Nobody Panic - How to stay sane when you've got the flu

Episode Date: September 6, 2018

Tessa's got Fresher's Flu and Stevie has admirably got in her sick bed with her to deep dive into how stay sane when you inevitably get sick this winter.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/nobodypanic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, I'm Carriad. I'm Sarah. And we are the Weirdo's Book Club podcast. We are doing a very special live show as part of the London Podcast Festival. The date is Thursday, 11th of September. The time is 7pm and our special guest is the brilliant Alan Davies. Tickets from kingsplace.com. Single ladies, it's coming to London.

True on Saturday, the 13th of September. At the London Podcast Festival. The rumours are true. Saturday the 13th of September. At King's Place. Oh, that sounds like a date to me, Harriet. in ages. I'm Stevie and Tessa is sick. Hello. Hello everyone. Go on. Tell everyone about you. Yes, there we go. She's got a chest infection? No, I don't think I'm... Cold. I think it's somewhere

between, I think it's the flu. See, that will mean a cold because people think that cold is like really fine. Like, oh, but it's not. Cold's horrific. But flu is you literally can't get out bad and you're like being sick and you're shaking. Yeah, all right. Clue? Yeah, clue. I've got the clue. I've got a flu. Yeah, I'm somewhat, yeah, I'm, yeah, I've got a cold, but I'm also very sorry for myself. You don't look great.

I know, I know. Look, good, you dressed well, which is, that's a real boon. I've got that sort of, I feel like muscle entropy, like when Neo comes out of the pod in the Matrix. Oh, and he's got no eyebrows? Yes, but also, he's never used his muscles before. That's the bigger takeaway. That's the main takeaway. way.

Kina Reeves looks weird with our eyebrows. I didn't even notice the eyebrows. Yeah, he has no eyebrows. Gosh, I must check again. Has he only got any hair? No, he's completely bald the whole time. And the eyebrows were your main take home? Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yes, I feel like that, just like so limp and weak, and I'm aware of I look unbearable. You don't look unbearable, you just look slightly ill. Thanks. That's fine. I mean, I've passed at least 20 people that look white worse than you, just coming here. I gave some of my, I took a whole toilet roll out with me today and I gave some of it to two people on the bus.

That's nice. So we're all in it together. Everyone's ill. Everyone's ill. Yeah. I'm not ill. I'm fine. The reason, I mean, I don't know how we came to this week's topic. It's how not to go mad when you're sick.

I don't know how we even considered that. Tess has been sending me some fascinating WhatsApp over the last 24 hours. Oh, God. She's clearly been alone. and really and sick. But also, actually, we had an email by Florianne Mariel, the best name ever.

I know, so gorgeous. Florian. She said, so basically she's had a similar thing. She was like lying in bed, fever is feeling sick. I'm wondering like how not to panic when you're feeling sick. Not sick as in that you've got, I guess, you know, this is for, we are talking colds, we're talking flus, we're talking things that will clear up,

maybe a chest infection, things like that, rather than real, real bad medical ailments. If you've got a cold... Maybe we use one called, like, how to survive the flu or, like, how to survive the winter cold. The winter cold's difficult because it's September. This is the point where everyone gets there, like, fresh as flu. Fresh as flu.

Okay, so fresh as flu. Yeah, okay. Mardly sick. We will figure it out. We'll figure it out. Before we do, though... Can I wait? Can you hear tell me what she says? Oh, yeah. Okay, I'm also going to read the whole email. Yes, please.

find myself lying in bed feverish and feeling sick wondering if there are any tips and how not to panic when you're feeling sick. She's drained herself a bit because of work and travels and now she's forced to slow down but she finds it quite challenging to be sick while living with someone especially if it's your boyfriend you don't want to give them a cold but in the meantime you'd like some

space for yourself to rest please and yeah she just hopes that we can help out I feel the same I think the only worst thing than being sick is being sick next to somebody who is trying to quarantine themselves while simultaneously look after you but they can't come too close,

then you feel both disgusting and you just want to be alone, basically. Yeah, I think the message to the carer because when you are the carer... Again, we're talking about cold and flu here. Okay, when you are looking after somebody who has a cold,

you want to just like, you know... Come on. No, that was the opposite actually. You slapped the plot. No, I was gently touching and saying, well done. Yes, come on and hug them and make them tea all the time. And you want to be useful because they're having such a rough time. Yeah, yeah.

