Journey Together
Wellness Toolbox
A wellness toolbox is a beautiful, practical way to care for your body, mind, and spirit—especially when living with a chronic condition.
It’s a collection of tools and resources you can turn to when symptoms flare, energy dips, or emotions overwhelm.
Below are helpful tips for creating a wellness toolbox that’s meaningful and supportive for you.
Calming Music or Sounds
Breathing or Relaxation Techniques
Comforting Sensory Items
- Why: Music can shift your mood and regulate stress.
- Tips: Create playlists or include nature sounds that soothe or uplift you.
Comforting Sensory Items
Breathing or Relaxation Techniques
Comforting Sensory Items
- Why: Soothing your senses can calm your body and mind quickly.
- Tips: Add soft textures, calming scents, or a weighted item to feel grounded.
Breathing or Relaxation Techniques
Breathing or Relaxation Techniques
Breathing or Relaxation Techniques
- Why: Breathwork helps reduce anxiety and manage physical discomfort.
- Tips: Print or jot down simple exercises like "Box Breathing" or use a calming app.
Meaningful Quotes or Affirmations
Meaningful Quotes or Affirmations
Breathing or Relaxation Techniques
- Why: Encouraging words can offer strength when you're struggling.
- Tips: Keep a few affirmations or quotes nearby to read when you need reassurance.
Connection
Meaningful Quotes or Affirmations
Creative Expression
- Why: Reaching out can provide comfort, validation, or perspective.
- Tips: List a few trusted contacts you can call or message for support.
Creative Expression
Meaningful Quotes or Affirmations
Creative Expression
- Why: Creativity helps release emotions and restore a sense of joy.
- Tips: Include a journal, coloring tools, or something simple to create with.
Gentle Movement
Activities for Distraction
Activities for Distraction
- Why: Light movement can ease tension and support mental clarity.
- Tips: Add a stretch band, movement card, or short video you enjoy following.
Activities for Distraction
Activities for Distraction
Activities for Distraction
- Why: Distraction can offer relief during pain, anxiety, or flares.
- Tips: Keep a small book, puzzle, or fidget item ready for low-energy moments.
“You’ve Got This” List
Activities for Distraction
“You’ve Got This” List
- Why: Reflecting on your strengths can bring encouragement during setbacks.
- Tips: Write down personal wins, reminders, or notes to yourself for hard days. Consider including encouraging notes from others too.
Stress Management
Flare-Up Prevention
Flare-Up Prevention
Flare-Up Prevention
- Why: Lowering stress helps reduce inflammation and can frequently reduce symptom flare-ups too.
- Tips: Check in with your stress levels daily, and treat them as seriously as a physical symptom.
Joyful Distraction
Flare-Up Prevention
Flare-Up Prevention
- Why: Enjoyable activities shift focus away from symptoms and restore a sense of normalcy.
- Tips: Keep a “joy list” of low-energy, spirit-lifting activities to turn to on hard days.
Energy Conservation
Flare-Up Prevention
Energy Conservation
- Why: Managing stress helps protect limited physical and emotional energy.
- Tips: Prioritize only what truly matters today, and give yourself permission to let the rest go.
Self-Compassion
Predictable Routines
Energy Conservation
- Why: Treating yourself gently lowers internal stress and promotes healing.
- Tips: When you’re struggling, ask yourself: “What would I say to a friend in this moment?”
Emotional Awareness
Predictable Routines
Predictable Routines
- Why: Naming and acknowledging emotions can stop stress from building up silently.
- Tips: Take a few moments to label how you’re feeling without judgment—awareness is powerful.
Predictable Routines
Predictable Routines
Predictable Routines
- Why: Structure reduces mental effort and anxiety, especially during uncertain health days.
- Tips: Create simple routines for meals, rest, and medication that offer a sense of rhythm.
Grounding in the Present
Grounding in the Present
Grounding in the Present
- Why: Chronic conditions often trigger fears about the future, which increases stress.
- Tips: Use grounding practices like naming 5 things you see, hear, or feel to stay present.
Asking for Help
Grounding in the Present
Grounding in the Present
- Why: Receiving help lightens your load and prevents emotional burnout. Understand the "Spoon Theory" can help you know when you need to ask for help.
- Tips: Practice asking for support in specific, small ways—people often want to help but need direction.
Mindset Shifts
Grounding in the Present
Mindset Shifts
- Why: Reframing your thoughts builds emotional resilience and reduces inner pressure.
- Tips: When overwhelmed, gently ask yourself: “What’s one thing I can handle right now?”
Counseling
Emotional Processing
Managing Medical Trauma or Anxiety
Emotional Processing
- Why: Counseling provides a safe space to process the grief, frustration, and fear that often accompany chronic illness.
