Free Printable Journal Pages For Families Going Through Cancer.
I am 100% positive that the only reason I was able to make it through all of this stress is because I am able to write everything I am feeling to you each week. Without these free printable journal pages, I’m not sure how I would have survived any of this.
Have you ever heard of a concept called Morning Pages?
I learned about them from this blog post written by Chris Winfield (whom I LOVE!) and the basic idea is that 3 handwritten pages every morning can change the entire direction of your life.
The idea is to write down whatever comes to your mind.
You could be writing about….
- Family
- Work
- Goals
- Stress
- Wins
- Overwhelm
- Joy
- Anxiety
- Dreams
- Money
- Pain
- God
- Struggles
- Cancer
- Caregiving
- Perspective
- Frustration
- Gratitude
Anything that comes to your mind gets written down. I know, I know. I thought it was nonsense too.
Until I realized what a TREMENDOUS difference writing things out can make to your stress level.
Writing everything down helps you get everything off of your chest. Just like venting, writing down all of your pain, frustration, anxiety, and emotions helps get them out of your system.
And without even realizing it, these pages can help you….
- Find strength and motivation
- Take away a TON of stress and anxiety
- Devise a plan
- Remind you that God has control of this
- Find hope and perspective
- Identify your priorities (which can be hard in the middle of this incredibly stressful situation)
So, I use a slightly personalized version of morning pages to get through the incredible stress of cancer.
Each morning and each night before I go to bed, I take a few minutes to write out whatever comes to mind. Anything and everything that pops into my head.
Since my dad got sick, I’ve been having a lot of trouble sleeping. I used to sleep like a rock, but now I wake up constantly and I have trouble falling back to sleep.
What I found when I started the pages in the morning is that writing things out is like releasing them from your mind.
The minute I write it onto the paper (or type it onto the screen), it’s like I give myself permission to move past whatever is stressing me out.
Cancer is NOT the only thing you have going on.
Besides cancer, we have a TON of other stuff (and stress) going on in our lives. There’s work, family stuff, teenagers, soccer games, homework, bills to pay…
Last night, for example, I had been exhausted all day. I didn’t sleep well the night before (probably because my day had been insane, and I had written nothing all day!) and I couldn’t wait to go to bed early. As the night was coming to an end, I just felt anxious.
I was thinking about everything that had to be done tomorrow. I was thinking about all of the stuff I hadn’t done today… and of course, to top it all off there was a back and forth with one of the kids about homework.
Right before bed. I took a few minutes to write it all out.
My stress, my anxiety, my annoyance with the attitude that way flying around during the homework conversation.
And then I went to bed and “knocked out” within minutes.
I still can’t believe the HUGE difference this few minutes of writing makes in regards to how I feel, and how quiet my mind becomes after I do it.
How to get started:
- Grab these FREE printable journal pages or your favorite notebook and a pen.
- Set a timer for 15 minutes.
- Write down anything that comes to your mind until the timer goes off.
- Have no idea what to write about? You can find some here to get you started here…
Here’s the point.
I remember telling my dad in the beginning of our journey that part of what made this disease so difficult to manage was that we’ve always been the type of people who “knock things out of the park.”
We go all in, we dominate, we strategize and plan and then we do the work until we can conquer.
And we absolutely suck at small, consistent changes.
The reality is, cancer battles are not won by surges of energy and big grand gestures. This battle requires a lot of hope, a ton of patience, and the determination to make small changes every day. Baby steps every day towards your goal.
For us, it was like a totally different skill set.
But there is no doubt that those small consistent changes have made the biggest impact on this situation since the beginning.
Find something that works for you, something that legitimately makes you feel better about the situation.
Then focus on making the time as often as you can to keep doing it.
What’s your best tip for managing the stress?
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