Today, I'm home sick with a little fever and achy muscles. Nothing to fret over - except that this is probably my eleventh sick day this school year. In the past I've had a maximum of maybe five sick days. So what's the difference this year?
One reason is that I've given myself a bit more leniency because it's my senior year. But I'm not cutting, I'm legitimately ill. How, then, did I get so suddenly and frequently ill?
I would like to make the case that stress can be a major factor in getting you sick. (And there's research to prove this!) So if you're under a lot of stress, your immune system is often lest apt to handle any random bacteria that might come your way. A normal person's immune system has no problem fighting off small little bacteria. But a super-stressed out person is going to have more difficulty.
Student are notoriously stressed out, as are Americans in general. We push ourselves to work our hardest every day - and in return we expect relaxing weekends and vacations. Some of us even work hard during those breaks. And, despite our best efforts to kill 99.99% of bacteria with portable goop in a bottle, we still get sick.
I'm sorry, did I lose you there? What I'm trying to say is, working hard - too hard - can make you super sick, even if you think you're taking care of your health. Students especially (and at my school, maybe even more especially) are stressed. We're sleep deprived from all the work we have to do, stressed because of the sleep we didn't get; so we work harder to get more sleep, but end up even more sleep deprived because we worked so hard, then we're even more stressed out and get sick, stress some more because of the work you're missing... do you see the endless cycle here?
(Not to go all philosophical here, but maybe we put too much pressure on working hard)
I don't want to say school makes you sick (even though it is filled with all sorts of nasty germs), but it certainly doesn't help. Some kids take mental health days every now and then. That's not a bad idea; the weekends just aren't enough! And of course, don't make it a habit, if you can help it. Just take a day to get back on your feet so you're not sick.
In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the lovely weather. From inside my house :(
Hey, at least I've got a perfect view of my just-blooming magnolia tree outside
A votre santés, mes amis!
xxo, S
