In another of my guest blog spots, Kendra talks about 2 ways to improve your wellness:
What does wellness mean? I think it’s a very personal concept, honestly. Wellness, to me, means that my mental illnesses don’t control my life. That they are not debilitating and that I don’t have to hide at home. Wellness to me, means that I am able to play with my son without inducing a panic attack. Wellness to me, means that I don’t walk around with the feeling of a rock on my chest.
What does wellness mean for you?
How can you achieve wellness in your life?
My favourite technique for improving your wellness is journaling. I 100% encourage you to see a doctor and therapist if that’s needed as well, but we all need some “self help” tasks to keep in our toolbox for other times as well.
So what is journaling? It’s sort of like keeping a diary but you won’t feel like you’re 10. Journaling can mean many things for many people, just like wellness! For me, journaling is about letting my emotions and thoughts show up on the page so they aren’t stuck in my head.
You can journal with just words or you can journal with images. You can journal with prompts or a specific theme or you can just go for it and get out whatever is bothering you today.
There are 2 important things about journaling for your wellness:
1-Show up often. To be effective it needs to become a habit, a weekly (if not daily) practice. It doesn’t have to take up a lot of time or energy. I work in my journal about 3 times a week for 30 minutes tops.
2-You need to be honest. No one but you ever has to see your journal. It’s never really about the outcome of the page (if you are doing art), it’s about being honest with yourself. If you are feeling mad at your spouse for not picking up dinner but instead create a page about how wonderful your relationship is all the time, that’s not honesty and that’s not helping your journey.
By showing up to my journal, often and being honest, I’ve been able to push through many of my own personal blocks. I’m now at a point in my wellness journey that I manage my mental illnesses incredibly well. When a symptom does crop up, I’m able to handle it. I have a lot of support but I think using my journal as my essential wellness tool has had a big part in getting me to where I am today.
My pages are often filed with poems and affirmations. I do a lot of doodling and my words are honest, filled with anger or pain, but sometimes beauty as well.
Wellness is possible. Using your journal as a tool to push yourself forward as well as a tool to see how far you’ve come is essential. Have you started yet?
About
Kendra wants to live in a world where mental health wellness and self care is a top priority. As a Wellness Mentor and Guide, Kendra Kantor helps creative women learn to focus on themselves and learn they are not alone in their struggles.
Her latest offering: “Dear Self: a collection of poems and art” is Kendra’s first publication. The official release is date June 10th, 2014. Signed per-orders are available through Kendra’s website, today! This collection of 30 poems and art perfectly blends her love of visual art and the written word. What started as a personal project to improve her wellness blossomed into a lifetime dream coming true.
When she’s not helping you improve your life and wellness or working on her next book, you can find Kendra indulging in her guilty pleasure reads (romances or zombie novels), stealing as many cuddles as possible from her toddler and bribing her husband to go get ice cream (it’s really not that hard!).
Pre-order your copy of Kendra’s new book “Dear Self”, today! http://kendrakantor.com/dearself
Claire Ashman 