And when you are the sick person, you're just like, get out. Yes. Leave me alone. I need to cough my flam up in peace. Go away. Because otherwise, you spend it, I spend my whole time going, oh, sorry. Oh, sorry about that sniff. Oh, sorry, I've just dropped down my nose.

Like, you feel so gross and unfit for human consumption. Especially tricky if you're in a relationship and it's just started When I first started going out with my boyfriend Within three weeks I had developed a boil the size of a hard boiled egg on my hip Oh my God, I remember that. Yes, I couldn't put trousers on because it was right on the waistband of the trousers I've never had a boil before, I didn't know what it was, I genuinely thought it was some sort of tumour kept going to the doctors and they kept going, yes, you need to come back when it's exploded

And I was like, are you joking? Didn't I want him to lance it and you wouldn't let me? Yes, because I didn't feel that you were a medical professional. I'm a medical professional and I don't know why you won't get on board with that. I want to lander boyle. I cannot think of a better job than being a professional boil lancor. I can't tell you how disgusting it is. I know. I love it.

It's bad. If I could be somebody who just like burst those people's spots on their back for a living, that would be my ideal job. Very difficult for me to get on board with that. I got drunk in the end and lanced it accidentally myself in my housemate's pants that I was wearing. Because I'm going to be much. That's not, that's not lancing it. accenting, that's just you smashing it open.

Yeah, I skimmed the top off with my backpack. And woke up covered in fluids. Disgusting. It was totally awful and absolutely gross. But the point is that the main thing about it was like I was trying to conduct this very early stages relationship. Be sexy, sexy, sexy time while unable to put my trousers on. And when we spent time together, it would have to be, I'd have to have pulled a bit my trousers down and be sort of, what's the word?

What? Fane. Fanning my boil. No, putting like hot compresses onto my boil. A poultice. Yes. Which is difficult, it's just difficult to appear attractive. Hard to keep the spark alive, isn't it, during the poultis? The poultis period. Maybe it made your love stronger. It possibly did, who's to say, maybe it would be better if I hadn't have had a lot, a large boil. You know, I don't know. Yes, I think it's crucial. But before we get into it, let's do our adult things this week. I would like to go first because mine involves a bit of audio.

Do it. Me and Tessa, if you may have heard, there's been some adverts that we've been recording that you might hear at, you know, sort of beginning, the middle and the end of each podcast. And we recorded them in Edinburgh and I thought it was quite grown up. But I wanted to share today a section of one of the adverts that we tried to record while in a cupboard under a duvet in Tess's flat in Edinburgh. where Tesla has a problem saying a particular acronym and it's probably the funniest thing I've ever heard.

Okay, here we go. Should I just play it to you, so you have some kind of, because it is, it's genuinely brilliant. Also, crucially, Radiant Lift Foundation has FPS. Also, crucially, Radiant Lift Foundation has FPS 30 in it. SPF. SPF. What is it?

Sun protection factor. You're so wise. Thank you. I think you should keep it in. Also, crucially, Radiant Lift Foundation has FPF 30. SPS! I like it, it's great. Okay.

Think of the sun when you say the first bit. What am I saying? FPF every time. Okay. All the days. Right. It has in it. No, you can't sound.

Right. Stop sounding mad. Okay, crucially, guys. You sound mad again. Reset. Reset. Remember like, also, Crucially, Radiant Lift Foundation has FPF.

Oh my God. Also, crucially, Radiant Lift Foundation. You sound like you're having a heart attack. Right. Reset again. SPF. SPF. SPS. SPS.

Also, crucially, Radiant Lift Foundation has SPF. Also, crucially, Radiant Lift Foundation. Also, crucially, Radiant Lift Foundation has SPF 30. So you can't. SPF. Also, also, crucially, Radent Lift Foundation has FPP.

It's got, guys, it's got song cream in it. Okay? You can't say sun cream. Also, crucially, Radin Lift Foundation has sun cream in it. It's FPF 30, so you don't know. It's got it, it's got it in it. It's not clear you say FPM? SPF. Oh, it's wonderful.

Oh, dear me. That was my most adult thing that I did, which I guess was just have a fun time listening to you try and say SPF. What's yours? That's great. Thank you.

Truly, I don't. Honestly, I haven't got one. You must. Well, you've turned up today and you're sick. Thank you. That's adult. Yes, I'm here. You're on time? I'm dressed.

Yes. And not the maddest. You look absolutely fine. Like, you're wearing a normal outfit, which I did not anticipate. No, I look a bit like a peasant, but... No, you don't like a peasant. I think you've just got... Thank you.

No, you look like you're wearing a very normal outfit. Oh, God. I... I took a lot of... of stuff back to Primark today. So this is incredibly adult. Yeah, that's not bad, is it? Yeah, that's great.

You did returns while you're ill. Yeah. I took back all the cheerleading uniform from Prom Night. We got to do this show in Edinburgh called Max and Aband's Prom Night and there was a cheerleading team

and I found everybody costumes in Primark. It was my dream. I lived my dream very hard and then I made everyone give me them back and then I took them back. And you successfully got... Well, there were these white, white polo necks, and I washed them, took the tags off,

washed them, put the tags back on again, took them back to Primap. Please don't, don't tempt me to jail, Primer. That's great. I'm very publicly saying the thing I did. But yeah, and I took them back. Well done. Yeah, I felt great about it.

That's what you get, and you're ill. That's the crucial thing. Like, I would not... I struggle to do that when well, so that's really great that you did that when in. Well, this I think is... I think this is maybe even the first place to begin. this discussion. Let's get in.

Let's get in a blanket and get in here with me. Getting this hot, hot, is don't do it. Don't. Don't go to Primark. Don't try and go to Primark. Okay. Because I was like, well, I've got this time. I'm having a down day anyway. Yeah. I'm not doing anything else. I'll try and get all this stuff done. Yeah. And I was a mistake.

You were a mistake is what you just said. I was a mistake. I was a mistake. No. Yes, but I agree. It's a mistake. And because when you're sick, you're like, oh, just potter around and I'll do these small activities and whatever and I think the number the number one thing is accepting that you actually can't do any of the things and it would be best if you just lay down again and we've got such a broken attitude I think to like powering through oh my god yeah and I think only in the last couple of years if I started working in a workplace where people were like go do not be here please leave leave that's great so so you don't

transmit to your bug. Do you make everybody else sick? And I'm very sorry if I make you sick. That's okay. I've chosen to be here. That's so brave. Also we're not going to get off with each other this time. Oh, well, why did it come in then? I promised that.

Yeah, and I was like, what a refreshing attitude than being like, if you even are the hint of being sick. And I think we had this to all like, power through, get a coffee and ender nurse and get through the, let's do it. Whereas actually you need to be like, no, just pause. It would be so much better just to take the whole, however many, the 24 hours and be very still and get up and be better afterwards than continue to be sick for a long time.

I think a lot of people like to wait until someone goes, you shouldn't be in. Yes. That's actually, when I was working in offices, that was basically what I thought was the protocol. Yes. So I would wait until I looked like death and it infected at least seven people. then I'd be sent home. And then, by the time, I, then like the next day,

when I woke up, I was probably better again. And so I'd actually ended up working through all the sick bit and then actually getting, like, and you're like, this is ridiculous. I should have, I would have been better so much quicker if I hadn't struggled, you know. It's such a thing, isn't it, waiting to be told to go home?

Like, you want to be sent home because then you're like, well, then I'm truly ill. And somebody said, I couldn't work, but I'm such a brave soldier. Whereas just announcing that you're sick feels like that you've puttied out and you're like... I always feel like I'm lying when I'm sick.

Like when I... Especially, because as a freelancer as well, like, so last year I did three months in the same office. It was a lovely place. And I got ill, is in winter, so I got ill for like maybe like four days. And I was like, no, I'm going to say I'm ill because if I don't, this could actually stretch on.

And then, you know, I'm losing money. I'm only supposed to be there for three months. This doesn't look good. But I, the guilt was so much that I ended up going back into work when I shouldn't have done because I'm just like, I can't,

I feel like I'm lying. I feel like I'm pulling a sickie because, well, look, I got out of bed today. I could have got out of bed and gone to work. And you're like, no, that's not how it works.

