Your friends, family members and co-workers are starting to get the cold and flu, and you’re wondering when you’ll be next. If the unfortunate situation happens and you do get sick during this winter season, it’s important to treat your physical sickness to get better, and to remember not to neglect your mental health during this time.
Elizabeth Lombardo, a psychologist, physical therapist and author of A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness, gave suggestions in an email for what you can do to boost your mood while sick, and help prevent sickness from getting to you in the first place.
1) Get a proper amount of sleep, since sleep helps the body recover.
2) Do something fun, like getting a manicure or pedicure or seeing a new movie. Having fun can alleviate some stress and boost mood.
3) Do some type of exercise or activity involving moving around, like jumping on the bed, walking or taking a group fitness class (like a spin or kickboxing class). This depends on the level of sickness, but if you’re not already sick, exercise can help improve your mood and immune system.
4) Listen to music that lifts your mood. Consider compiling a specific playlist that makes you feel the happiest. If you add dancing to the mix, then you get two mood boosters.
5) Remember to relax. You can relax by breathing deeply, receiving a massage or even taking a soothing bath. Relaxation can enhance your overall health.
David Johnson, a licensed marriage and family therapist, added in an email that if a person is having mental health issues, this could make them more prone to developing physical illnesses, and vice versa. One of the keys to avoiding sickness is to keep your stress levels low.
“If a person doesn't handle stress in a productive way, i.e. if they let it weight them down, it will increase the levels of cortisol in the body and lower T-cells, the key to our immune system,” Johnson said. “I have seen many times when people come through a very stressful event and end up with a serious cold or the flu within a week.”
If you are going through a stressful time in life, in order to avoid illness make sure to drink lots of fluids, eat healthy foods and get enough exercise and sleep.
If the inevitable occurs and you do succumb to sickness, keep in mind that it will end most likely in about a week, and avoid jumping to negative thoughts about the possibility of the sickness never ending.
“Try hard to find something that will make you laugh each day,” Johnson said. “It's been proven that laughter increases T-cell production. Kick start your immune system or give it a boost by having a sincere belly laugh.”
Jennifer Taitz, a psychologist and author of “End Emotional Eating,” said in an email that when people are sick, they can start feeling down.
"Being physically sick can make us vulnerable to experiencing negative moods,” Taitz said.
“One of the ways we prevent depression is by staying active and pursuing activities that give us a sense of fulfillment. When you are sick, if you can choose a couple of activities to distract you from your symptoms and move you closer to what you care about, like reading a book or working on organizing your online photo albums to print for loved ones, you may improve your mood and feel better."
Pandora MacLean-Hoover, a psychotherapist, said in an email that when people get sick, they have to realize that it might be a good option to ask for help from others so they can get better.
“Many people, especially women, are conditioned to believe they should take care of themselves, tough it out,” MacLean-Hoover said. “The best thing for healing, physically and mentally, is to let people know you're sick. Letting others know and asking for help (supplies, nourishment, caring, support, safety) unburdens you.”
When I recently got sick, I made sure to sleep often, take multivitamins, Vitamin C supplements, and cold/flu medicine. I drank a lot of water, ate soup, and even accepted help from a friend in the form of soup, chocolate and cold/flu medicine.
I paid attention to my limits, and allowed myself to take time off of work in order to get better. I was only capable of sleeping and watching TV.
However, I thought of this in a positive light -- it’s rare that I’m allowed to do nothing for a day. So although I was sick, I was finally letting myself relax, which did wonders for my health overall.
Sources:
MacLean-Hoover, Pandora. Email interview. Nov. 6, 2012.
Taitz, Jennifer. Email interview. Nov. 6, 2012.
Lombardo, Elizabeth. Email interview. Nov. 7, 2012.
Johnson, David. Email interview. Nov. 6, 2012.
Reviewed November 13, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith