Is Getting Sick a Way to Give Us a Break?

After getting through the whole winter without being sick, and congratulating myself on that fact, I picked up a head cold from my granddaughter last week.  I had had some sleepless nights and our new spring weather slipped back into freezing temps, so my defenses were down. 

Adrian and I both got the cold, but each of us dealt with it in opposite ways.  Adrian went to the gym to work it out of his system.  I huddled up inside the house refusing to do any physical exercise or to go outdoors.  My theory is that if I go to bed and get extra sleep and baby myself, I can nip it in the bud.

Well, it’s a week later and we’re both still feeling lousy.  I think it’s going to take some real spring weather to cure this one.

Is getting sick a way of giving ourselves a break?  As a self-employed artist, I tend to work every day without a let-up.  This week I’m allowing myself to read a book or watch a tennis tournament on TV in the middle of the day.  I’m still doing a little work (I am a workaholic, after all), but I’m mostly babying myself. 

One thing about being physically sick is that I don’t worry so much about my mental state.  If this cold lasts too long, it will make me depressed, but right now I can cater to myself without guilt and feel OK emotionally.  There’s a physical reason I don’t feel good.  It’s not in my head.  Actually, it is, because it’s a head cold, but you know what I mean.