BEGIN WITHIN - A DAILY HEALING JOURNAL
(AVAILABLE INTERNATIONALLY)
Copyrighted Material
Begin Within is a daily healing and wellness journal for those living life with chronic illness, mental illness, or other health-related challenges. This journal allows you to document everything from your vitals to your nutrition, mood, medications, symptoms, challenges, and accomplishments (big and small), with a focus on gratitude.
In addition, we select an organization that we donate a portion of our journal sales to. These organizations promote advocacy, research and resources to/for the chronic illness community. Scroll down to find the organization of the season!
“This journal has been a life saver. I am dealing with some limiting painful tendinitis issues. I have been trying to figure out if there is a dietary relation etc. I can log my pain scores and what I ate and did . So valuable to look back if I am having a flare-up to see any repeat offenders. Thank you for this!”
Physical/Hard-copy Versions
“Having 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 sure does make some days seem a little extra tough + like I am failing. But this journal has become my sidekick every morning + evening. It helps me check in with myself, to see where I can improve, to set goals, to track what I ate, what I may be frustrated about + reminds me to be thankful. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 + 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺. ”
Filled with 90 days of prompts
44.99
I felt it really important to create an eco-friendly and spiral bound version of this journal. these are printed on 30% recycled paper, using vegetable ink by a local printer in San Diego, California.
“The Begin Within Today journal has been an absolute blessing for my health. For years I’ve been trying to design my own sleek and easy to fill symptom tracker that didn’t feel like a chore to do and most importantly, doesn’t feel like I’m micromanaging my health. Let’s be real as spoonies we need a break from our illness’ even while dealing with them, so less micromanaging is important, for me at least. This journal focuses on gratitude which is probably biggest reason I love it. Learning to be grateful throughout this journey doesn’t always come naturally and it’s refreshing to have daily reminders. I definitely recommend this to anyone, not just spoonies as its a great way to help your overall life. 10/10!”
FILLED WITH 90 DAYS OF PROMPTS
$29.99 (SHIPS INTERNATIONALLY)
*** PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE ARE PRINTED ON DEMAND AND DUE TO COVID-19, THERE MAY BE UP TO A MONTH IN DELAY.
““Checking in with myself daily and then I can reflect on my triggers and look for patterns in my routine if I’m not feeling so good physically or mentally and be mindful and see any patterns, was it to do with my anxiety, sleep, something I ate or over exerting myself? ...Incorporating this journal into my daily routine has given me focus and I feel in alignment and it’s so easy to do each day. I finally feel in control of my emotions and how I react and how I feel, my thoughts and emotions. I love to have some time in the morning for me and my needs both physically and mentally for self care and love. I write in my “begin within today journal.” and feel more more connected and self aware of my physical and emotional well-being and I feel centred and ready to begin a new day! 💛✨”
“With the @beginwithintoday journal I have been able to see where my mind and my energy levels were two months ago, and where I am now so that I can compare my progress. I highly recommend this to anyone going through a healing process. I am sharing this because it has helped me, so maybe it could help some of you.”
Filled with 90 days of prompts
$24.99 (ships internationally)
*** PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE ARE PRINTED ON DEMAND AND DUE TO COVID-19, THERE MAY BE UP TO A MONTH IN DELAY.
“Great journal for everybody with chronic health issues. I use it for tracking symptoms of my food intolerances and it helps me a lot to see what exactly is causing trouble and which nutrition helped short-term and long-term. I also like the practicing gratitude part of this journal.”
DIGITAL VERSION
Filled with 90 days of prompts.
$14.99
I made this e-fillable version for those who would prefer to journal electronically, via their laptop, tablet or phone.
Free, or sliding scale pricing for our BIPOQ community. Please send us a message to receive a code. “I just started to use my Begin Within journal and really like it! It is very simple, clean, straightforward and easy to use. I like that there isn’t a ton of unnecessary things to clutter the pages. I’m writing down things that I’ve never even thought about tracking day to day. Only takes a few minutes to do each day but I feel like I’m going to gain so much from journaling and keeping track of things from meds to meals to feelings.”
