The Benefits of Writing About Your Health
Writing about your health diagnosis helps others while making you feel less alone.
When you or a loved one receive a negative health diagnosis, it literally turns your world upside down. What you thought was important- now isn’t, who you thought you could lean on you- realized you could can’t; and you begin to feel stuck in a never ending cycle of doctors appointment, test results, and insurance paperwork.
Being “sick” is way more than just a feeling or a prognosis. It very quickly becomes a lifestyle...an identity that no matter how many times you try to run away, you realize that it is part of your everyday life.
Writing about your health is a way to find a purpose in our pain. Everyday we feel, learn and understand something new about our health. Sharing our stories and advice not only helps us, but it inspires others and raises awareness that will impact change. Here are 3 benefits of starting a Health Journey to show how powerful your words can be.
Connect with a community of like-minded people
Being sick, or being a caretaker can feel very isolating. You look around at others and envy the careless leisure at which they do their daily routines. You think to yourself...how nice it would be to trade places for a moment and escape the fear, anguish and pain that seems to dominate your thought life.
What we sometimes forget is that there are countless other people experiencing exactly what we are going through. By chronicling your Health Journey- you are instantly reaching out and offering hope to someone who needs to hear what you went through. Our stories certainly aren't fairy tales, but they deserve to be told.
Your words are powerful, and can be a lifeline to someone in need.
Your research matters
Doctors are great, but they don’t know everything! Our first hand experiences are valuable insights to others navigating through similar health issues. Patients are a treasure trove of knowledge and research which should be shared and documented for others to see. From understanding treatments to managing side effects, new advances and holistic therapies. What you have learned can be a resource for someone who is looking for answers.
From your personal diagnosis story, to diet and lifestyle tips-, you know the challenges of your disease and have learned tips and strategies that doctors simply don’t understand.
Writing for a cure and scientific advances
Research is driven by noise and noise is created by people just like us. By sharing our stories and talking about our diagnosis, it puts a face to the statistics. We are real people with families, friends, responsibilities and a future. Walks, ribbons, and fundraisers are great- but nothing is more powerful than telling the human story behind a disease.
Share your Health Journey posts with friends, families, and support groups. Utilize social media to get the word out! There are no better advocates for finding cures than patients themselves. By sharing our personal experiences- it is a powerful tool to take hold of the narrative and force change.
