This week I’ve been dealing with a cold/cough – a lovely gift from my husband. Last week he had a cold and came home from work early, went to bed early and generally didn’t want to do much.
This week it’s my turn. It’s easy to catastrophise about set backs like this. It’s harder to sit back and see the big picture. I want to focus on the negatives:
- I have less energy,
- my nose and eyes are streaming,
- I’ve got a hacking cough and can’t breathe properly,
- I’ve had to go to bed at 7.30pm more than once this week,
- My body aches,
However, the truth of the matter is these are all totally natural things to feel when you’ve got a cold virus. Actually I’ve been doing really well. I’ve been listening to my body and (children permitting) resting when I need to. Despite my cold I’ve still managed to:
- keep the family fed (and that includes lunches because it’s half term),
- Keep on top of the washing,
- Sort out a load of old toys to give away,
- Digitise some recipes which have been hanging around for months,
- Write this blog post,
- Ride my bike around the village,
- Take kids to activities, or friends houses and have their friends here.
Although I feel worse than usual, I think I’m still able to do more than I could on a good day 6 months ago. This is not a relapse, it’s a normal reaction to a cold and that’s fantastic.
Since it was a cold virus that sparked my ME I’m not sure I will ever feel relaxed about “just” having a cold. However, I’m in a different place now, and I seem to be reacting like a healthy person to a virus, which is a reason to celebrate.
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