Home sick. Ugh. I’d hoped this wouldn’t come. Even with my tea and soup and smoothies, the cold still hit.
Last night I went to Whole Foods for some cold defenses:
- red bell pepper: has more vitamin C than an orange!
- coconut water: sooo important to stay hydrated when sick. Coconut water has potassium which…
- spinach: just plain good. I’ll use it in smoothies and just raw.
- Honeycrisp Apples: just cause I ran out… and whole fruits are great when sick…
- wheatgrass: been looking to try it for some time now.
While this may not have prevented the cold, I do think it’s at least building up my defenses and (hopefully) shortening the life of it. Of course, rest and hand washing are also paramount in preventing and defeating seasonal colds.
Ever notice that once you slow down, that’s when you get sick? I feel that way now. I was finally able to slow down and relax this weekend when I started to feel a cold coming on. In the book I’m reading right now, Thrive by Brendan Brazier, he talks about the different types of stress we experience and the manifestations of that stress. Brazier breaks stress down into three main categories:
- uncomplementary
- complementary
- production
Basically, the first is the type of stress that produces little or now outcome (think anxiety – worrying about the future). Complementary stress is the good stuff – like exercise. Think of how well you can perform under pressure. While the complementary stress can yield positive outcomes, in excess it can cause even more stress on the body. The last type is the stress that comes in response to completing a task (ie. working around the clock to complete a project at work).
It seems that this sick-during-downtime phenomena is more common that I thought – and Brazier attributes it to uncomplementary stress. And yes, I think that’s what happened to me. This had been building and building, but since I was so busy, my body didn’t have time to acknowledge it… until now. So I’m just going to rest and hydrate and let the cold run it’s course.
Regardless of the cause, the outcome is still the same. I home. Sick. Today.
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Remember how I don’t have internet at home yet? Well, apparently I forgot until I had to email my boss to let him know I won’t be in – and include a lesson plan for my substitute. So when all I wanted (and needed) to do was go back to bed, I ran off to the coffee shop for internet access. And it didn’t work. Server down. For nearly an hour. At this point, I’m wide awake and already at this lovely spot drinking tea and enjoying the warm smell of fresh baked goods so I’ll hang for a bit. But wow, what a start!
Happy Hump Day!
