|
|
Post by disorganizeddragon on Oct 21, 2009 1:23:03 GMT -5
I'm sick and not in that fun, here's-the-chick-that-shoots-folks-on-the-TV-with-her-Nerf-gun kind of way. Nope, I'm physically ill in that who-is-trying-to-rip-my-shoulder-blades-out-thru-my-spine, why-does-everything-I-eat-feel-the-need-to-try-and-get-back-out-after-five-minutes, when-did-sitting-up-become-such-a-physical-challenge kind of way. I may not have the dreaded swine sickness, but I'm pretty sure I have some other agriculturally-inspired flu, like turkey or boll weevil.  So I'm lying on the couch, watching TV and praying for a mercifully quick death, and you know what's bothering me the most? No, not the fever that has me wrapped up like a camper on the North Slope of Alaska, not the headache that could easily kick the butt of 43 Tylenol and then take on a whole bottle of Aleve, not one of the seemingly hundreds of symptoms I'm experiencing all at the same time. What's bugging me more than anything else? The clutter. Why? Why? WHY? At the very moment I'm the least able to do anything about this mess, it's bothering me the most. I'm literally possessed by the desire to get up and start throwing things away, but I'd probably just collapse and fall on something sharp, puncturing some vital organ I might need later on, like my liver. Does this happen to anyone else or is this just some dreadful manifestation caused by this virus? Do you ever look at your clutter, mess, junk, stuff, squalor, whatever, and feel absolutely driven to clear it and clean it when there's no way you can due to circumstances beyond your control? When I was well, the condition of my apartment bugged me and I was working on it, but I certainly didn't feel as compelled as I have over the past day or so when I am simply not physically able to do anything. (It has taken me almost an hour to just type this post.  ) Has this happened to you and what do you think causes it? (I would add a bit more, but I need to lie down on the floor now. The couch is a good seven feet away and I just don't think I can make it without sherpas.) |
|
|
|
Post by Mrs Hen on Oct 21, 2009 4:00:16 GMT -5
It's a physical, chemical thing that's causing this.
It takes a certain amount of mental flexibility to ignore clutter. I don't mean you purposely ignore it, just that you've learned how to pay attention to what you are focusing on - you can read the paper, make dinner, dress the hobbits, whatever, without the clutter invading your brain.
When you are sick, you are without those mental reserves. On a cellular level, viral infections act by multiplying inside your cells until they burst, then wandering around to find another cell to live in until they destroy those cells, also. It's like you have millions of little car bombs going off in your city of a body.
The parts that clean up and repair things are overwhelmed. There is way too much stuff around for them, so it piles up. The debris makes you ache, you hurt like you just ran 20 miles, and all you're doing is sitting on the sofa. But the cell debris in your body is equal to what you would have after a 20 mile walk - it's all the burst cells, and the normal debris that's not getting taken care of.
In a way, it's like when PMS drives women crazy, it's not that whatever is pissing them off doesn't bother them the rest of the month. It's just that they can usually get past it, but when you're on your last nerve and hubby asks "Are you gonna cook ANYTHING this month, or should I just go live with Mrs. Stouffer?" You find you do need to kill him, there's no point trying to start small and see what works, you don't have time for that.
To help feel better, ibuprofen and aleve work on inflamation, which is a side effect of all the cell debris tucked into corners of your muscles. Inflamation causes swelling, just like on a sprained ankle, so it cuts down on blood flow, and blood flow is all you got going for you. Tylenol doesn't help inflamation.
Vitamin C and the B vitamins are needed for tissue repair, and you've got a lot of tissue repair to tend to, so think of taking some of those.
The more water you drink the faster you will get better. Kidney function slows when you are sick, and your body will discontinue processing urine if it's too concentrated. Drinking one glass of water an hour for 6 to 8 hours usually makes a big difference in your aches and pains.
Med students have found that they can hook up an IV when they have the flu or a bad hangover and become symptom free as long as the fluid is running in, but 30 minutes after discontinuing they begin to feel ill again.
Hot baths or hot tubs help by increasing your circulation. You can also stretch or take a short walk. Anything that increases circulation will help your body get rid of the debris.
When I feel like you I sometimes get a drawer and drag it over to the couch and sort it out, then put it back and get another drawer. It's a small job, but I'm doing something, and I can't start too big a thing and just make a mess I'm too weak to clean up. I find my dim mind has trouble with the sorting, so I get a 'don't know what to do with it' box for all the stuff that doesn't belong in the drawer but I'm too dizzy to figure out what to do with it.
Good luck.
|
|
|
|
Post by disorganizeddragon on Oct 21, 2009 9:41:54 GMT -5
It's just that they can usually get past it, but when you're on your last nerve and hubby asks "Are you gonna cook ANYTHING this month, or should I just go live with Mrs. Stouffer?" You find you do need to kill him, there's no point trying to start small and see what works, you don't have time for that.  Mrs. Hen, first of all, thank you for the great laugh. I really needed that. . . Secondly, thank you so much for your well-thought out and informative answer. I truly do appreciate it. Everything you say makes tremendous sense and I definitely intend to follow your recommendations. And the suggestion concerning bringing some small drawer or other such thing to the couch is brilliant! I think I can manage to do that. As you said, it will be a small job, but at least I'll be doing something. Heaven knows I can't attempt anything major at the moment--even if I was able to put things up, I feel so fuzzy I'd probably just forget where I put them. |
|
|
|
Post by lostagain on Oct 21, 2009 9:46:05 GMT -5
It's like...you always want what you can't have.
