10 tips to make you feel (a little bit) better when you are ill

Last week I had a week vacation (autumn-holiday), and I had some great plans. Friends would come to lunch, I would go to a museum, visit another friend, enjoy the beautiful fall weather out cycling etc. I also wanted to do some things in my house, like cleaning the balcony.

Unfortunately, all these plans came to nothing, because I suffered from a nasty infection and I spent the entire week sitting on the couch, in pain. I could hardly walk and every movement hurt.

So, what can you do to make life a little bit more comfortable for yourself in these circumstances?

1/ Keep everything you need close at hand

Make sure you have your medication near you, and also something to drink, the remote for the television and all the other things you might need. You do not want to get up and walk every time you need something, so keep it close at hand.

Medication, water, remote controls, telephones and entertainment ready at hand

2/ Getting dressed etc.

Try, if you can, to wash (shower!) and get dressed. You do not want to do this and I understand that, but it will make you feel better. That is will take a lot of time does not matter, you are not going anywhere J.

Just like cooking dinner, I did not want to do it, but I knew I would feel better with a warm meal. I put a chair in the kitchen so I could sit down during the cooking, because standing was too painful, but this worked.

3/ Something to read

I tried to look at all this as a perfect time to spend a lot of time reading. And that is what I did, I read a lot!

Most books will be reviewed later!

4/ Entertainment

I watched numerous episodes of Once upon a time and Ghost Whisperer, and I watched television, like Dr. Phil and Masterchef. Very entertaining, and good for taking my mind of things.

5/ Something to do

Reading and watching loads of television will get boring after a while, so try to do something else. I picked up my crochet project again and I had great fun with my colouringbook for grown-ups. (more fun than I ever imagined!)

This was amazing fun!

6/ Contact with the outside world

Keep your smartphone and landline ready and close to you, so you can phone/app/mail friends and family whenever you need to.
Tablet or laptop are also possible options here to be connected to the rest of the world.

7/ Something colourful.

My mother came to visit me regularly, and she brought this lovely plant. I love having something colourful and beautiful to look at.

Very cute

8/ Keeping warm

I was very cold, since my temperature was up and I was very glad with my warm vest and of course my fleece blanket that kept me warm during the afternoon and evening.

My fleece 'nest' on the sofa, between Corrado and Silvia

9/ Go outside

If and when you can, go outside, if only to walk around the block. The fresh air and the change of scenery will do you good.
It does not matter if you have to walk very slowly. If you are not certain about going outside on your own, ask somebody to come with you.
And do not try to walk too far immediately, and this brings me to the last, most important point:

10/ Give it time

Of course you want to be well again soon and it never goes fast enough, but accept you are not healthy and getting better again will take time. Do not do too much too soon and make sure your body can rest as much as possible, it will need all the energy to heal you.
If you want to, even go to bed for a nap in the afternoon, it will only benefit you.

Get well soon!