4 ways to maintain your mental health when you are sick.
photo credit - Diana Polekhina via unsplash
Good morning all. I have spent the last week, well 4 days in bed with the flu. Which means I have had a lot of time to think. That is never good for me because I also have ADHD among other things and tend to go down ALL the rabbit holes. With that being said I did catch myself a few times slipping and feeling “lower” than usual and wondered, “how much of this is me being sick vs my regular mental struggles?”. So, as I lay there, hacking and sniffling I thought about what I could do to get me out of the “funk” I was in. Here are a few that I came up with.
1. Sensory type activities - Things like candles, incense, or music can stimulate different areas of the brain and pull you away from negative thought patterns when you’re sick. My wife is addicted to candles/incense. I like them too, but I just don’t ever think to light anything. Anyway, having good scented candles and incense burning in the room I was in helped me feel a little better and raised my spirits. It at least got me to where I wanted to do something other than just lay there like a bump on a log. Which brings me to the next “thing”.
2. Get out in the sun - Sunlight can trigger our brains to release serotonin, a hormome that acts as a natural antidepressant. I know it sounds cheesy and like I am towing the line here but hear me out. When I got up and just went out and sat on the back porch in the sunlight, I did feel a little better than when I was laying in bed in my cold dark room. Also, you don’t have to just sit there, take a book, tablet etc. Do it while you can because soon it is going to be as hot as satans butthole here in Texas and you aren’t going to want to check the mail, much less just hang out in the sun.
3. Journaling - Many of my past clients would read this and think, “there it is!”. Admittedly, this is a go to therapeutic exercise for me to give my clients. The reason why is that there are so many benefits to it. And in this case there are 2 major benefits to doing it. The first is that it allows you to write down how you are feeling about the current situation and vent those frustrations as well as reflect on what you are currently grateful for. The second is that by journaling how you are feeling phisically and writing your symptoms, you can easily recount them for a doctor should the need arise.
4. Socializing (safely) - If you are feeling sick, life already sucks. It sucks even worse if you are feeling sick AND alone. Reach out to a loved one for a phone conversation or televideo. Catch up with a long time friend. Connection is a crucial support for us as human beings. A lot of us say that we don’t like people. I would argue that we only like certain people and those connections are huge supports for us.
I also noticed that even in recovery of being sick I have lingering mental health symptoms. I have read a few articles about what I could be experiencing but none of them are exactly reliable so I won’t share them here. What I will say is that if you are still struggling with your mental health during or after phisical illness, reach out.