Regular People Colds - Update on Step 2 Cleansing with Intranasal – 26
A week ago Wednesday I was returning from my monthly trip to mom’s and the doctors, and it had was snowing (but not sticking on the roads) for a couple of hours by the time I was heading south on the freeway.
I drove over 100 miles at 70 or 80 mph through pouring, slushy rain with little visibility in my tiny car. Every time I went by a big truck, which was every-other vehicle, I prayed, turned the windshield wipers on high and waited out the few seconds that felt like forever when I couldn’t see anything but grey. Trucks, what trucks? Thank heavens the highway is often straight, and I know the areas that are not.
I realized as the stress was building, and it seemed like the two-hour drive was going to take far longer, that I was getting a sore throat.
Over the years I have had sore throats when I’ve been exhausted and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. But this sore throat felt serious.
When I arrived home, I dragged everything upstairs, unloaded as much as I must and fell into bed.
I had the joy of miserably half-sleeping through five days of the flu. This photo could be me - but it's not...
Getting this sick is always an interesting experience for me as it seems unnecessary that I should have a mold infection And get the flu. Even more fun is when it goes down into my lungs and the only way to get rid of it is to take Prednisone. Don’t get me wrong, I like the meds because they make me feel “normal” energy-wise for the week I’m on them, but then I miss having energy again when I’m off and need to re-adjust my thinking to not allow the pity to roost.
This is how it is. Other than washing my hands a lot and trying not to be around people who are sick I cannot change it.
I often wonder if there is a “reason” why I am sick at that time. Usually I feel that I have been over doing it, like I had been since the beginning of the year even though I was striving to take good care of myself.
It is the small things that get me in the end, like the cat not being settled off and on since we moved at the end of January. Some nights she wakes me up at 3 or 4 am for petting because she’s woken up and is uncertain in the new place. Often this includes yowling until she can locate me.
After years of having interrupted sleep for one reason or another (children, mold infection, menopause, snoring, etc.) the way I deal with nights where sleep eludes me for whatever reason is I still get up at the same time (6 am on weekdays and 7 am on weekends) because this keeps my schedule on track, even though I may be tired and return to bed for a two-hour nap at 9 am.
The benefit of a consistent schedule – or I should say my intention to keep a consistent schedule that is then regularly interrupted by life – is that it lessens my anxiety and helps to stave off depression. It helps to keep my eating on track because the times I eat stay relatively consistent and, therefore, so does what I eat. This is enough to keep me getting up at the same time every day because I feel better overall for the effort.
I know some people who, like me, are dual diagnosed (mental and physical) and get up whenever. They seem to struggle more than I and I’m not sure if they don’t have enough help (I Totally know what it’s like to want to get up, intend to get up and be physically unable to move even though I should be capable) or aren’t able to force themselves into getting up when they know it will hurt. I have three snoozes set on my alarm and many days it takes all three to move. When I first roll out of bed (literally) I can look like I’m 85…
The cat is helpful in this way. She loves her furball medicine so she is pesty until I get it on her little dish. By then I have walked across the room and do not get back into bed without being up for some time. My rule is that after I have my pills, coffee, breakfast, mat and meditation, if I am still feeling like I’m going to fall asleep where I am sitting, then I will return to bed. Thus the 9 am reference. Yes, my morning routine takes two hours every day.
I worked with a woman years ago before I became ill who couldn’t get ready any faster than that either, and I was astonished. I couldn’t decide whether she was lying or just pitiful. I took the latter stance that served me well in the long run.
Be careful what I think and judge that I do not understand!
Last week when I was so sick, though, I did get right back into bed one morning after taking care of the cat and fell sound asleep for another hour. This didn’t give me a lot of problem since the five days I was sick was like one big sore throat, goopy nose with snotty sneezing bouts that could have been any length of time.
This is when the Calendar is so imperative. I always make sure I can access it on my cell phone, so I don’t have to turn on my computer to look. Some of my friends still use paper calendars and I say, whatever works!
If I even suspect I’m going to feel poorly the next day I cancel/reschedule if possible.
“Pushing” myself is part of what got me into this mess in the first place…
As I am writing this on Monday, I did get out around 2 pm today for the second time since getting sick. It has been just beautiful for the last few days and I longingly looked outside and would do one or two items on my list (i.e., unload or load the dishwasher and make some food) and then was so tired I would return to bed, falling fast asleep again.
This is generally a struggle for me, this time of being sick on top of being sick.
I have practiced a lot of acceptance and in general my attitude is better. When I accept what’s happening, use my hard-won tools and don’t put the energy into whining about it the time passes, and I can get back to life.
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