I remember getting my wisdom teeth taken out. I couldn't eat solid food for several days. Let me tell you, I wanted food I hadn't thought of in YEARS. The pointiest, spiciest, crunchiest stuff you could imagine, because I KNEW I couldn't have it.
The point is: we're all crazy.
|
|
|
|
Post by gettingsomewhere on Oct 21, 2009 9:47:49 GMT -5
big huggles to you dragon.
this is maybe a good time to read and get your head in a good space to attack the clutter at a later date.
or just rest and get well. please.
|
|
|
|
Post by howardsgirlfriend on Oct 21, 2009 10:24:01 GMT -5
This happens to me, too! I suspect that it's because I can't leave the house and forget about the clutter, so it never stops taunting me. I also like sorting drawers, jewelrey, or other small items that don't overwhelm me, and probably wouldn't get done if I were feeling better and working on other projects. Mending, sorting socks, etc also work well for me. This might also be a good time to plan your desqualoring, making lists of projects, materials needed, the ordwr you want to do them in, etc. I love taking advantage of the change in perspective this way--it's the only time I make lists.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rennie Ellen on Oct 21, 2009 11:24:28 GMT -5
Disorganizeddragon,
That's the way I was feeling when I had that intestinal bug! I was chilling, pretty sure I had a fever but the battery in the digital thermometer was dead, feeling queasy, running to the bathroom every 10 minutes and most of the time I made it to the bathroom but not to the toilet, wondering why the HUGE truck that hit me hadn't just killed me and put me out of my misery. And when I was curled up in a fetal position in my recliner, the one thought in the back of my head was....
"My house is a disaster area! I need to clean it!!!!"
I can't take Aleve or ibuprofen because it causes my ulcerative colitis to flare up, so I took Tylenol for Arthritis which seemed to help. I also made a mental list of what I needed to do to get my home clutter free, which I'm doing now that I'm feeling better. Hopefully, the next time I'm sick, (which will be a LONG while!) I can look around at my clutter-free home and just....relax....and concentrate on getting better.
I guess I felt the urge to clean because I was afraid if I died, someone would find my body amongst the clutter. I don't want to be remembered that way. I read stories like that on TV and it scares me. Not that my clutter is stage 4 or piled to the ceiling, but it still embarrasses me that it's there.
Drink plenty of fluids and get better.... 
|
|
kerplush
New Member
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 45
|
Post by kerplush on Oct 21, 2009 11:28:44 GMT -5
*Argh* Sick with the flu too!..Thank you Mrs. Hen for all the info.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery Disorganizeddragon!
|
|
|
|
Post by mythreecats on Oct 21, 2009 12:12:45 GMT -5
I'm with Rennie Ellen on this one. When I get sick, my mind goes to some "what if I died and my house still looked like this" place.  As soon as I'm better, that thought seems to fade right back into the distance. |
|
|
|
Post by motivatedmama on Oct 21, 2009 13:59:34 GMT -5
This reminds me of when I was on bedrest for two months while pregnant with my daughter. I wanted to clean soooooo bad! I would sit in the recliner or lay in my bed and just WISH I could clean. I do think some of it is that during our normal lives we tune it out to a degree and when you have nothing to do distract you it tunes in loud and clear whether you like it or not. Though there is more to it than that....I have busy days each week and slow days (well as slow as they can be with 4 kids, 2 cats, 1 old dog and 1 vehicle.  )....On the days where I am swamped. Literally scrambling from one drop off or pick up or appointment to the next - ALL I want to do is CLEAN my mess! Then on those slow days do I actually do it?! Nope. I spend most of it vegging out. Some of it I do realize is just trying to recharge my battery, but seriously...a battery only needs so much charging before it is overkill! |
|
|
|
Post by ponygirl on Oct 21, 2009 14:24:00 GMT -5
[ b]DD[/b] - Hope you get to feeling better soon! I've picked up something since yesterday and feel rotten, too. However, I HAD to come in to work. I might have to be scraped up from under my desk at closing time and hauled out to my car. Mrs. Hen, Do you make house calls?! [/color] |
|
|
|
Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Oct 21, 2009 15:41:36 GMT -5
|
|
jennmommi
New Member
Joined: September 2009
Posts: 91
|
Post by jennmommi on Oct 21, 2009 16:28:47 GMT -5
I know how you feel. At one point it seemed like I was getting sick every weekend (which is when I do the majority of my desqualoring) I felt like I NEEDED to clean but physically was so sick I could not. I thought it might be all in my head, because I didn't really want to clean so the desire to not clean was manifesting as physical symptoms just to drive me crazy because I couldn't clean when I had the time to. But the Dr said I really was sick, so I'll go with that.
|
|
|
|
Post by cosmic1 on Oct 21, 2009 17:14:56 GMT -5
disorganizedragon, I'm sorry that you are sick and I hope you get better soon.
Mrs. Hen's explanation was very helpful and thank you for explaining my attitude toward BF's when I had PMS. I would get mad about things that happened a week or so ago and could not understand why that was. Now, I don't have that anymore, but mystery solved!
kerplush, I hope you feel better soon too.
So many people are really sick right now. I hope it's not a bad sign of what's to come this winter.
|
|
|
|
Post by fireweed on Oct 21, 2009 23:34:37 GMT -5
When I had surgery this summer I couldn't lift anything heavy for six weeks and of course all I could do was look around and see all the things I desperately wanted to move. They're still where they were.
|
|
