Heart to Hartman has a mission to empower the adult congenital heart community to take ownership of their health! They will help you decrease your risk of acquired heart disease and other chronic conditions. They provide information on exercise, activity, stress management, and healthy living. Its goal is to help you live your best life!
Today we are posting Melissa Hartman’s latest blog on keeping a wellness journal. The link her website is here. Please visit and take advantage of her insight.
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Wellness Journal – by Melissa Hart
Ever get discouraged that there is so much information on how to be healthy that it is too overwhelming? Where do you start? What is best for you? How do you know what to eat? How much exercise do you need? What is the best way to manage your stress? You are the expert on you, but this is where the heart to Hartman motto of “Intentional Intuitive and Mindful “plays into your health plan.
Be Intentional About Where You Want to Start
Maybe your goal is to lose weight or “feel better” or have more energy. No matter what the goal is, the process is managing your time. You only have so much time in the day. Manage your time and your stress by being intentional with which aspect of your health you want to focus on first; nutrition, activity, meditation, socializing, praying etc and go from there. Ideally you choose one of these areas to start with; just changing one thing at a time. Track your progress and see how that change is working. It is hard to know what is working and what isn’t, if you try to change your whole life at once. It is also a recipe for failure. Take your time. Changing is a process and a journey.
Keep a Journal
Writing your thoughts and emotions in a journal can be an effective way to cope with the feelings of loss. The journal helps you process your grief and emotions and helps maintain a record of the ongoing journey throughout the suffering. Also, the journal provides you with a “safe” platform to process your jumbled thoughts and help make meaning of your emotions. Bringing your journal to your therapy sessions at Heart and Mind Counseling is also a very effective tool for your grieving process and highly recommended.
Be Intuitive
Learn to listen to your body. This is where you can use the Heart to Hartman Wellness Journal. Track your progress using this resource so you know what is working for you and what is not. This is the first edition, and you can download it for free.
Be Mindful
Think about what you are you doing, how it is feeling to you and how it is effecting you is the way you know how and where to start. Notice not only how it feels to you, but what you think about it. For each change you try to make, notice the thought, feeling and emotion that comes up with each success and failure. You will have failures; that is how you learn.
Get Ahold of Your Life Again with Heart and Mind Counseling
So, if you or a family member is living with Congenital Heart Disease, or any other chronic issue, help is available. Dr. Corinne Smorra specializes in counseling those living with chronic illness and can be found at Heart and Mind Counseling, LLC. She is licensed in Michigan, Florida, Alabama and Georgia (other states coming). Call us today to chat about how we can get you started on a new path.
Call us or email (links at the bottom of this page) for a free 20-minute consultation.
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