Like, it's, you shouldn't, you are contagious. Yeah. Stay away. Yes, go away, please.

Go away, and I think everyone just means we need to universally reset our attitude on illness. Yeah. And they're like, oh, you're a whim and you're weak and,

you know, like, it doesn't help as well that most people, like, this whole kind of like snowflake situation where in the back of my mind I just think about all those all those people who are like

I went through the war you're a snowman and you're like yes but you're this whole like stiff up a lip thing is why we have so many problems in our society now I think everyone needs to reassess here and be like if you are in a workforce you know that you are an employee you just have to step back

for a second and be like look this is more helpful look honey look honey I'm looking after number one here I've got to be well and I cannot perform at the job that you pay me to do 100% if you don't let you let me go home and be sick. And if you work for yourself and therefore you're like,

I'm losing money every day that I don't do this and they have to power through, but it will be so much more detrimental for you to be sick and shit for 10 days. And it would be if you take one or two days off completely and be ready to go for the next eight and for makeup that time. Like better that. Absolutely. I agree. Absolutely. I know.

I know we all. And that's the thing I think we all know it. It's such a hard thing to like to put into practice. To put into practice. There's the other side as well, which I think is what Florian, and her angle is as well, is that like, it's quite hard to be, to take a sick day or take like three in a row and not go out of your mind with boredom. Yeah.

So I'm often, I'm like you in terms, I mean, I don't take things back to Primark, but I'll try and like do work or I'll try and, yeah, like, I'll just try and do stuff because I'll just be sober and then you end up even more sick and then you end up having to take more time off. And I think that's an important thing as well, like how to relax, just to, just, to, stop because if you feel crap and you're alone and you've got nothing to do because you can't really do anything I don't understand how no it's so hard I have been a little bit going out of my mind yeah and like how long have you been sick for five hours no but go on seriously um maybe three

four I'm going up to day four I think uh that's gross I haven't been on my own and I have been travelling I've been coming home from Edinburgh so I'm not a plane and everything with this so I've been very busy which is nice but yeah Like last night, I went to bed really early and then didn't, I went to bed at like 9 o'clock and then didn't really sleep about three. So I just was sort of like in the bed. And you can't, you know, it's not like, ooh, I'm in my bed. Because when you're well and you're in bed, you're like, oh, what a treat. Like, ooh, I'm in my bed.

Tonight I got to go to my own bed. I got an old bed. Ooh, nothing to do. In my bed. Remember, I watched the news. Whatever. But when you're sick, you're like, I can't do anything. I can't read anything.

I can't focus. I can't focus. And I'm all the wrong temperature. and everything hurts. So it's not at all nice. Yeah. And it feels like, you know, rest is wasted on the sick. Absolutely.

It's not a pleasant thing to try and do and you have to do it. And lying there knowing that you have to go to sleep to, like, help your body. I found doing online food shopping really great when you're sick. Oh, that's a lovely thing to do. Because it's just enough concentration because it's like a thing that you'll be getting, like a little present for yourself. And then also you can do that thing. I mean, I tried to do some research about like,

what to do when you're sick. I mean, it's all like, you know, eat clean. And you're like, oh, suck my dick. Like, when you've got a cold, like, you absolutely, you want to eat, yeah, eat healthily. But then also, get some cake in, get us a birthday cake, mate. Absolutely. Or so you can't really taste anything anyway.

It has to be quite extreme. I have curries a lot when I'm ill because it clears my sinus. I had a Byron milk shake for dinner last night. I mean, amazing. So, like, this is the sort of vitamins and minerals that you need to be getting into your body. But like if you can offset it with like, like you're having now a smoothie, like to make sure you've had, you know, you've got in your five a day,

which means you can also have chocolate, have popcorn, have some stuff. And doing a food shop is quite nice because it's just the right amount of concentration. And it's like a fun thing that you're doing. And it's like, and you have a license often, you know, when you're doing food shopping normally, it's like, okay, what do I need for, well, I suppose I have to be healthy or like, oh, I should make sure like, but this you're just like, what do I want to eat in the day? I'm going to be in all day. the food is my only fun point

so that's absolutely go to town on it. That and the other thing that I do which I found helpful is things like basically very similar to what I'm travelling things like puzzles and games because and you just got something so I and I don't know what games to play

so I've WhatsApp friends being like what's like a really simple but like quite addictive game I cannot stop playing that would be great and then just played that there was a really nice one that was on House of Cards where you get a little girl around these weird like Escher paintings up and that's really fun.

