The message my body has been sending me (that I've been ignoring)

I'm not very good at being sick (who is?). I rail at the unfairness of not being able to follow through with my plans, trying desperately to convince my body it's fine, silently seething at the sick people who probably infected me (damn you, coughing man on the bus!). Since I'm self-employed I lose money for every day I don't work, so I can't help but panic about the hit to my income... which only magnifies the unrest within my body instead of promoting rest (so helpful). It's a shitty situation, and yet, a very necessary one.

Recently I was struck down by a sinus infection that morphed into a chest infection. I was confined to bed for almost three days, too weak and feverish to move. And I was miserable. 

When situations like this happen - which is very rare for me as my immune system is really robust - it's difficult to remind myself that being sick is NORMAL. There is nothing wrong with me. My body has not shut down because it's broken, it has shut down because it wants to be stronger... and for that to happen, it needs to rest and rejuvenate. That quote 'almost everything works best if you turn it off and turn it on again' is pretty on point when it comes to colds and flus. 

But because we live in a 'go go go' culture, resting is frowned upon. We try to 'soldier on' instead of giving our bodies what they actually need - rest, and acceptance of our present circumstances. Our to-do list seems so much more important than our health (even though, without our health, we can't do anything). Then we wonder why we feel wiped out and then get sick again later.

Why is it so hard for us to listen to our bodies?

We also have a tendency to talk ourselves into being sick... not ideal. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone in the office declare: 'I think I'm getting sick' or 'there's something going around - everyone's getting sick' I'd be a very rich woman. When we talk or think about illness as an inevitability - even in jest - the body responds by winding down our defences. The body, after all, is programmed to respond to messages from the brain. I am not saying our thoughts *make* us sick, obviously, but we do have the power to significantly increase the likelihood that we'll fall prey to bacteria and viruses with the messages we send our bodies. I regularly say to myself 'I have great health' and 'my immune system is strong'. This doesn't mean I never get sick (clearly) but it does mean my defences are higher. Which means that when I do come down with something, my body is really in need of rest.

The truth is, my body had been telling me for weeks that it needed a break. (I have a holiday booked in very soon... but, unfortunately, not soon enough.) When I refused to listen to its pleas for relaxation, it forced me to listen. Will I never learn?

I have a lot of work to do in this area. I say yes to things that I know I don't have time for. I limit my sleep so I can fit more work in. I know I'm not the only one who does this. We are all writing cheques that our bodies can't cash. I'm reminded of the Dalai Lama's response when he was asked what surprises him most about humanity: 'Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.'

It's very clear to me that I need to break that cycle. 

This is what happens when you don't listen to your body

Are you listening to your body when it tells you what it needs? Because if you’re not, it will find a way to reach you – and you probably won’t like it when it does.

Here’s what recently happened to my friend. She does very long hours, often long into the night, and admits she doesn’t really understand the meaning of the word ‘rest’. For months her body had been giving her cues that her stress levels were out of control, but she kept on going. So her body found a way to reach her that she could not ignore. 

Last week the poor thing fell over in the most ridiculously freak-accident way – and got a concussion. She went to work the next day – but felt so dizzy she had to go home. The next day she could barely get out of bed. The following day she went to work and had to come home because her head was throbbing. On the weekend she went to brunch with a friend and had to get her friend to drive her car home as she was too exhausted. Having had a concussion myself, I know how frustrating this can be – and that it takes a really long time to get back to normal functioning.

Look, accidents happen – and I wouldn’t recommend going looking for a reason when they do. But in this case I can’t help but wonder if her body and the Universe have conspired to get her to give it what she so desperately needs – rest, and a lot of it. 

What I’m getting at here is there’s only so long you can go on running yourself ragged. Your body cannot sustain an exhaustive pace forever, so unless you give it regular time-outs, it will short out in some way. In the modern age where busyness is a religion, we like to think we can do so much more than what we have physical capacity for – our brains are writing out cheques that our bodies can’t cash, I guess you could say. This is why people get sick as soon as they go on holiday. This is also why people get colds and coughs that linger for weeks at a time, then return a month later – because they didn’t stop and let the illness take its course, allowing their immunity to build back up. Instead they took Codral and kept turning up to work.

Maybe my friend’s accident is purely bad luck, but I don’t really believe in luck and the angels have taught me there’s no such thing as coincidence. But regardless of the cause, my friend is benefiting hugely from this enforced period of rest, as frustrating as it is.

When your body tells you to stop, it’s a good idea to listen – before it *makes* you listen.