In winter, many people suffer from the flu. I don't usually look up to that. It's something that comes with life. However, this year is different, as I have already heard from 2 young people who have died from the flu. The first was a 22-year-old bodybuilder and the second was an 18-year-old college student who contracted pneumonia from the flu. Terrible and that from just a flu! If you just have the flu, the temptation is often to continue working anyway, such as working from home. However, this is not going to help you, allow yourself to get well.
Read more about allowing yourself to become ill here.
Being sick: Why you still want to keep going
The crisis, from more than 10 years ago now, has hit many people pretty hard. The fear of losing your job is therefore a reason for many people to continue working anyway.
Or you are a business owner and if you are not working there is no money coming in either, because you only have reimbursement from your insurance after 2 months and then you have to be really seriously ill. The flu often doesn't count then.
In addition, you may also feel obligated to keep working when things are just really busy at work. You don't want to burden your colleagues with taking over your work because you know they are busy too. You feel (almost) guilty for letting your colleagues down so much when you get sick.
Then, to get rid of that guilt, you promise to keep working at home, so at least you don't infect anyone else with your bad cold or flu. Actually, only fever is a good reason to quit and even then there are people, maybe you are 1, who think they should continue.
In that case, you might also wonder if you're not suffering from workaholism.
It all depends on the beliefs you have about the importance of work and the importance of your health.
The flu makes you social
In addition, there is evidence that if you have the flu, this virus manipulates you to still see as many people as possible. This is because the flu virus can then spread even better. So illogical persistence may be caused by the virus itself. Especially in the phase before you get the flu but have already contracted the virus (which takes about 48 hours), you can suddenly become very social.
What should you do when you are sick?
If you are sick you should at least call in sick, get real rest and eat healthy. You stay in bed or on the couch and try to sleep as much as possible or just watch series or read a book.
Being sick and taking a rest
In any case, this is not the time to do a lot of cleaning, exercise or work.
The reason you can get so tired from the flu is because your immune system needs all your energy to defeat the virus. This is also the reason not to waste energy. Therefore, it is best to engage in activities that do not require you to think hard, because finding solutions to problems is also something that requires energy.
Hence watching series or reading a book when you can't sleep.
Being sick and eating healthy
Your immune system consumes a lot of energy when you are sick to deal with the virus. You don't want to burden your immune system with unnecessary inflammation then, and you can actually strengthen your immune system with nutrition.
Eating extra lots of fruits and vegetables, for example, provides important vitamins and minerals. A tangerine, for example, already contains enough vitamin C for the minimum recommended daily allowance. What would happen if you ate 2? After all, you can't eat too much vitamin C.
Unhealthy foods, such as those high in sugar, salt and fat, often actually cause inflammation that the immune system must then pay attention to. This leaves less energy to fight the flu virus.
Do you find it difficult to eat healthy? Then hypnosis can help you with that.
Steps to make being sick easier
Do you find it difficult to keep calm even when your head feels like it's full of cotton wool? Do you feel guilty toward your colleagues when you call in sick? Do your fingers start itching to get to work even at home?
In that case, hypnosis can help you make being sick easier which also helps you get healthy again faster.
Overcoming beliefs about being sick
It's important to identify beliefs about why you don't allow yourself to just get well. Being sick is already no fun, then forcing yourself to keep working doesn't always make it better. The only question is why do you do it?
The Why Question
Asking the why question alone can be enough to uncover these beliefs. Coaches, psychologists and hypnotherapists can do this with a so-called Socratic Conversation. The why question is then repeated several times to get to your deepest beliefs.
After all, when you know why you are doing this, you can change it.
Regression
Another way to figure out beliefs, if the Socratic Conversation, for example, is not working, is to apply regression. Regression is a way of going back to an event in your life where beliefs were formed. In many cases, for example, something happened in childhood, such as when you went to elementary school, that (unconsciously) left a lasting impression on you and created any illogical beliefs.
By looking at that moment once again, with the knowledge you now have about life, you can change the beliefs that make you more likely to allow yourself to just sick out. For example, you may find that your belief about continuing to work when you're sick actually makes no sense at all.
Listing fears
Continuing to work while sick can also mean you fear losing your job or fear poverty. To make sure you can face those fears and thus just be sick without getting totally stressed out, you can list your fears regarding work.
Then put those fears in an order from most scary to least scary.
Confronting Fears
With this list, a hypnotherapist can help you confront those fears. This is done first with a visualization, for example, and later in real life. For example, do you have a fear of poverty? Then a week or even a month of consumerism can help you learn that money is not always necessary just to pay the regular bills.
You can also when you are better help other people who have taken the fall and see that it is not the end of the world.
Being sick: changing beliefs
Confronting the fear and seeing that poverty or unemployment, if that is the fear that keeps you working, is not necessarily the end of the world can already change your belief that it is best to be sick once a year or even twice a year.
Other ways to change beliefs is by repeating hypnotic suggestions, such as during self-hypnosis and through guided visualizations.
Hypnotic suggestions for changing beliefs about being sick
Initially, a hypnotherapist will let you hear the suggestions yourself. This may include a recording that you can play at home during self-hypnosis.
For self-hypnosis, it is important to first sit or lie down in a relaxed place. You focus on your breathing and relaxing your muscles. Once that is accomplished, you close your eyes and repeat the hypnotic suggestions or turn on the mp3.
These can include beliefs such as:
"If I take rest when I'm sick, I get better faster and therefore more productive."
"If I continue to work while I'm sick, I actually start making mistakes which creates more stress and sickness."
"I deserve to rest."
"My colleagues are understanding when I'm sick; after all, I'm taking over their jobs."
These are just examples of hypnotic suggestions. Depending on your beliefs, they may vary.
Guided visualization
Another technique you can use to allow yourself to relax when you are sick is guided visualization. Especially if you get itchy when you have to sit still, this can help tremendously by stimulating your imagination about how nice it is to relax precisely when you are sick.
Want to learn more about how hypnosis and other mental techniques can help you? Then come to the playshop or check out Hypnosis Institute Netherlands' training programs.
Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/darwins-subterranean-world/201801/does-the-flu-trick-people-being-sociable
