Perks to having a stomach flu?
None. Okay?
Spoiler alert.
Oops, I guess that was supposed to come before.
It had been a tough few days in mid-January. Mainly because I’ve been so busy recovering from the stomach flu and then catching up with work from school when I did finally return.
I can’t tell if it’s because I a) caught it from a friend or b) ate lobster the night before that might’ve been either under cooked or contaminated. Apparently there had been a virus going around and everyone seems to be getting a sore throat, fever and diarrhea. My dad got diarrhea a few days after I got sick; he took some medicine and did gua sha, a traditional Chinese medicine therapy. I just remember feeling absolutely hysterical after no night’s sleep; I got up every 2 hours to go to the washroom where I stayed for 45 minutes at a time with stomach pains and watery stools. I could barely stomach anything and had nausea when I tried eating any food at all. I lay curled up in bed with a fever and such tiredness. I wanted to sleep but couldn’t deal with the agony.
Eventually, my father came with some medicine and did the same procedure (I begged him not to come, actually. I didn’t want drama) he got. That night was the night I just started to feel better.
I felt like death; I didn’t understand why I was sick! I rarely ever got sick! In fact, I don’t remember really being “sick” the last 4 years of my life. I had to get a doctor’s note to excuse me from classes for 4 days, and that costed $25. It’s insane how much it costs to get a note to do something you’re truthfully not in the health to participate in/for.
During these past days bedridden, I tried at least getting in school work done. Let me tell you, anxiety + being sick do not go well together.
I repeat. ABORT MISSION.
They say that saying optimistic helps you heal sooner than later, and those that were pessimistic remained sick longer. I don’t remember the source of the study I read this in, but many research shows the strength of mentality on physical tolerance/resilience and so I tried being positive, but it was extremely hard to when all I could think about were the things I could not do, like catch up on school work, and workout, and even just walk outside to get some fresh air. I couldn’t concentrate reading books and I was too weak to warm up water to keep myself hydrated; I had to ask Wardah to help me. Taking away my autonomy was like taking away my life.
Should you workout when you’re sick?
I sure tried, but let me tell you–I felt like shit. I wouldn’t do it again and I’d rather finish a workout calendar a few days late then haul ass and not make the fitness gains.
Let me first say that it really depends on the severity of your sickness. If you just have a cold, a cough, or something minor, I would say that getting your sweat on would make your day even better by boosting your mood and even combating the sickness. On the other hand, I had the stomach flu and I could barely walk without feeling the need to collapse. I was 0/10, dead meat, so I had no choice but to skip workout days. How did that make me feel? SO GUILTY! SO SO SO GUILTY! And I’ve talked about Workout Guilt before. I wanted to kick and scream and cry–all I wanted was to have my morning ritual back where I got out of bed, worked out, do homework and get things done, meet up with clients. I couldn’t do anything. I can’t go on a day doing nothing. That’s just not me. I took my autonomy for granted so much, and having this sickness really made me realize how lucky I am to hop, skip, and jump.
The day I 90% recovered, I actually felt like doing insanity max interval circuit (that’s the HARDEST video in the entire insanity series) and then even went for a run afterwards, where I found $20! I looked around and there was no one for miles, so I picked it up, and took it home. This experience has taught me to value me as I am, my current abilities and be grateful for all that I have.
(Are you reading the captions in my instagram photos at all?)
Have you ever had the stomach flu?
If you had to choose, would you choose to have constipation or diarrhea? (I’m serious; you have to choose)
What do you do when you feel like you’re falling behind in life due to sickness? How do you deal with the feelings that arise?