Sick? Get Over It

It’s that time of year when people start to get sick. I am of the belief that there are people who are “bad” sick people, and “good” sick people. I wish that everyone could be a "good" sick person, but for some, that is just plain difficult. And I must admit, people who are "bad" at being sick really irritate me.

It is understandable that sometimes people are simply extremely ill. In those cases, having a poor attitude is reasonable. For example, if you have mononucleosis and can barely move let alone swallow, then it is absolutely acceptable to wallow in misery. If you simply have a runny nose and a sense of discomfort, get over it.

I am not suggesting that everyone should use a positive attitude to trick themselves out of being sick; if you are severely ill you should seek the necessary help. I am just stating that having a more laid back attitude about being sick may allow people to alleviate future stress.

Having a negative attitude towards being sick is a quality that makes a person a “bad” sick person. No one enjoys listening to people complain about being sick. If you are really so sick, go home and go to sleep. Complaining is simply not productive. Not only that, complaining and dwelling on stress causes increased stress, which causes more illness. Researchers estimate that 75 to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for complaints and conditions that are, in some way, related to stress. Researchers have also found that stress can decrease the function of your immune system. In fact, stress even lowers resistance to the common cold.

Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University found that the higher a person's stress score, the more likely one was to come down with a cold when exposed to a cold virus. People with stress lasting more than a month were the most likely to contract a cold, and those with severe stress for one month to six months were twice as likely to catch a cold. Stress lasting more than two years quadrupled the risk. So, the people who are complaining about being sick, thus causing themselves more stress, are actually creating more risk for themselves to get worse. That is downright counterproductive. Stop stressing about being sick, it will only make you sicker.