“I have been filling the journal every night before bed for a week now AND LET ME TELL YOU, it has made SUCH An impact on me. Today talking to my therapist I was telling her of how I felt so empowered because even though everything in my life was a mess, my self care was so strong and my compassion and my will to love myself was strong. And normally I wouldn’t recognize those things, but I did because I had written them down every night for days in a row. Even though I do not suffer from chronic illness, I do struggle with self sabotage and this journal has helped me connect the dots between my eating habits, sleep patterns and actions to my mental health. It allows me to be accountable and se the good stuff too. So, Thank you! 💕”
“This is an absolutely incredible journal. Created for those with chronic illness by someone with chronic illness. Christina couldn’t find just the journal she was looking for to track all that she needed with having a chronic illness, so she took the time to create her own and then share it for the rest of us to be able to use & enjoy as well. It’s a great resource for anyone even looking to improve/track certain aspects of their health plus journal along the way... not only includes medical journaling & tracking, but space for journaling, gratitude, and inspirational thought-provoking questions. A truly great resource!! ”
Your healing begins with the first page…
When my own health became more complex, I committed to journaling my progress each night. I documented my vitals, nutrition, symptoms, mood, challenges, and accomplishments (big and small), with a focus on gratitude. This was and continues to be especially helpful for healthcare appointments, and a great reference for recalling specific information I’ve written down, as well as noting any progress. Journaling daily brought me to the realization that I was indeed on the road to healing, even if I was only able to breathe that day.
Journaling can help with managing anxiety, stress, and depression and boosting your mood by:
Helping you prioritize problems, fears, and concerns
Clarifying YOUR thoughts, and feelings
Tracking any symptoms (both positive and negative) day-to-day so that you can recognize triggers and valuable coping mechanisms
Working through resolving disagreements in relationships, and situations
Providing an opportunity for positive self-talk and identifying negative thoughts and behaviors
Practicing mindfulness, gratitude and visualizations
“Those who journal boast improved immune system functioning (it strengthens immune cells!) as well as lessened symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Expressive writing has been shown to improve liver and lung function and combat certain diseases; it has even been reported to help the wounded heal faster.” - Kasee Bailey
This journal was created because it didn’t exist, and because I understand how helpful it is to observe and process living life with chronic illness, or other health-related challenges. It is my hope that this journal brings you insight and additional support on your path to wellness.
In Metta, always,
Christina P. Kantzavelos, LCSW
Return Policy: Journal returns are accepted as long as the journal is returned in its original, and unused condition within 30 days of purchase. Refunds are processed within 2-5 business days of receipt and inspection to the original form of payment. If available, please provide tracking information when the journal is en route. Shipping fees are not refunded.
Wholesale Orders + Custom Journals and Consultations for Health Practioners
“I Love this healing journal!! You can tell a lot of attention to detail went into the creation. I appreciate that there is not set dates and can be reused over and over to my liking. A very beautiful unique layout that is clear and minimalist, which I adore.The hyperlinks within the pdf are especially useful so I can go to any date I like without having to scroll through the whole document. The symptom tracker is my favorite especially when I can have all my health information in one place for doctor visits. Since most days blend together, the ease of checking out previous days and tracking gives me an important sense of what is working for me and what is not. For example, when I eat certain foods I’ve found out that particular days I had more fatigue and my mental health takes a dive. Recommending to all my friends.”
“This journal has genuinely been a huge help in establishing routines for me. This is mainly because I have to take medications every morning and night, and there’s a place in this journal to document the times and pills I took! No matter the time of day, I take my pills and then immediately fill it out in this journal so I don’t forget. Things I immediately love about this diary are: • it includes recycled paper • portions of the sales go towards organizations that promote advocacy, research and resources for chronic illnesses • it doesn’t just have space to track your physical health but also your mental health!⠀ I It helps me to reflect on my days and even start my days! For those in the chronic community I highly recommend having some sort of documentation of your day, especially your meds and vitals! Whether you want this journal is particular or another, I think it’s a great addition to anyone’s routines!”
“I’m love the spiral bound design. It makes it so much easier to write in & makes it so portable.
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I’m pretty new to journaling. My doctor has encouraged me to do it for some time now. For those living with chronic illnesses & autoimmune illnesses like me, it’s so so helpful.
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What are some things I love about the design/ layout of this journal?? ( swipe left to see page layout)
~it helps me to focus on the positive ( not always easy when you feel unwell much of the time & deal with anxiety associated with illness) .
I absolutely love the “what are you grateful for” section, “self care” ( which can so often neglected), & “one goal for tomorrow”
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I also love the “something you learned” as growth/development/improvement is so vital no matter who we are.
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I truly feel the way it’s laid out is sooo helpful for anyone, those new to journaling,like me & old pros.
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It helps me be aware/ be accountable for what I eat without any shame ( yes I ate 5 gluten free cookies the other day) & because so many of us are on multiple medications & often many supplements it’s a great reminder that there’s a “medications & supplements/time(s) taken” as honestly I often forget to take important supplements.