Anyway, point is, puzzles and games is your friend. And the less kind of like, eh, eh, than the better. The more chilled out, the better. Even that noise has sent me spirally. It's awful. It's basically pretend that you're like

an old person in a retirement home who's like, yeah, okay, great, I've got loads of time. Or a, or a, like a baby. A baby that's just been born. Yeah, that you would give like soft, soothing colours. Yeah. Nice games to make the synapses work. Like simple, get in a nappy.

No one needs to be going to the bathroom when they're ill. Piss yourself. Please scratch that bit. Don't do that bit, guys. Day four. Day four. Try to piss myself. Because I have been watching, and this was a huge mistake.

I've been watching Orange is the New Black. Okay. And I've been watching most of season seven where... It's a season seven. I know, it's astonishing, isn't it? And... Or maybe it's season six. I don't know where we are.

Either way, the final season, the current... Whatever. The most recent one. I'm so sorry. And I woke up in the night thinking I was in a maximum security prison. And I was like, oh, baby, this has got to stop. Have you watched The Good Place? No.

Oh, yes, I have. Yeah. That would be my ideal, sick one because it's like 20 minutes long episodes. Yeah. Season two is better than season one. Just gets better and better. It's so great. And it's just so easy to watch.

Good Place is a great example. Orange is a New Black. What a fantastic show. Do not watch it while you're sick. because it's way too intense and you because I was thinking like but it's so

it's a show like just please just entertain me give it to me I don't care but I was like no I'm living it way too hard it's very intense and it's very stressful

and I honestly woke up in the night had been asleep and there was like a banging next door that was next door's drain pipe but I honestly was like it's sea block

I'm trapped in a gang warfare and then maximum security prison it took me a while to be like oh yeah I'm not in prison oh my god last time I got flu I tried to watch narcos No

I got about a minute in It was like Absolutely not No way Otherwise you're like living that stress Of being like Oh what and you're like What am I going to do

With all this cocaine I've got on me And you're like Oh no wait I don't have any cocaine on me Thank God Thank God Yeah Yes

The thing of like It always comes back to perspective Doesn't it And I feel like Having the perspective of So when I don't want to When I like have a say I haven't done any exercise in ages

and I'm like I should go for a run just to do something nice for myself I'll look at all the reasons why going for a run is really good and then I'd be like okay yeah I can do that 20 minutes I can do that and it makes me feel a lot better about doing it relaxing is a similar thing like if I'm panicking about I feel like

it's quite hard to just relax but there are so many amazing articles about like the importance of relaxing and what it does to your brain and how useful it is for healing your body like reading loads of those things will make you be like like, yeah, I'm not going to go to Primark because there are no articles about how great

going to Primark is in my body, because it's awful. And like, reiterating the usefulness of what you're doing and how relaxing is a task in and of itself. That is a really good point because I think it's very hard once you're sick. You're just so angry at yourself that you got sick. And I're like, here's this downtime.

And I don't want this downtime. I've got things to do. And I'm furious. Whereas really, if you're like, oh, okay, let's take the benefits I can from this downtime. I'm just regrouping and resetting my body. And I got sick because I wasn't quite well enough. So I'm now getting, this is for a reason. Yeah.

Is your body telling you to stop for a bit? Exactly telling me rather than that sort of furious. Yeah. Because you do like, when I've been really, oh great. And I hope you do it at home too. When I am really busy or too busy, I sort of fantasize sometimes about just getting a cold.

because then I'm like, oh my God, then I'll have a reason to just stop. And then when you do, you don't even think about it. You just, again, you're furious being like, what got lots to do? And you're like, actually, everything that you have to do can be postponed by two days. Literally everything. That is the thing. It's such a horrible, like a horrible, maybe catch-22. That if you, when you're well and someone says, like, I've been in bed all day,

watching oranges in the new black, you're like, that sounds like the most delicious day in the world. Yes. I've been out here busy and furious. Whereas when you're sick and you have to go through it, you're like, It's not fun in here. Like it's not nice. I'm not having a nice time. You have to make it nice.

