How to Journal Through Sickness to Health

When you're not feeling well, when you're sick or have recurring aches and pains, probably the last thing you think of is journal writing. But the fact is that journaling for the health of it can be an excellent starting point for a voyage of discovery about what your body is trying to tell you.

Studies have shown that people who write about their traumatic experiences feel better overall and visit doctors less frequently. It has even been demonstrated that journal writing can improve the health of asthmatics, and people with rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions.

One woman, who was diagnosed with chronic Epstein-Barr Virus, relates, "I started a Healing Journal, a place where I could record all my thoughts and feelings about what I was experiencing … I could fall apart, scream and yell or get irrationally angry and my healing journal hung on my every word. At first I mostly complained in the journal, but over time I found I wrote more about how to cope, dreamed about what I'd do when I got well, and I started to brainstorm on how to get help and improve my health."

Our bodies hold the key to understanding our emotions and psychological patterns. Dis-ease is our body’s attention-getter. It prompts us to investigate what’s happening on a deeper subconscious level.

Journaling can lead you through sickness into better health. Once you determine what is ailing you, you can think of new ideas to help heal yourself. (Note: Journaling does not necessarily replace medical care; for serious health concerns, consult your doctor – and bring your journaling notes!)

So how exactly does keeping a journal help with health issues? By writing in your journal, you are intently listening to your body. And by listening very closely, you become attuned to your body's messages. The more you become present to your body, creating a dialogue with it through a journal, the more you learn about the errors and omissions that may have led to stress and dis-ease. But much more importantly, you learn about your infinite possibilities.

Try the following simple steps:

1. Have a daily conversation with your body through the pages of your journal. Ask it questions and write down its responses. For instance:
• How are you feeling overall?
• What's your current mood?
• Are you battling any kind of illness?
• What is your energy level?

Starting with your head and going down to your toes, check in with individual parts of your body. Identify any sensations as specifically as possible.

Now ask, what improvement would you like to see in your body's health today?
If you could sum up what your body is trying to tell you right now in one sentence, what would it be?

2. Continue this conversation with your body every day for a week. Then read over your journal. On a fresh page, consider the following:
• Are there physical patterns you notice in your conversations?
• Are you consistently hearing the same message(s) from your body?
• Are there emotional patterns to your conversations?
• What improvement would you like to see in your body's health in the upcoming week?
• If you could sum up what your body has been saying to you over the past week in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

3. Keep up this practice of regular writing, reading, and reflecting over the weeks and months, making note of patterns, changes, and progress.

After a while, you will look back on your experience with great awe and respect, knowing that by listening to your body you have become a major contributor to your own good health.