SOOO… I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog of late but for a very good reason.

I’ve been fighting the lurgy. As too has my husband and little Elsie. Yep, for the past week or so, our precious household has been under attack from germs a plenty.

Thankfully, we all seem to now be coming out on the other side and today, for the first time in about a week, I’m finally beginning to feel like my old self again. Hoorah to that!

It is of course though THAT time of year, when bugs strike and we fall ill from time to time. But when sickness strikes and you feel rotten, take heart. For good things can come out of feeling ill.

Don’t believe me?

Here are five good things that can come from being poorly.

You get to rest 

I’m always talking about how we all need to rest more and give ourselves a break, but I’m the first one to admit that this is also easier said than done.

However, when you’re ill, it becomes very hard to ignore the fact that every cell of your being is screaming at you to rest and so, most of us (the sensible ones at least) succumb to our weary bodies and take things much easier for a while.

It’s true that being forced to rest up because you’re ill can be incredibly annoying – especially when it ruins some amazing plans you may have – but it’s also our body’s way of telling us that enough is enough. So when your body just flat out refuses to get up and go, you my friends, should try and enjoy the rest.

It gives you precious thinking time

A pleasant knock on effect from being forced to rest, is that you also get to grab some ‘you’ time, to think and ponder. The key to using this thinking time productively, I find, is not to dwell on anything negative and to think positive instead.

Use your ‘poorly time’ to really think about your life, your relationships, your career or even make plans for the future. Is there a bad habit you know you need to break? Are you spending too much time with people who are emotionally draining and selfish? Have you been neglecting yourself?

Being ill is a great time to evaluate how you feel about all kind of things so use the time wisely to mull things over.

Instead of doing, you can enjoy just ‘being’

Rest and recuperation means just that, so if and when you do get ill, put your to-do list to the side and leave it there to gather dust for a while.

Let’s face it, when you’re sick, you just don’t feel up to doing the housework, writing that business proposal or putting up that shelf. So forget about them all for now. Stop doing and just be.

Now is the perfect time to curl up under a duvet with a giant stash of magazines, catch up on your favourite TV shows that you’ve  missed or snooze the day away in a tub full of bubbles.

The world can wait for a day or two for your presence, so take the time to catch your breath, enjoy the moment and get better.

You can eat whatever you like

Ok, so admittedly when you’re ill, eating is often the last thing you feel like doing. However you will need to keep your energy levels up and to do this, you need to drink lots of fluids and eat.

I find, that when I’m not well, the trick to making myself eat is to eat whatever I fancy. So whilst usually I try really hard to eat a healthy diet, when I’m poorly and my stomach is begging for a greasy cheese burger and a gigantic bar of chocolate, then I happily give in and indulge.

If you do find yourself craving wholesome soup and fruit, then even better. But if you like me, you only want the naughty foods when you’re poorly, don’t kick yourself because you feel like eating junk for a day or two.

Getting through illness is about surviving, which means doing whatever it takes to get better as soon as possible. So eat as much as you can (within reason obviously) of whatever you fancy and don’t worry if your healthy eating goes to a pot for a while.

***This rule also applies to early pregnancy too. When the sickness and nausea strikes just eat what you can. (For me, crackers and Dairylea were the only food I could stomach!)

It’s a great eye-opener when it comes to who cares (and who doesn’t)

It’s easy to be surrounded by plenty of friends when life is treating you well and you’re on a high. But it’s only when your chips are down or you feel at rock bottom, that you realise who your true friends are.

Sickness – like with other miserable life events – is a brilliant opportunity to identify who in your life truly cares about you. If you’re unsure about someone in your life, don’t look at how they treat you when you’re happy and having a good time, look instead at how they treat you when you’re ill, sad, in pain or are suffering.

The people who really care, who really love you and have your best interests at heart will be there to support you through the dark times whilst the others will magically disappear and reappear when you’re back to normal and fighting fit.

When it comes to figuring out people in your life, sickness can really open your eyes to those who care and those who don’t, so use the opportunity to identify the people that don’t treat you as you deserve.

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What do you think? Are there are any other positives to be gleamed from being ill? What other things can we learn about ourselves when sickness strikes?

Till the next time, have a wonderful (and germ free) weekend!

 Katie