|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
MICHELLE KEENAN empowers people and organisations to achieve optimal well-being by providing customised wellness coaching programmes tailored to their unique goals.
As we’re heading into the thick of cold and flu season, and having just spent three days in bed with a nasty bout of Covid feeling like death would be a kind release, it seems timely to talk about looking after ourselves when we’re unwell!
We live in a culture that quietly applauds powering through, showing up, and pushing on, even when our bodies are clearly waving the white flag.
Here’s the thing – being unwell isn’t a personal failure. It’s a signal.
A message from your body saying, “hey, I need a break!”.
When we ignore that message, recovery takes longer, energy depletes further, and we risk passing illness on to others.
So please, I’m begging you, give yourself permission – permission to rest.
Permission to take the day off. Permission to say no to the meeting.
Permission to spend the day in bed or on the couch, drinking soup or that old classic, a lemon and honey drink.
Read, or binge a series, or doze while you listen to podcasts, or sleep all day. Let the emails wait.
Self-care when you’re sick isn’t indulgence, it’s essential for repair and recovery.
Sleep is medicine. Hydration helps. So does stepping away from screens and letting your nervous system reset.
And if you’re someone who struggles to stop, try reframing rest as something productive. Because it really is. Don’t underestimate the power of small comforts.
If you have the energy for a hot shower and fresh sheets, they might make you feel a little better.
If, like me, that’s beyond your capacity for a few days, well, nobody will die if you don’t get out of your pyjamas or your bed for 48 hours.
I know some of you who pride yourself on being strong and self-sufficient will be horrified at this idea, but let (or, even more horrifying, ask!) others help you.
Being a martyr is so third century, it’s time to move on and accept help rather than wallowing in your suffering.
Finally, a gentle reminder: the world won’t fall apart if you’re out of action for a few days.
You can’t pour from an empty cup, so rest to recover.
