NASHVILLE, TN – Shawn Vester-Khan realized her body and mind were going through changes, she just wasn’t clear on exactly how or why — and that was frustrating. She was trying to understand whether changes she was experiencing were related to medications, hormonal changes, an adult ADHD diagnosis or something else entirely. Rather than relying on memory or the notes of her healthcare providers, she wanted something more like a status report — a way to collect information, document patterns, and test assumptions herself.
This resulted in the creation of Signs of Life and Journalytics, two recently released guided journals designed to help people track changes, notice patterns, and bring clearer information into healthcare conversations.
“Many of us are trying to solve complicated health questions with inadequate information,” Vester-Khan said. “‘I’ve been feeling off’ is rarely enough to understand what is really happening.”
She said collecting personal data may also help patients bring their own observations into healthcare conversations, something she believes can be particularly valuable for people whose concerns may be affected by systemic bias.
“Women, minorities and obese people can face bias in both mental and physical healthcare,” she said. “Collecting data from our own point of view can help provide another piece of the picture. It gives us something concrete to bring into conversations with healthcare professionals as we try to understand our own patterns and what actually helps.”
For Vester-Khan, one unexpected pattern involved cold exposure. She noticed that she consistently felt better, both mentally and physically, after spending time in a cold swimming pool. That observation gave her something specific to discuss with her healthcare provider and research further.
“I wasn’t looking for a pattern involving cold exposure and my ADHD, but the data gave me a reason to pay attention to it,” she said. “That is really the point. Sometimes the thing that matters isn’t the thing you expected to find.”
The journals help people collect meaningful information about their mental, emotional, and physical well-being, Vester-Khan said. Many people experience symptoms like anxiety, brain fog, fatigue, chronic pain, low motivation, irritability, or emotional dysregulation without fully understanding why.
Unlike a traditional diary or mood tracker, the journals are designed around repeated measurements. By tracking the same core factors over time, users can compare changes and look for relationships between symptoms, behaviors, medications, stressors and other variables. Weekly logs help individuals consistently record the same core measurements while encouraging them to focus on specific observations each week. Over time, those repeated measurements create a personal dataset that can help people recognize patterns, identify possible triggers and develop more informed questions for themselves and their healthcare providers.
Vester-Khan said there are some differences in the journals. She describes Journalytics as the lower-priced alternative, in that it contains weekly and monthly logs and a space for additional notes only, where Signs of Life offers a few extras, like medication logs and a yearly review.
“Signs of Life is true to my original vision, but when I realized what it would cost to publish, I thought it might be a little more than what some people can afford in this economy,” said Vester-Khan, who lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky. “So, I created Journalytics; same methodologies, but slightly different format. I wanted to be able to offer something more affordable.”
The journals are receiving praise from mental health therapists, emergency professionals, and others.
Nancy Lockhart is a former emergency number professional (ENP) deputy director of operations in St. Joseph County, Indiana. She said first responders (especially 911 professionals) in particular carry an extraordinary emotional burden.
“When you combine the trauma they experience on the job with the challenges of everyday life, it’s easy to miss the patterns that can lead someone toward crisis,” Lockhart said. “If we can give individuals, physicians, therapists, and agencies another tool to recognize those patterns earlier, we have an opportunity to intervene before tragedy occurs.”
Psychotherapist and health coach Beth Ward believes in “assessment” and said the journals are a great idea.
“It’s encouraging to see numbers improve, as symptoms lessen,” said Ward, who mostly counsels military service members. “If you’re looking for something concrete to measure and actually see changing over time, standardized assessment scores are one of the best ways to do that.”
Michele Durkalski, a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC), said one of the first things she assigns as homework for clients is behavioral tracking.
“Behavioral data points are vital to understanding the complexities of a client’s mental health,” Durkalski said. “What Shawn has created … is exactly the type of data points that physicians, psychiatrists, and therapists need to understand mental wellness.”
Both journals are available on Amazon. Signs of Life retails for $29.99, while Journalytics is available for $15.99.
