I'm writing today in the midst of working on trying to get over yet another cold myself. I know, I know, I should be taking my own advice and resting, right?! I want you to know that this is the only work-related thing I have planned for today since I do not see patients when I am sick. Also, taking time out to work on this is giving me a break from taking care of my sick toddler, so, as you can relate, I am, in fact, resting more than I would be if I stayed at home.
I was just speaking with a colleague of mine about how I feel like I've been sick a ton this year. But when I think of why, it makes total sense. In addition to this being the first year of running my own business, we have the added stress of my husband's workplace being unable to offer consistent hours, and both of our sons are now being cared for outside the home. In microbiology, we learned that the two major components to developing infections were "host susceptibility" and "pathogen virulence", meaning that a weakened immune system and/or strong, adaptive, or numerous microorganisms will result in illness. Makes sense, right? So let's go back to my example: my lowered "host susceptibility" is due to the increase in stress levels in my life this past year (including not taking care of myself as much as I need to) and the "pathogen virulence" is most likely the sheer number of microorganisms that are coming home with the kids. If these sound familiar, keep reading.
We're all sick & tired of being sick & tired, right? So let's improve our "host susceptibility" right now...
Step 1: Take one uninterrupted hour to yourself tonight...whether that's to read, take a bath, take a nap, write a blog article (just kidding)...make it something that YOU want to do.
Step 2: OUTSOURCE! Whether it's at work or at home, many of the things that we take on can be delegated to another person. I know I've talked about divvying up chores before, so if you haven't done that yet, please consider it (or send me a quick message about what's holding you back and maybe we can brainstorm some other ideas).
Step 3: Load up on immune boosting foods. My free back-to-school family wellness guide has my go-to list (and much more), so I (obviously) recommend checking that out at this link if you haven't already.
Right now, I'm going to listen to a ~20 min meditation, so feel free to join me if you're having trouble coming up with ideas.
Please leave a comment with your plans to improve your "host susceptibility" this week and remember that you are also welcome to message me anytime! Here's to being healthy and rested!!!!