The Misery Journal

The Misery Journal: Finding Patterns in Your Aches & PainsA 90-day logbook to discover what makes your discomfort better or worse. Created by acupuncturists and herbalist with over 25 years of experience treating pain holistically in people and animals.  The Misery Journal is a tool to discover patterns in your aches and pains. Many types of pain have patterns when we look at the big picture. Does it hurt at 3am every morning? Does it hurt more with cold weather, or hot weather? Does movement make it worse? Are there foods that make it worse? These and many similar patterns to be found in our daily lives can give us, and your doctor, a much better idea of what’s going on with you. There are several factors which cause pain. Besides the common causes such as illness or injury, other reasons can be related to things such as weather conditions, food allergies, alcohol consumption, stress, various body positions, strenuous exercise, hormonal cycles and more. For instance, you may notice that your arthritic knees hurt more during hot damp weather and using an ice pack helps relieve it. Maybe your neck and back pain are worse after eating a large meal of pasta smothered with tomato sauce and bread. Gluten and tomato can both be a food trigger that exacerbates pain. Having a glass of wine with sulfites may cause flare ups. Bending or sitting the wrong way could set off a week of laying on the couch with a heating pad. Your neuropathy may flare up during cold or windy weather. Women may experience more pain during ovulation or during menses. All these puzzle pieces may add up eventually. By tracking your pain level, area of the body that experiences along with other various influences you and your healthcare provider may determine a specific approach to managing and relieving it. These revelations may also give you insight on things to avoid, use with caution or inspire you to be aware of conditions that may exacerbate your pain so that you can be prepared. If you know that pain is going to strike after that big pasta meal you now have the choice to avoid it, suffer through it or find a natural remedy to ease the symptoms afterwards! This journal may be used as a personal diary or may be shared with your healthcare practitioner.