5 Things Being Sick for a Short Time Has Taught Me

Just last week, the flu knocked me out so hard. And believe it or not, it was the first time I had it in over a decade!

While I was resting and recovering, I had a lot of time to think and reflect.

And boy, do I feel grateful for the health I do have.

For this week’s Wellness Wednesday article, I thought I’d share five things along with some lessons that being sick has taught me.

THE BODY IS A BEAUTIFUL GIFT AND BLESSING. 

Thank God, thank God, thank God for the body I was given! The human body is absolutely amazing! Now that I’m on the tail end of mending, I really thought it was amazing that my body can do things like increase its temperature to heal itself.

Losing time with loved ones, paying for medication and worrying your mom isn’t a good way to spend your life if you can prevent it. You really do have one place to live, so take good care of it.

I’M THANKFUL FOR MODERN MEDICINE.

But I’m even more thankful for holistic and natural ways of healing. Being sick brought me back to having severe asthma when I was younger. (To be honest, I was scared because I didn’t want to have anything bronchitis, asthma or pneumonia-related.)

I’m thankful to have the means to buy over the counter medication like Tamiflu. I’m also thankful that modern medicine like that can shorten my time of being sick.

However, I’m also thankful for ice packs and massaging my own hands to reduce my headache. And I’m definitely thankful for water, orange juice and my vitamins to help my body restore itself faster!

INVEST IN LITTLE LUXURY ITEMS NOW FOR USE LATER.

I’m serious about this. Sometimes, it’s the little things in life like a soft robe to wrap yourself in that helps the healing process. I’ve also determined comfy pajamas, cashmere sweatpants or silk pajamas (you can choose to pay $59, $69 or $79 for your set) can make bed rest that much better.

Now I’m not saying you should go out and get yourself flowers when you’re sick. You should be doing a straight shot from the doctor’s office to the pharmacy and back to your house to get some rest. However, if some are brought to you, enjoy them! And they make your nightstand look better. Hey, it’s better than looking at piles of cough drops, tissues, meds and drinks, right?

EATING HEALTHY WHILE YOU’RE SICK IS A GREAT IDEA.

Quit laughing. I’m dead serious. I found that since your taste buds automatically change to bland mode when you’re sick, you might as well eat healthy! Not only are you helping yourself recover faster, but it’s just easier to eat veggies you hate when you’re sick than when you’re healthy. So, when I was sick last week, I ate a lot of veggies along with hummus, veggie soup, chicken noodle soup and drank lots of water, Perrier water and orange juice.

Admit it. There’s some truth to what I’m saying here, lol!

STOCK UP ON NECESSITIES FOR YOUR PANTRY.

I feel like your pantry is kind of like having a closet full of clothes and saying you have nothing to wear when you’re not sick. I had cleaned out my pantry a few weeks prior to being sick so I have an excuse to have nothing. My bestie swung by several times to bring me crackers, veggies, hummus, orange juice and soup. And yes, my door was shut. And yes, I made her do a quick drop and run, no chatting, haha!

This weekend, I’ll be shopping for the kitchen necessities to keep my healthy eating game going strong. I highly recommend this book called Eat Beautiful by Wendy Rowe as it’s chock full of helpful information! I loved how she talks about the benefits of various ingredients so when I go shopping, I know exactly what to stock my cupboards with!

You don’t appreciate a full pantry of healthy goodness until you’re sick or find that you can’t go anywhere because of a winter storm of some kind. So, I’m going to nab me some goodies and if a package of cookies happen to fall into my basket, someone else put it there. Not me.

And that my friends, is what being sick has taught me lately! If you’ve been sick, I’m sure you understand what I mean! If you aren’t, yay! Keep taking care of yourself!

What has being sick taught you over the years?