My Wellness Journal
Many of us experience a flood of thoughts throughout the day. From wanting to accomplish our daily chores and tasks to managing our minds and body through buying and cooking healthfully and achieving a daily water intake goal, there is a ton for us to keep track of in just a single day.
On top of all these daily to-do’s, many of us are also dealing with ailments such as pain, mood fluctuations, inability to get a good night’s rest, etc. When we feel unwell, there is an added layer of stress and lack of enjoyment. While CBD helps relieve many of these ailments, there is something significant we can do in addition to taking nature’s medicine to help us lead an enjoyable and productive life: Keep a journal! Journaling has many benefits, including enhanced self-awareness, tracking your progress and holding yourself accountable to your goals, and identifying triggers that may cause some of those ailments above.
The goal of journaling is to allow for reflection. We’re forced to think about our feelings when we write about our day, either as it is happening or at its conclusion. Awareness of your psychological and emotional state is the foundation of self-improvement. This process makes you aware of the positive things you are doing and the areas that need improvement. Keeping a wellness journal will also illuminate the day-to-day activities that impact your health. This is a valuable tool to help us stay more aware, but it is not just about writing down what is happening; it is an opportunity to reflect and decide on the action steps you will take next. In this way, journaling provides empowerment and motivation from within. Keeping my wellness journal was a big help when reflecting on my actions and day, even gaining more inspiration for the next day.
Personal growth is a journey, and a wellness journal will help you stay committed to your goals and know yourself better, which can help you make the changes required to achieve the success you crave, tangibly and physiologically. Health and wellness are essential parts of life, but we often need to take the time to focus on them. Keeping a journal can be a great way to remember to care for yourself and your health. Not only can you record your health-related goals, but you can also journal when you feel unwell to identify the cause of the situation to prevent it in the future. Keeping my wellness journal made seeing problems easier, understanding what was happening, and finding a way out.
Our ultimate goal with this step is to find methods to avoid those things that cause you pain/comfort and anything that deters you from your goals. Identifying triggers for bad habits (unhealthy eating, canceling an exercise, etc.) is just as important as identifying triggers that worsen one of your conditions (e.g., when I drink soda, I feel sluggish and cannot sleep). By keeping a journal and committing to using it regularly, you can identify patterns in your daily life that you want to change. It also gives you objective information about your feelings during certain situations, which is beneficial when explaining things to a clinician or reminding yourself. It is also helpful to journal when disappointed that you didn’t achieve a goal to explore why this scenario may have occurred.
Another great use of your journal is to enhance your experience and results with CBD. CBD products come in many different formulations (tinctures, gummies, capsules, topical oils, etc.) and doses, all of which may affect and benefit you differently. As you record your feelings during distress, you can write down what you did to alleviate that distress and the outcome (e.g., I took one 25 mg CBD capsule, and my knee pain was better after 10 minutes). This will help you remember which doses and formulations have helped you and can help guide your decisions on what to use in the future.
There are no rules for using your journal, but here are a few questions you could ask yourself to get started!
What is going/not going well in my life right now? What can I/should I do about it?
What do I do that is helpful to my condition?
What did I eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner? How did I feel?
Keeping a wellness journal allows you to better understand yourself and your actions and learn more about your body, feelings, and thoughts. Keeping my wellness journal helped me, and I am sure it will help you too!
To learn more about what to put in your wellness journal go onto our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.peacelily/
This article was written by Dr. Peace Lily Scientific Communications Intern, Jessie Fox, and edited by Dr. Najifa Choudhury, PharmD.