Like a retreat. Yeah. See it as like a, like your body is basically sent to you on a retreat. Your body's sending you on a retreat. It's free. There's nothing you can do. Your body will decide when you're allowed to leave the retreat. There's not very much you can do about that.

So you just have to sort of wait for your time to be up. Much like a maximum security prison. Oh no. You can try and, you can try and get your sentence down for good behavior. But there's ultimately, you ultimately just have to do. do your time, keep your nose clean. Try not to get into too much territorial gang warfare. What would you do if you went to prison?

What would you make your currency? Oh, wow, okay. What did I make my currency? I think I would like attend to... I could tell this was more of a... No. I was just trying to help and say... I know, I know.

I'm kidding, go on. Like, what would you have that... It was yours to trade. Give me an example and then I'll. Well, so one, you can like... My body! Yeah, number one, your body. Sure.

Option. Or like you can be, you know, you can traffic in the drugs or you, mine would be, or like a skills, mine I think would be like trying to teach or do something. Oh, yeah, that would be nice. That would be what I'd be on. I'd put on shows. Fantastic, Stevie. What would you want to the shows be on?

Oh, comedy shows. That's lovely I did. And I'd all would do plays like Maritzeld. And, yeah, and then I'd get everyone to like have roles and tend. masks and then put it on for the prison guards. That's fantastic. No, the other inmates. I think prison guards would be fun because then that would create prison guard prisoner bonding.

Listen, if you spend as much time in maximum security as I have, you'll know that that impact. It's not going to happen. That bonding does not exist. Okay, either that or my body. That's a really great idea. Maybe, maybe I'll come in on the storytelling. Maybe that's what else.

Great. People bring me like a snickers and I tell them a good story. Option. That's harder to sell in, but I get it. Yeah. It's hard for me to make my niche as soon as I got to the prison. Yes, I think you'd have to build up to it. Yeah, build up to it.

Build up to it. But back to being sick. Certainly. Sure. What is your thoughts on calling not sick people for chats? Pointless. Pointless. Okay.

I've got... Scrap. Pointless. Pointless. Tell me your thoughts on it. I mean, I've never done it because I don't call anybody. But I do a lot of WhatsApping. And I think that that, like, sort of similarly when I'm at a job, like yesterday or the day before, I think it was, when I was a job and I was quite bored.

And so, and they hadn't given me any work to do in like three hours. So I just, like, hello, hello, and just started to cut off stupid conversations with people. So people and memes, see what came back? I think a phone call is too much because I have not got anything to give. That's true. And also, what would I do if someone who sounded like shit called me? Yeah. Like that's even worse than a normal phone call.

Yeah. If imagine if I called you out of the balloon and was like, I'm sick. And you'd be like, oh my God. What do you want? What's the wrong? Yeah, WhatsApp's fine. I haven't got the energy for this shit.

Whereas WhatsApp, yeah. And also in the middle of the night when I was awake last night, I have friends from around the globe. Sure. I have a number of friends who in the last six months have left the country.

And so a couple of people I know are on a different time zone. Love that. And so they were the ones I messaged Actually, the conversations did not last very long because I tired of it. But it's just nice to be like, oh, someone's awake and someone's, you know. Yes, because I think you can, the bad thing is if you end up equating social media with that. And you end up scrolling through Instagram and seeing loads of people who are out and about not ill.

And it compounds the FOMO so much. Whereas the WhatsApp thing is like a better way of doing that. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Instagram and Twitter have been too much. I've been like trying to go on them just like distract myself for the night. And it's too overwhelming. Horrible. And like, and equally, like, haven't been able to read either.

So I think probably the go-to, as I'm reading is sort of like, a magical murder mystery, sure. Sure, everyone. I think maybe a book that you know and like. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Just get, and pick anywhere in that, just open it. Or any of them.

