Failing Health

I have always been quite proud of my health. I have long been working on the assumption that if I let my body heal itself then my immune system will just get stronger and stronger. This coupled with a healthy diet and regular exercise will keep me out of the nurse’s office. If I ever got mildly sick on those rare occasions I would refuse to take medicine or to break from routine. I would simply let my body deal with it and learn how to beat the disease. The final line of defence is a strong mind. Any sign of a cold would just be a morning cold. Past 12pm? Day cold. Three days in? Third day of a day cold.

But third day of a cold is really just a cold. In the last year things seemed to take a turn for the worst. I found myself getting sick much more than in recent years. I was more susceptible to the cold and my mind of steel was cracking much too easily.

I started to search for reasons. I shaved my head and therefore was not protected by my mop of curly hair.  It was an extra cold year. Irregular sleeping patterns. There were plenty of reasons that were out of my control. But really if I am going to accept those reasons then I am giving away half of my defences – My mind.

The other side of the argument is the things I can control. I stopped taking cold showers. I stopped going for regular runs. I stopped yoga. I stopped meditating. I pretty much just let my body live on the glory of its past and expected no different. If my body is a bit underdone then I can always rely on my mind. But it's off fighting its own losing battle and in the end I lose my mind-body confidence and get sick.

One thing I will still always stick to is not taking medicine (unless it's really serious). I know that this will cost me if I don’t step up my game but uh, yeah that’s about it.