Daily Health Progress Journal

That's been my mantra for my recovery. I created this journal for myself as an assignment given by my Occupational Therapist at brain rehab (thank you Elise!). It became one of the most important and empowering tools I had for my health. Here's why...

1. When battling a lengthy chronic illness, it can be hard to see any progress from day to day. It's easy to forget what symptoms have resolved or improved when there are new or continued ones you're still dealing with daily. Keeping a journal allows you to look weeks and months back and remember that you're not where you used to be (and not yet where you're going to be) in your recovery. 

2. Healthcare appointments are often infrequent and short, so it's important to have an accurate report of your symptoms, what's helping and what's not, as well as any new concerns to be addressed. You also have a record of your treatments and appointments for easy reference. 

3. Tracking symptoms and triggers can help you better navigate future situations, anticipate your needs, and identify which tools/strategies are most helpful. 

4. While you may have been able to keep track of information and remember things easily before COVID, brain fog makes it really hard. Journaling reduces the burden on your brain, which frees you up to use your very valuable brain energy on other things. 

5. It's easy to feel untethered or disconnected from your body while recovering from an illness. This journal can help you stay grounded and connected to yourself in a gentle, structured way. 

You might also see it as a record of your Long COVID journey- an experience you didn't ask for but one that has already had a major impact on your life. One thing I love most about having these pages is that they say a lot about my evolution of self in the past 2.5 years. I'm not who I used to be before COVID, and I'm proud of who I've become. It takes SO MUCH strength (ironically) to have a complex chronic illness. This journal can serve as a witness to your strength, and your courage. 

I do have one important caveat for this journal: there might be times you should not use it. Know when to take a break, and that it's absolutely ok to do so! There are times when focusing on symptoms might be unhelpful, and I encourage you to check in with yourself to know if and when that's the case. If you feel an increase in anxiety related to journaling, find yourself thinking about journal questions excessively, or dread your journaling time these are indicators to take a break or even discontinue altogether. Always meet yourself where you're at, and take care of your nervous system by listening and responding to it. 

I suggest printing the pages and keeping your journal in a binder that you can bring to healthcare appointments as needed. 

Use this journal as a tool for learning about yourself and managing your health. It's not a report card that says anything about success or failure; it's a record of where you're at on a given day. Your inner critic isn't invited to collaborate or comment. 

I opted to complete my journal at the end of each day, and wrote my intention/affirmation for the following day. You could try a different way, but this worked best for me. An intention could be a specific goal or action you plan to take, but it could also be a trajectory to aim for such as "A calm and regulated nervous system". An affirmation could be something like "I am healing", "I am strong", or anything that represents how you would like to feel or what you want to achieve. 

Recording your highest & lowest energy of the day will help you to gauge how well you're pacing, whether you're overexerting yourself in a day, and energy patterns. You should use the notes section to provide more detail, such as whether your high was early or later in the day, and anything you think impacted your energy positively or negatively.  

Use the information in your journal to inform your healthcare. If you experience PEM (post-exertional malaise) following a visit, that should be communicated to your provider so they better understand your physical/cognitive/emotional window of tolerance, and can adjust your treatment accordingly. 

I use the physical, cognitive, and emotional section by thinking about my daily average. There may have been some high points and some low ones in a day, so I just think about the overall feeling and circle that. 

The "Improved/worsened/new symptoms" section is a really important one that can help you identify what's helping, what's not, and when symptoms started and ended. You can cross reference symptom improvement or worsening with medication or supplement changes, treatments or procedures, and lifestyle factors to inform what's working for you and what to change. 

However- please don't pressure yourself to figure it all out! That's not the purpose of this journal. Sometimes there truly is no rhyme or reason to how you're feeling. At least not anything observable. I often found myself wondering if I was being impacted by the full moon, the pollen count, the barometric pressure, or other factors beyond my control. I think what's important to focus on is what IS within your control, and to keep moving forward. 

If you had a rough day or a flare and it was a consequence of a choice you made, don't waste your precious spoons beating yourself up. Treat it like a scientist would and take everything as data to inform what you do moving forward. You didn't sign up for a chronic illness- there's a lot to learn about yourself in this process, and self-compassion is one of the greatest resources available to you. 

If you need some help with this (as most of us do), here's some recommended reading: https://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-compassion-2/

The "Appointments/treatments/other notes" can include anything that's relevant or helpful. 

Your "Win(s)" and "Challenge(s)" of the day are really important- don't skip them! A win is a win, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Acknowledge (and celebrate) every single win- you worked hard for them. The challenges are also important to acknowledge so you can realistically evaluate what you're dealing with. Challenges might range from your actual symptoms to difficulties with healthcare providers, the stresses of everyday life, finances, your relationships, or your own self-talk. A challenge may be something within your control or outside of it. Whatever your daily challenges are, I hope you can recognize your own strength and the resilience you are building with each one.