Yeah, pick anywhere, any chapter, open it at random, crack on. Maybe Lord of the Rings, isn't it? Yeah, Lord of the Rings, like, you won't make, something that you know already, you won't make it very far through before. you lose interest or you can't do it anymore. So, you know. Yeah, you just want the equivalent of a literary hug. Oh, that's exactly right.

Yeah. A literary hug. J.K. Rowling hugs me. I'm, I started reading one, one, two, three, four. And now I've got to four, Harry Potter four. They've got up a fire. And then I've stalled with the fifth one because I feel like it's too long. That was my least favorite book.

But I'm going to, I'm going to get on it. The Order of the Phoenix. There's a whole bit about Hagrid's brother and you're like, Do not give a shit. Yeah, you're absolutely right. That is where she, like, it would have been, that was like, yeah. It needed a hefty edit,

and I don't think anyone was willing to edit it. Thank you. Thank you for saying it. Someone said it, am I right? Thank you for saying it. Right, column on it. That's exactly right. It just branched off into so many weird places

that you were like, what is this? Yes. And actually, you got back on track, I thought. But then there's like stuff with, like, Dumbledore's sister. Oh, yeah. That's painting that's down, you walk down an alleyway and found his brother. Yeah.

Sorry. Early Voldemort and his parents. Yeah, don't need it. We were like, what is this? Yeah, get out. So you mentioned another tip that I read about and also I feel like it's a good one. You mentioned you tried to get back into doing some jobs, doing some work. Yeah.

As in doing some tasks, essentially. And I feel like that is, yeah, no, don't do that. But there's a possibility of still like maintaining a little foot in the normal world by doing some low-level admin. Please. Emails. And even if that takes you like all day to do. Like if you're like, oh, I'm supposed to, you know, get in touch with that person about that thing. And you just haven't.

You can spend all day just drafting an email at your leisure. Yeah. But then try and like complete like two things per day that you're like, that's good and will further my world. Yes. Rather than, so you don't feel like you're in full stasis, which is that that's the problem that I have. I'm just like, well, that's a whole day gone by where I haven't furthered my career. Yes. You know, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Not that I'm constantly furthering my career. But, you know what I mean? Suddenly you're like, the way. wasted time, even though I waste a lot of my time. Exactly. Exactly. I think it's the wasted time being, it's the compulsory waste of time. No one likes to be told what to do.

No. And I was thinking like if, if you have like a more extreme sick, like, but extreme sort of short term sick, like food poisoning or something. Oh, God. That is just awful. And you are, you're sort of completely checked out. Yeah, you don't care about work. You just need to stop shitting yourself. Exactly.

You're so far gone that, yeah, stopping shitting is your total focus. So there's no sort of like, I wonder if I can do a little task today. You're like, my little task is don't shit again. So like it's much more sort of, not that it's more bearable. My little task is don't shit. I'm really sure. Wednesday, don't shit. Don't shit.

Because it's more extreme and shorter term. It's not that in any way it's like any kind of sick is better or worse than another kind, but it's a different kind whereas this like exhausting just like endurance is like, because you've still got your brain. You still got a brain and you still just feel so cross with yourself that you, and I think just making I think making peace is such a massive one to do early on

and even though I'm like saying it I still don't feel I can do it and also to like tell people if people like are waiting on work from you whatever or you're sort of in charge to just tell people and be like I'm not very well I'll be up and running in a day but just so you know

rather than trying to like plow through everything and being cross with yourself and I think no one really has that leisure of being like, oh, just take a few days off and no one will even notice. Yeah, there's such a huge difference between just taking some days off for yourself and being, and you're, you're snot forcing you to.

Yeah. It's such a, it's because you just don't want to be told what to do. No. No. No. So I've been reading up a bit about it, about things, the sort of irrational, how irrational you can get when you're not well.

