Some thoughts on being sick

I’ve just recently been recovering from a cold of some sort. It seems inevitable that when the seasons change, all of a sudden I get sick. I’ve noticed a pattern I have when I’m sick:

1) I start to feel a cold coming on, but I tell myself that it’s just my imagination, and if I think positively enough I will not get sick.
NOTE: While this is not always the case, it does sometimes work, hence continuing the cycle of my thinking this every time I start to get sick.

2) I clearly get sick, and suddenly all desire and will to do ANYTHING goes out the window. I can’t even be useful in my house by doing laundry or something.

3) I start to feel guilty because I’m sick. I start thinking that I wasn’t a positive enough thinker (see note 1). I start thinking that I’ve done stuff to set up my immune system to be weak (not enough sleep, not enough down time). The tricky thing is that one of these things could be true! But often they’re not and I feel guilty anyway. I also feel guilty if I’m missing work, no matter how bad I feel. I feel less guilty when a doctor has said I’m very contagious… but then I feel bad that I’ve spent the money :)

4) Resignation happens. I’m sick and there’s nothing I can do about it… except drink lots of water and chicken broth, which I proceed to do. Once I get to the resignation part, I’m fine, and I’m typically getting better by this point.

All in all, being sick sucks. You feel physically bad, and then there is a whole hoop of emotions to jump through as well. I hope I can manage to stay healthier this flu season…