggers for our symptoms, such as weather changes or specific activities. We may also want to document methods or treatments that provide relief from our symptoms.
Symptom Diary for Doctor Visits:
Mamyh of us forget how we feel between doctor’s visits. Regularly writing down how we are doing can be very helpful for our doctor’s visits. Create a summary of your symptoms, triggers, and experiences to share with healthcare providers during appointments. This will help you on your next appointment to your doctor.
Remember that the type of journal you choose should align with your personal needs and preferences. Some individuals may find it helpful to combine several types of journals to create a comprehensive chronic illness management tool.
Irene Roth is a freelance writer who loves to explore topics about how to live well with chronic illness. She has written over a hundred books on different aspects of wellness both in print and online. She has written about topics ranging from how to age gracefully to how to manage chronic pain and fatigue in order to live a good quality of life. She lives in Ontario with her husband Jim, cat Toby, and Dog Milo.
Living With Chronic Illness 