Getting back to wellness practices after an illness
Photo of a woman who is ill and in bed, with a tissue pressed to her nose. Courtesy of Pixabay.
I recently got hit with Covid. Actually, I suspect I picked up a few bugs at the same time. This bout felt like a terrible triad of strep throat, sinus infection, and bronchitis. But thankfully after nearly a week of bed rest, my old self is re-emerging. I’m eager to get back to my routine, and I want to catch up on all the things I missed or had to reschedule due to being ill.
This is the tricky stage of recovery from illness: Those early jolts of energy tempting you to charge back into life, the return of the obligations you had to ignore because you felt too crummy to lift your head off the pillow. It’s hard not to get swept back up in the grind again. But I know if I do, I’ll overdo it and end up fighting this virus longer than I need to.
So here’s my plan:
Prioritize rest. I know I’m still recovering, and my body needs sleep and rest to fully recharge. Fortunately, it’s the weekend, so I can pace myself and lie down and rest as needed. Do I want to make that 5 layer veggie lasagna tonight, now that my appetite is returning? Yes. Do I need to make it tonight, at the expense of getting more rest? No. (Though I will dream of it in my sleep, I’m sure, haha!)
Set reasonable goals. Instead of jumping back into my usual strength training routine, I’m going to start with 20 minutes of walking daily and 10 minutes of body weight strength exercise. And while I want to cram all my missed meetings into the next few days, it’s just not possible, so I’ll try to sprinkle them in over the next few weeks instead.
Have some fun. Being sick is the opposite of fun. After a week of it, I was beginning to feel quite down in the dumps. So I’m going to look for levity where I can find it in the days ahead.
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