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I love that it’s ECO-FRIENDLY too.
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I only ever review & recommend things I 100% love & appreciate, this is no exception. Kudos to the amazing & lovely Christina also of @buenqamino for developing this incredible essential tool for her chronic illness peep in their individual healing journeys.”
“I have always known the importance of journaling, but despite the clear benefits, I’ve never been consistent. I often joke that my closet is a journal graveyard, full of countless journals begun with the best intentions, but abandoned shortly after.
Now, in addition to journaling on the open page, I also have what I call my “required journaling”, which many of us have with chronic illness management. This is your health journaling, with everything from vitals and medications to food intake. Because one journal usually doesn’t usually cover all of it, we often end up with multiple journals or apps to keep track of, making it even more overwhelming.
The Begin Within journal is a daily healing journal written by my lovely friend Christina, specifically for patients with chronic illnesses. I was so excited to receive this from her, and it has exceeded my expectations by far!
The journal has prompts for tracking your food, medication, vitals, symptoms, and as the title suggests, there is an important focus on looking within yourself, to your mental health. One of my favorite things about that part, and also one of the most challenging, is prompt to write something you love about your body every day.
I also think the focus on gratitude is extremely important. It’s one thing to know it’s important, but there is something even more powerful about taking the time each day to write down something you’re grateful for, especially when chronic illness takes up so much of your life.
I highly recommend this journal to anyone dealing with a chronic illness.
I hope that this beautiful journal is as beneficial for you as it has been for me.”
Our ongoing donation recipient:
San Diego Lyme Alliance (a Bay Area Lyme affiliate)
I have the pleasure of both being a board member and facilitating monthly FREE support groups for the San Diego Lyme Alliance (SDLA). And as a #lymewarrior myself, I hold this near and dear to my heart.
“As part of our continuing focus to connect and empower those within the Lyme Disease community, we host a monthly Empowerment Circle that takes place via Zoom. Unlike traditional webinars, this is an interactive support group. This monthly event begins with a guided meditation or somatic exercise. Afterward, we discuss the month’s focus questions. We hope that you come away feeling supported, heard, and inspired on your healing journey.
We believe the more informed, inspired, and connected we are, the better we feel—and, as a result, the stronger our families, schools, businesses, and communities become.”
SIGN UP FOR OUR MONTHLY GATHERINGS HERE.
Why Care About Lyme Disease?
There are over 476,000 new cases of Lyme disease in the US every year and it is growing rapidly. The revised CDC estimates increased the number of cases by more than ten-fold what was previously believed making Lyme disease one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in the US.
Untreated, Lyme disease can become a severely debilitating disease affecting joints, the heart, the brain, and/or the central nervous system. Half a million Americans are struggling with late-stage Lyme Disease.
Persistent Lyme Disease (PLD) causes immense suffering and severe health issues for thousands of patients with little remedy. Controversy over prolonged antibiotic use, highly variable disease progression and genetic conditions, and masquerading symptoms often impede treatment.
Prevention is key, yet few are aware of the risks or how to take precautions.
Promising scientific research is leading to new clinical solutions and the potential for radically different patient health outcomes.
“At Bay Area Lyme, our mission is to put a stop to Lyme disease. Our focus is on prevention and the development of better diagnostics and treatments. Our mission is to make Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure. We fully believe Lyme disease is a solvable problem. Join us in finding the solution.” https://www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/
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Past Recipients…
“My daughter was recently diagnosed with Lyme disease. She has been bombarded with information and it’s been pretty overwhelming for her. This book has helped her to manage some of that information, helps document her symptoms, and will provide valuable information for doctors visits. It prompts you to document things you may not have even thought of. So glad I found this for her, thank you!”
“This journal is amazing! It has all of the spaces for what I want to keep track of health wise, but it also has the important spaces for gratitude and just random notes about the day that may impact how I am feeling. I love it so much and will definitely be ordering more in the future. If you want something that teaches you joy and accountability and how to advocate for yourself and have a voice, you need this journal. you need five actually.”
“I was diagnosed with cutaneous lupus in March 2020.
The Begin Within Journal has created ease, organization, and consistency for me. It’s a way for me to show up and support myself without feeling overwhelmed with all the information I need to keep track of.
This journal is a tool that helps me explain and express to my Naturopath what my body is feeling and experiencing each month.
The design is beautiful, and so thoughtful. There is so much intention and love behind this wellness journal and I truly appreciate it.