- Tips: Give yourself permission to feel deeply—therapy is a place to let those feelings breathe.
Reducing Isolation
Managing Medical Trauma or Anxiety
Emotional Processing
- Why: Talking with a counselor can help reduce the emotional loneliness that often comes with invisible or ongoing health struggles.
- Tips: Think of therapy as a consistent relationship where you're fully seen and heard, without judgment.
Managing Medical Trauma or Anxiety
Managing Medical Trauma or Anxiety
Encouraging Others to Try Counseling
- Why: Counseling helps address trauma from past diagnoses, procedures, or uncertainty about the future.
- Tips: Let your counselor know if healthcare-related stress is part of your journey so you can work through it intentionally.
Encouraging Others to Try Counseling
Encouraging Others to Try Counseling
Encouraging Others to Try Counseling
- Why: Sometimes people just need permission or a nudge to explore mental health support. It can be helpful for them to know this is a way they can nurture their mind and heart.
- Tips: Share how therapy has helped you, or offer to help someone else find a provider if they’re unsure where to start.
Finding a Counselor
Encouraging Others to Try Counseling
Developing Coping Tools
- Why: A good therapeutic fit makes all the difference in feeling supported and understood.
- Tips: Search for counselors who specialize in chronic illness, health psychology, or disability—many offer free consultations.
Developing Coping Tools
Encouraging Others to Try Counseling
Developing Coping Tools
- Why: Counselors can teach grounding, reframing, and calming techniques - like enjoying music and hobbies - that support emotional stability.
- Tips: Ask your therapist to help you build a personalized coping toolkit for flares, appointments, or tough days.
Using EAP or Insurance Benefits
Supporting Caregiver Mental Health
Using EAP or Insurance Benefits
- Why: Many workplaces offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) or insurance-covered therapy sessions.
- Tips: Ask your HR department or insurance provider for a list of local therapists included in your benefits.
Reclaiming Identity & Purpose
Supporting Caregiver Mental Health
Using EAP or Insurance Benefits
- Why: Chronic conditions can shake your sense of self, and counseling can help rebuild identity outside of illness.
- Tips: Use sessions to explore who you are beyond your diagnosis—and what still brings you joy, meaning, or direction.
Supporting Caregiver Mental Health
Supporting Caregiver Mental Health
Supporting Caregiver Mental Health
- Why: Caregiving can be emotionally draining, and therapy provides a release valve for guilt, fatigue, and pressure.
- Tips: Encourage caregivers in your circle to seek counseling too—it’s not selfish; it’s sustainable care.
Resilience
Self-Compassion
Connection with Others
Self-Compassion
- Why: Being kind to yourself builds emotional endurance and reduces burnout.
- Tips: Speak to yourself as gently as you would a loved one going through the same struggle.
Adaptability
Connection with Others
Self-Compassion
- Why: Flexibility helps you adjust to ever-changing symptoms, treatments, and energy levels.
- Tips: Practice letting go of how things “should” be and focus on what’s possible today.
Connection with Others
Connection with Others
Connection with Others
- Why: Supportive relationships are a key foundation for resilience and recovery.
- Tips: Reach out regularly to people who lift you up—even a text or voice message counts.
Positive Reframing
Daily Habits That Anchor
Connection with Others
- Why: Seeing challenges through a lens of growth or learning helps prevent emotional spirals and builds resilience.
- Tips: When you feel stuck, ask yourself, “What is this teaching me?” or “Where is my strength showing up?”
Meaning & Purpose
Daily Habits That Anchor
Daily Habits That Anchor
- Why: Having something to live for beyond the condition fosters strength during hard seasons.
- Tips: Reflect on or explore what still brings you meaning—hobbies, faith, service, or creativity.
Daily Habits That Anchor
Daily Habits That Anchor
Daily Habits That Anchor
- Why: Consistent, manageable routines build stability even when the body feels unpredictable.
- Tips: Choose one or two daily habits (like journaling, gentle stretching, or tea) that create rhythm and peace.
Seek Support
Emotional Expression
Emotional Expression
- Why: Knowing when to seek support is a sign of strength, not weakness.
- Tips: Practice asking clearly and specifically—people often want to help but need guidance.
Emotional Expression
Emotional Expression
Emotional Expression
- Why: Bottling up emotions can increase stress, while expressing them builds resilience and healing.
- Tips: Write, talk, or create something that helps move emotion through rather than letting it build up.
Encouraging Others
Emotional Expression
Encouraging Others
- Why: Helping others grow stronger often reinforces your own resilience and gives you purpose.
- Tips: Share your story, check in with someone else, or offer hope—even small acts matter.