Care For Thyself As You Would A Loved One

Photo by Yoann Boyer on Unsplash

Background

You may recall from my last article that July was supposed to be a month of transitions.

Transition away from my old job and geographic location. Reconnecting with family I had not seen for over 7 years. Moving to a new state. Starting a new job, and more.

Unfortunately, things tend not to go as planned.

Movers cancel. Delays on documentation. People get sick.

Murphy’s Law:

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

I have noticed an interesting phenomenon with my health that you may have experienced.

When I am not under pressure to get things done, and I happen to come down with an illness - it hits really hard.

When I have a particularly hard work week or a lot on my plate, most illnesses are rather short and low-intensity.

You may chalk this up to the steroids (stress hormones) coursing through my veins which are diminishing the pro-inflammatory factors in my body.

Or, you can believe that since my body and mind are pre-occupied with the task at hand - there simply isn’t enough resources to manifest and deal with the physiologic process of illness and recovery.

Take your pick.

It seems appropriate then, that just as I was tying up many loose ends - including home and work - I begin to experience the strangest bout of sickness I ever have.

After this personal anecdote, I will review my approach to several symptoms I experienced including:

• Cough

• Soar throat

• Fever

• Sinus congestion

• Ear-fullness

• Inflamed and purulent eye

All the makings of a typical cold, with a couple of associated complications.