A pain diary is a tool that is used in certain types of coaching and in some forms of treatment for chronic illness. The idea of the diary is to chart the progress of discomfort over time, in order to see what factors improve the suffering and which factors exacerbate it. When used correctly, a symptom diary can be a great learning resource.
A pain diary is not like reflective journaling, despite the common literally references. Instead, this documentation process is performed simply to track the effectiveness of constructive pain management practices, as well as to discover sources of symptomatic escalation from physical, mental and emotional factors.
My clients can choose to keep pain diaries daily, weekly or monthly. I always tell them that there is no really need to write too much in this process. I usually advise clients to simply note how they feel and identify any possible, probable or verified reasons why their pain might be better or worse.
I typically recommend keeping quick notes on days of major change, but otherwise only making weekly notations if things remain status quo. Over time, the pain diary will provide insights as to why you might feel better or worse on any given day. Occasionally, it is wise to look to this resource for clues on improving your constructive pain management methods, as well as optimizing the efficacy of stress reduction techniques.
Although pain diaries are very helpful in some regards, here are some important words of warning that should be heeded by all who utilize these coaching, treatment and recovery tools:
Do not dwell in the pain diary. You are not meant to suffer the physical burden of pain and then further the trauma by concentrating on the psychoemotional consequences. The purpose of the diary is simply to keep a record of good and bad days, as well as the events that helped to shape them. It is not meant to hold a person back from moving past the pain by constantly drawing them back towards their past sufferings.
Consider the diary a way to guide yourself in the ongoing discovery of exacerbating and alleviating factors. Look at your pain objectively, as if it was happening to someone else and you are simply observing it.
Coaching is never about wallowing in the pain. Instead, it is about finding ways to minimize it. Many clients discover that they can intuitively recognize relieving and exacerbating factors within a few weeks of keeping this diary. If this is your reality, feel free to discontinue formal notations, with the exception of unpredicted exceptions to your normal patterns.
Pain diaries can be quite a bit like support groups. At first, they are super helpful and can comfort a client. However, as time passes, the tool becomes less useful and even has the tendency to gravitate the client back into their pain, rather than pushing them forward and past it. After all, people who do not have pain anymore do not bother to keep notations of former miseries, nor do they revisit these sufferings recurrently.
I only use pain diaries as a minor tool in my own coaching arsenal and I always closely monitor my clients to be sure that the writing process is not doing more harm than good.
If you have been keeping a diary of symptoms for a long time and find that you feel awful every time you write in it or read parts of it, then you may have outgrown the usefulness of the process. Be sure to talk to whomever inspired you to maintain the diary, if it is used for professional treatment purposes, or simply decide to minimize its importance in your life, if and when it has become a deterrent to your recuperation.
Remember, the pain diary can teach valuable lessons, but these lessons can be learned in a short time frame and should not reacquaint people with their former sufferings on a daily basis.
I have seen too many people focus so intently on their pain diary that they create patterns of fear and anxiety which can actually enact symptomatic recurrence. These negative behaviors and attitudes are dangerous and need to be removed before they become inextricably ingrained. It is for this reason that I caution clients, and all readers, to respect the diary and impose limits on its application. After all, it is only a book and holds no power over your life. You are its creator. At any time, you can choose to put it down and realize that the book is not needed to stay pain-free. In fact, might just be part of the problem that is keeping you laser-focused on the suffering.
