don't forget to get sick sometimes!

I'm sitting here enjoying an Emergen-C cocktail (OK, it's just Emergen-C and water, but it feels like a cocktail after the few days I've just had). I have just had the stomach flu bug that has been taking out the local area and even causing a few schools to close their doors. It's quite a nice image to me, the idea of the whole area being cleansed (if you don't actually imagine the vomit, dry-retching and shitting going on in bathrooms all around town).

I'd love to say my first response to being sick was one of quiet acceptance. But it wasn't. I immediately got involved in a pitiful 'poor me' rant about how I can't afford to be sick and take days off work. I was royally pissed off that this was happening to me, now, of all times, now, when aren't I struggling enough? blah blah blah. That was before I got so busy throwing up and being deliriously feverish that I had no energy to fret about such trivialities as paying rent this month. Actually, even though the night of sweating and tossing and turning and hallucinating was most uncomfortable physically (I have not felt so very SICK for years) it was quite wild spiritually. I'll spare you the wacky details, but somewhere in that night I had quite a transformative experience.

So, once I had come to accept that I was indeed sick, that there was no way I could work because I couldn't even stand up, then I started to enjoy it. I had been thinking for a few months that I 'needed' to get sick. I have been fighting off colds all winter and not getting them but just feeling slightly under the weather for a few days. Although I was happy to keep on working and not getting sick, I had this niggling feeling that if I would just get sick I would feel great afterwards. You know, cleansing and purging and all that stuff.

In true Katie-style I did it well and thoroughly when I finally did it. And I really do feel cleansed and purged (and all that stuff). The day after the delirious night I took full pleasure in not being able to get out of bed, not washing, not eating, not listening to music, just being, in bed. I enjoyed looking at the sunshine out of my window and letting the almost-spring air in. I confess to some brief moments of boredom, because I had no energy to read,write or anything else. And in a moment of panic I called work and said I'd be fine tomorrow. They didn't believe me and told me to call if anything changed. I called back 20 minutes later when I realised that someone with a 100 degree plus temperature and not able to stand up for longer than a few minutes at a time would probably not be fine to work all day tomorrow. And I realised it was rude to go round spreading the sickness if I might still be infectious (despite my propagating the joys and benefits of being sick, I feel it is not something I should impose on unsuspecting others if I can help it).

This next part I apologise for in advance if it offends you... It's an opinion and a personal experience thing. And I certainly don't want people getting involved in flu parties on my advice... (Although, since you mentioned it, remember those chicken-pox parties? Those wise parents knew that you'd be better of getting it now and being immune.)

Our immune systems are designed to deal with pesky intruders. There are reasons we might not want to think that getting sick occasionally could be good for us. (Vaccines, antibiotics - a whole 'nother book waiting to be written about the disasters that they have been - but in a nutshell the viruses that are around these days, mutant super-bugs, are extra scary.) We put an awful lot of effort into not being sick. Of course, we should keep our immune systems healthy, and we all know how to do that. But I think more importantly than avoiding sickness altogether, that should be so that when we do get sick we recover well.

I think our problem is that we try not to get sick because it is an almighty hassle in our lives. It means we have to cancel stuff, change stuff and do nothing for a few days. I challenge us to believe that this can be a good thing. Like a body yelling at us because we ignored all previous warnings ('look, you'll get sick if you don't slow down' -ok, I'll take some echinacea... 'i mean it, I'm tired' - you're strong, let's just keep going, yeah?) 'OK, THAT'S IT, NOW YOU HAVE TO THROW UP AND STAY IN BED FOR 2 DAYS!' - ok.

It has been my experience that when I am sick it works best for me to intervene as little as possible in terms of medicating myself. I'll take echinacea, take vitamin C, zinc, herbal immune boosters etc. I am quite indignant on the harms of taking painkillers etc to reduce fever. If you have a normally functioning immune system then your best bet is to let it do it's work. It is smarter than your desire to feel better and get back to your life.

From a medically-source:
'Your immune system responds to the infection, and in the process of fighting, it produces chemicals called pyrogens that cause your body temperature to increase. This fever actually helps you to fight the infection by slowing down the rate of viral reproduction, because most of your body's chemical reactions have an optimal temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius). If your temperature rises slightly above this, the reactions slow down. This immune response continues until the viruses are eliminated from your body.'

That's pretty cool. I wouldn't want to mess with that. And I can't help but feel that our immune system gets a good workout and gets stronger when we give it an occasional chance to do its job properly instead of making it work on a low-level constantly while we try not to be sick and run ourselves into the ground with our busy-ness.

OK, I've said my bit ...
May everyone be Healthy!