3d ago

What do you do when you're sick?

Heya! I've had to come home from work because I'm too run down with some kind of flu.

I'm going mad. I can't work out, can't go for a run. I can't focus on any freelance work. I don't have the energy to paint or record anything. I've just about got the energy to vacillate between my desk and my bedroom, but it's driving me nuts being so unproductive. I'm on a losing streak in online chess.

I've already eaten way past my maintenance calories. My hoover doesn't work so good else I'd be hoovering the apartment. I've done laundry and the dishes. I need a productive, non-thinky, preferably arty, low effort task.

So, what do you lot do when you can't do anything? When you're sick, run down, out of energy, or just having a day of paralyzing executive dysfunction -- how do you get through it without driving yourself up the god damn wall?

22 comments

Curl up in bed with a book and some tea.
Resting is being productive. Your body requires rest to get better. Ignoring your body's needs is not helpful and will only drag your illness out. If you had a child or a loved one who was sick or injured would you force them to run around when they didn't feel well? That would be abusive. Don't do it to yourself. It sucks to be forced to rest when you don't want to, but learning how to rest your body and your brain is a skill too and it's ok to not be productive 100% of the time, in fact it's not mentally healthy to have to be productive all the time.
- You're right, thank you. I like to be productive and often get frustrated when I feel like I'm wasting my own time, but you're right; healing is productive, and taking time out to recover is good. Thanks 😊
When I'm sick, I sleep as much as possible, or just lay in bed if I'm not sleepy. I might read, drink hot tea, or eat chicken soup. If you're too sick to work, you should probably rest so you can get better.
Audiobooks are a great way to pass the time and they require no effort!
You might fall asleep but that is a plus!
I really hate being unproductive, so I know exactly what you mean. For me, I find it helps to convince yourself that recovering from illness IS productive. If you were just stick forever you'd never get anything done. Think of it like server maintenance. You're offline for a little bit, you can't do anything but you'll be back
Getting better by resting is being productive. Trying to get things done tends to drag out illnesses for a few extra days for me.
Rest, drink lots of fluids, and either catch up on my watch list backlog or rewatch my favorite movies if I expect to fall asleep. Depends on the illness, but almost all of them leave me physically drained so laying down is pretty much unavoidable.
Food will depend on how the old tummy is doing. If food doesn't go right through me or come back up I just eat normally. I love spicy food when congested to clear out the sinuses a little bit.
Pick the streaming service of your choice and watch some series you've watched a million times. Or a Lord of the Rings / Star Wars /Star Trek /Marvel movie marathon.
- Ah yeah, love a bit of lord of the rings. I got rid of my TV recently though and need to do something at least a little bit productive, but good suggestion 😊 thank you
I'd read a book. One day, if I am really sick. If reading novels makes you feel "unproductive" (you're fucking sick, you're not expected to be productive) read something with practical or educational value.
- I know I'm not "expected" to be productive, I just like to be. It feels good for me. Thank you for the suggestion, I appreciate it 👍
I try to do something mindless and easy, with something on in the background that keeps my attention. Mindless MMO grind with TV, food prep and cleaning with music, etc.
This reminds me.
When I was a kid, it wouldn't matter if I was sick or not, I had to go to school anyways... because "I'm just finding excuses to not go to school"
Hmm I wonder why Covid spread so fast?
Maybe because some mom in Wuhan behaved like my mom and decided to tell their kids to go to school despite being sick?
Oh yea when I had covid, I was trying to like compose a poem or something idk... I couldn't even do anything... I was so fucking sick...
I think that was the last time my mother actually showed that she cared about me... but its mixed with the "its your fault for... blah blah... something"
No mom, you told me you regretted giving birth to me a few month earlier which is why I got suicidal and skipped the 2nd dose of the vaccine on purpose, and I even wished I never got the first dose, because I was just so fucking sucidal... so yes maybe my fault, but you made me suicidal in the first place.
I kinda wanna die, but wasn't brave enough to attempt it. So trying to get sick from covid was a way to kinda "self harm" and see if anyone cares. I was so fucking desparate, I never got enough maternal love, I still have issues to this day.
/rant
When I get that sick I make rest my full time job.
My family calls it “SpongeBob duty” and the fastest way out of feeling like hot ass is to hunker down as hard as you can. Make it a point to shut off your brain, load up on meds, and sleep as much as you can. Like others said, hot soup and nutrient dense foods are your friend. Brainless comfort TV to keep your eyes occupied while they’re open, and doomscrolling is to be avoided if possible. Play low effort games if you can’t tolerate tv or a movie.
The more aggressively you rest the faster your body can heal, and accepting that you can’t do shit except stay put for a day or two (easier said than done) will help. Godspeed, soldier 🫡
- I really like "aggressive rest", and will likely use that with patients in the future.
over the last few days i read a lot of webcomics but i am like constantly annoyed so i cant hold any attention over 2 hours and thats like only in case of a movie
so its a lot of exploring the web
like i found the Journal of Hymenoptera, a place where researchers publish insect related papers (i name that site because its cool and without ads)
I honestly can't remember the last time I got sick, but i saw someone in the art share community that makes felted stuff. I don't know shit about it except it's basically strategically tangling wool to make shapes. Apparently it's very low effort, low cost, and you can make all kinds of stuff.
- That's a great shout, I've seen people crocheting in the past before too so maybe that's a go-er. Thank you!
Oddly enough, for me walking lessens the symptoms of the flu, leaving only a burning sensation in the nose and a slight light-headedness while I exercise.
is it covid, i had covid in sept, and it was intense, the painful throat, inability to swallow and the constant hawking up thick phelgm. I could not even eat or drink for like several days, so my pee becomes super concentrated.
Fast so my body and mind relaxes and i get tired and fall asleep.
Sleep heals me faster than anything else, and slowing down my metabolism is a pretty easy way for me to get there.
Mental work like journaling is my go to.
- Mm I journal too, although in sort of note form - maybe I could read back through a lot of notes and pull out themes actually, thank you!!

22 comments