Yes. And obviously leaving the house, doing things, going for a walk, marvellous. but like me stood in the queue in primar today I thought I might kill a man I was and it's so like it was such a mistake to do

and it's such like you get so irrational and so cross and sick rage is a real thing and we should all be more aware of it and more forgiving of ourselves and not put ourselves in situations and not be like force ourselves to be like I refuse to be ill

I'm doing this thing like it will be you're going to have such a worse time like I give those things to prime up like it was not an emergency like I could have done it any time like I wanted to get it done but I'm still cross about it now yeah of course and you can't cope with

with smaller things so like yeah and like another day a long queue and a slow walking person or someone barging into you just wouldn't even really know it whereas now you will the red rage descends the red rage like the bus was like a four minutes slower than it should have been today and I was beside myself

absolutely beside myself and also the other thing was about when I was reading about it, it was so nice to hear people talking about the duvet and you're like war with the duvet and it's completely the wrong weight, the wrong temperature and just accepting that it's somebody wrote like, just accept that it's going to be the wrong temperature. Yes. And there isn't a better duvet somewhere in the house. There isn't a better thing that you can do now that's going to fix this. Yeah. Like, nothing will be good.

That's so true. I basically, when I mean, I basically like move from bed to sofa to chair. to like floor back to sofa to bed to just do that every hour in a circle and being like oh here's a plan

this will fix it be like it won't and so if you can just again like make that piece like just accept that actually it's not going to be nice anywhere and let go of that idea that you have any sort of control

or that anything will be nice there's oh that's uplifting there was um oh a lovely dose of optimism that's the one thing that does that one thing that my friend did tell me that helps with the temperature changing at night was that she has a hot water bottle

and then something out the fridge and then just alternates with that. Oh, that's a great idea. And then when the fridge thing is cold, she just goes to the fridge and swaps it. Also, during the heat wave, I woke up in bed with a bottle of prosceco because I'd been, like,

I've just been holding it to my heart because I was so hot. Just anything that's cold, that doesn't help. That's absolutely great. Yeah. Having it, that's so much more helpful than mine, being like, there is nothing good in the world. yeah um yes that's marvelous an ice pack in the bed with you a hot water bottle in the bed

just next just next to you so that then when it's the moment you're ready and then when it's the cold trade it up absolutely trade it up keep looking after yourself the worst thing is when you're ill and you swap your pillow over and you realize you only just swapped your pillow over so it's still worn both sides oh that is my least fave same with duvet with duvet with duvet I think it's even more upsetting because it's such an effort and there's always there's always someone in in the bed with me. So when I swapped the do-va, but they're like,

what are you doing? And then I've swapped it, and then I realised that I did it about five minutes ago. My housemate, who has been looking after me, went to get me, make a flannel,

and then couldn't find a flannel in the house. So he put some pants, his own pants in the freezer. That's so great. That is so wonderful. Thank you. Just resourceful, finding some things to help.

Yeah, and actually that was marvelous. Yeah. Having a thing on your forehead, makes the world of difference. Yes. Having something to like hold you in. Yes. Forehead, chest. Yeah. Wrists. Back of neck. Back of neck. I didn't even think about that.

That's great. So hopefully that helped. If you're sick or if you know someone who's sick, direct them to this podcast. Sorry, you've often been sending us great suggestions and we have been listening to them. It's just we've been a little bit all over the place because we went to the Edinburgh Fringe and then we're back. Tess was sick. But now it's back on. We're doing every Tuesday. We're going to work through your ideas. and thank you so much for your emails. We do read them.

So, yes, email us at NobodyPanick. Yes, and we are working through all those suggestions. We are. We promise. Promise. We promise. Nobody Panic Podcast at gmail.com. Tweet me at Stevie M.

The S is a 5. At Teser Coates. Or at Nobody Panic Pod. And we're doing a live podcast next Saturday. I think it's sold out, but if you get in touch with King's Place, there might be some seats available. Go on our Twitter. We've got all the links and stuff there,

but we're going to do some more in the. future so don't worry if you've missed out it's fine amazing have a great week guys my uplift I just want to uplift I just want to uplift us out of here oh my god please and say get a lucasade get a lucasade that's it right no as in like you know all that's the thing like we can't give you any more tips you know all the stuff yeah take the medicine take the medicine take the medicine drink more water have more sleep like you know all the things to do all the things and have a lovely lucasade and pretend your mum has said you can't go to school and you have to learn on the Mine's warm ribina.

Just get... Oh, I actually bought some cowpole for myself. Oh, that's fine. Just do whatever it is your mum did. Some baby medicine. Yeah. Because it'll work. And, yeah, have a good week.

And get better soon. Get better soon. Bye. Bye.