Hey everyone! I recently caught a really intense fever that lasted a few days and it really held me back from accomplishing anything productive. Since I'm in high school, I've just started my summer courses and I fell sick a few days before the class became too serious.
As a hardworker and perfectionist, I really appreciated having a little time off to look after myself. When you get sick, it's like your body is reminding yourself that you need a pause before you can push yourself to work hard and do great things (like working really hard for a class, or getting a job, or anything!)
I guess what I'm trying to say with my terrible writing is that you should always take a little break once in a while to check in on yourself. If not, high amounts of stress can lead you to getting sick!
When I was younger, I would always get sick and miss a lot of school. As I grew a little older and got less sick less often, the feeling of being weak due to a cold or a fever and the warm tingly feeling you get from drinking something warm and cozying up to a fire (or a small heater next to your room (เน˃๊́ด˂̀เน)) feels really nostalgic and cozy to me.
Do you feel the same way?
Anyway, if you're feeling a little under the weather, or are longing for little ways to feel cozy again, here's some little tips and ideas!
๐ Grab the warm blankets ☕
Though this may seem obvious, the cozying up is the first step of the process! When I got cold at first and had a really runny nose, I felt like avoiding the blankets altogether for fear that I'll feel all icky. Once you've surrounded yourself with the familiar warmth of these blankets, your body can be a little bit more at ease, and you can let it rest a little.
๐ Prepare some soothing tea (or water!) ☕
When you're sick, you might forget or feel less like drinking water throughout the day. Make sure to keep yourself hydrated!
As for your aching throat and everything inside of you that kinda feels wonky, sipping something nice and warm can really help give you some relief.
There might be some great specific kinds of teas that people might want to reach out to, and you should definitely search up some teas that could boost your mood! As for me, I'd go for a chai or chamomile tea. One sip and I feel instantly better and more relaxed!
If it's later during the day and I don't want have tea messing with my sleeping schedule, I'll have a nice warm cup of hot cocoa (I actually call it hot chocolate haha).
(the secret world of arrietty)
๐ Turn off your device ☕
Staring at a screen for too long can really induce some headaches. When I have a cold, I'll only use my computer for a couple hours, but no longer than that! Take advantage of your not being able to do anything and simply stare into space!
Some people like to meditate or get into some light reading, which are some great ideas. I get headaches a little too easy, so staring into space or into the ceiling and really just not thinking at all can be very therapeutic and kind of cozy knowing that since you're sick you have all this time to rest and enjoy existing slowly in a fast-paced world.
๐ Watch comforting movies ☕
Turn your device back on! Maybe it's a TV or a small ipad screen or your computer, anything to watch some movies. I love living in the kind of "light and weak" feeling I have when I'm sick to enjoy really light and comfy fantasy children movies (which are usually based on nature), shows and videos!
For some ideas of what to watch, I recommend watching Moomin, Studio Ghibli movies, ๆๅญๆ Liziqi, Disney movies, Coraline (TใฎT)๏พ, etc. Slice of life animes are also a great thing to watch when you're sick, they're so relaxing and oddly inspiring!
๐ Listen to some relaxing music ☕
I can't go on without listening to music! Whenever I'm sick it's always great to listen to some wonderful soundtracks from movies and shows and classical music. This might be different for you!
Whenever you feel sick, you want to stick what's most comfortable to you. At least that's the case for me! I love to experiment with different music genres, but when I'm sick, I really need to hear a symphonic orchestra, an acoustic guitar or the sweet voice of Ella Fitzgerald!
If you want some recommendations on what to listen, I recommend this Soundtrack, Always, Cello, Night, Rough, Garden. Let me know if you would like to have some more music recommendations!
(sweet illustration by aeppol)
๐ Chicken Noodle Soup ☕
This is the old? well-known? cure for colds! I've got to have at least one bowl of soup, if not chicken noodle soup! Tastes can be different for everyone (my sister hates the taste of chicken noodle soup, so she'll have warm toast instead) but maybe you should try it!
If not, the comfort of a staple food that you'll only have when your sick can bring a really comforting feeling. I almost never have soup until I'm sick.
๐ Look at comfy pictures ☕
When I'm sick, I like to fill my head up with fluff. Tiny little fantasy worlds in children's novels, the mysteriousness of a nature/botany-focused instagrammer, and pictures of far-away lands! (For me that's Switzerland.)
Look through cute pictures on Pinterest and follow wonderful people like artists on social media who post great content! For some links on who to follow (on instagram), here's a list of links!
Do you follow any artists or nature-related instagrammers?
(amazing art by Tatsuro Kiuchi)
๐ Do a little bit of art ☕
If you feel like you are in good enough health (but still sick nevertheless (I love using the word nevertheless, it sounds so fancy)), do indulge yourself in a small activity that you haven't had the opportunity of doing while you were constantly working before becoming sick!
Try Botanical drawing, making collages, journaling, writing music, writing stories, flower arranging?
If I were sick, I kind of would stay away from playing an instrument, only because I might get my sick all over my instrument by its mouthpiece or by coughing all over it ใพ(- -；) Kinda sad...if you really want to connect to your musical side other than writing music (I try to write music and sometimes give up easily haha), maybe try researching the history of different musical things!
While I was sick I kind of considered writing a blog post about the history of harps anyway.
Make sure you still give your brain some time to relax, too! You don't have to take them too seriously! Have fun with what you're doing.
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I hope my ideas helped you a little bit, or inspired you to find other comfy things to do while you're sick! What kind of things do you like to do? Your favourite teas? Tv shows? I'd love to hear from you!
Love,
Willow
❤ ♬