Navigating chronic illness is not easy.
Having a lovely journal that encourages me to ask my body how and what I’m feeling day to day is a very special way for me to connect with myself through this healing process.”
“-With everything going on, it can be hard to remember not to only take care of your physical health, but your mental & to really monitor how you are doing from day to day!! Luckily I found a daily journal to really help me!! The Begin Within Journal combines not only everyday mental & physical entry sections but sections where you also journal your everyday health. The things that sold me on the journal, I can track any medications, supplements, treatments or reactions. For someone with any type of health issue (big or small) this is a huge deal! I can see on paper if my body is changing or reacting in anyway! If I needed to explain to a doctor... they can see it for them selfs!”
“I’ve been using this @beginwithintoday healing journal (gifted) to help consider how I’m feeling physically, emotionally and mentally. Doing this every day forces myself to check in with myself and then I can reflect back on the days to look for patterns if I’m feeling worse physically or mentally and see any patterns, was it to do with sleep, something I ate or a treatment I did?
...It’s a really good tool to look back on to monitor progress and see how far you’ve come! Excited to use it for this as well because sometimes we can forget how much we have improved already 🙏🏼
Life is so chaotic and there is always ‘more’ we can be doing so I’ve tried to incorporate the journal into my daily routine so it feels easy to do every day. I like to have some time in the mornings for self care so I usually start my day with oil pulling, yoga, a nutritious breakfast and meditation. Once I’ve done those things I write in @beginwithintoday journal then I feel much more self aware of my physical and emotional wellbeing and feel ready to start the day! 💗
... It’s not just for people who are struggling emotionally or physically it’s an introduction to mindfulness, self-love and gratitude so the perfect journal for all ✨💫 ”
“When I saw this journal, (importantly I loved the colour & style ) specifically for those of us looking to improve our health. I knew it would help give me the motivation, structure to write in it every day & help me get clearer on my progress. 💓 So far, I’ve been writing in it every night & finding it so useful. Let me share with you what you can track 👉🏻 Inside you can write: 💫 ☀️ how many hours of sleep you had, the quality, how you feel ☀️ your mind set and mood for that day ☀️ what you had for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, desserts & fluids. ☀️ you can list the medications/supplements that you take. ☀️ your bowel movements. (My favourite because I love talking about gut health 💩) ☀️ what day of your cycle you are on 🩸 ☀️ body temp, blood pressure, blood sugar ~ you can rate pain, energy & stress levels each day from 1-10. ☀️ physical activity that day ☀️ reactions you may of had ☀️ frustrations you feel Then my favourite bits ~ ( self-care ) ☺️ 🌙 something you learned that day 🌙 treatments & therapies 🌙 self care activities 🌙 something you love about your body 🌙 successful moments 🌙 things that you are grateful for that day. 🌙 a goal for the next day I’m loving it! It really does help my mind set get in a more focused place with my daily routine & my self care. I think it would be really helpful for anyone looking on a heath journey 🌿 You can find this exact journal @beginwithintoday 🌻 I find it very empowering 🙏🏻”
“What I love about Begin Within is its holistic approach addressing many aspects of what it means to be human. Particularly one who may have to confront health issues on a daily basis.
Journaling is a relationship of sorts, requiring a give and take dynamic. Begin Within steps up and invites us into a beautiful self-exploration urging several components of character building:
ACCOUNTABILITY - taking ownership and becoming responsible by documenting intake of foods, medicines, supplements, and the subsequent feelings that seemingly become attached. You may discover patterns that weren’t as obvious as before.
SPIRITUALITY - taking the time to step out of yourself and see the bigger picture by expressing gratitude. It would behoove us all to pause each day and remember to do this.
SELF-LOVE - you don’t have to be struggling with an illness to benefit from acknowledging and appreciating the innate beauty and support your body provides daily.
HOPE - chronic conditions can ebb and flow using up our patience more so at certain times than others. Setting a daily goal reminds us to keep going knowing there is still something worth striving for.
It is not always easy to find a sense of control when your body and mind have their own conflicting opinion. Begin Within provides the structure that allows this conversation to bridge that gap.
Highly recommend and the design is as pleasing and thoughtful as the prompts!”
“I wish the ‘Begin from Within’ journal existed during my healing process. This beautifully bound and locally created daily healing notebook really provides an opportunity to record exactly what you might be enduring all while focusing a sense of gratitude. My outlook instantly lifted when I was able to empty my mind on paper as journaling is an incredible tool for better understanding your triggers or fears while gaining perspective and sorting through emotions.”