The Gifts of Being Sick: How Slowing Down Can Heal More Than Your Body
Have you had the pleasure of experiencing what I’m (not-so-affectionately) calling the Plague of Doom this winter? It’s quite the ride. I lost most of January to it—which is not exactly how I envisioned kicking off 2025.
Fresh off a restful vacation, I was ready to hit the ground running. Hard. Instead, at 2 a.m. on January 1st, I woke up with the telltale signs of sickness setting in—plus the worst headache of my life (just in case I wasn’t getting the message). My initial optimism—"I’ll fight this off in a weekend!"—quickly dissolved into three weeks of a fevered haze, complete with laryngitis and a cough so violent it cracked a rib. Just when I thought I was in the clear, pink eye joined the party, and by that point, I did the only logical thing left: I had an ugly cry.
And yet—from the very first raging headache, I knew this was a gift. No, that wasn’t my fever talking. Deep down, I knew this was my body’s way of saying:
"Would you just slow down? You’re not meant to do all this … right now."
Lesson One: Slowing Down is Non-Negotiable
Our bodies, wise beyond our conscious understanding, sometimes slam the brakes when we've ignored too many gentle warnings. Sickness doesn’t ask for permission. It doesn’t check your calendar or wait for a convenient moment. It simply takes over. And suddenly, all those "urgent" tasks and "critical" meetings reveal themselves for what they truly are—mostly optional.
This forced halt in our relentless pace carries wisdom we’d be foolish to ignore.
Lesson Two: Silence Brings Clarity
In the unusual stillness of sick days—when you're too exhausted to maintain your usual mental chatter—clarity sneaks in through the cracks.
Without the constant noise of doing, planning, and achieving, you might find yourself having unexpected revelations about your life, your relationships, or your priorities. These insights don’t arrive with fanfare. They settle in quietly, like dust motes in a sunbeam, finally visible when you’re still enough to notice.
Lesson Three: You’re Not as In Control as You Think (And That’s Okay)
Perhaps the hardest lesson of all: letting go of control.
When you’re forced to step back, you realize an uncomfortable truth: most things manage just fine without your constant attention. Colleagues handle problems. Friends understand your absence. Life moves forward. And often, it’s our perceived need to manage everything that creates stress in the first place.
Lesson Four: Deep Rest is a Gift
Not the hurried, insufficient sleep we usually grab between commitments. Not the mindless scrolling on the couch that we pretend is rest. Deep, restorative stillness. The kind that seeps into your bones and heals more than just your body.
This kind of rest resets your nervous system and reminds you what it feels like to simply be rather than do.
So when I finally started feeling better, I didn’t rush back to my normal workload. Instead, I did something I hadn’t done in forever:
✔️ I read books for the sheer joy of reading.
✔️ I watched Netflix.
✔️ I went to bed early and cuddled my dog.
I simply enjoyed being.
So Why Do We Wait Until We’re Sick to Slow Down?
Here’s the catch: we shouldn’t require the Plague of Doom to give ourselves permission to rest.
We can choose to bring these lessons into our daily lives—to schedule slow time before our bodies demand it. This might mean:
Blocking off entire weekends for “nothing.”
Practicing the art of saying no.
Building pauses into our days instead of waiting until burnout forces us to stop.
Easier said than done, right?
An Invitation (Before Your Body Sends One for You)
Rather than waiting for your next illness to reset, use mine as an invitation.
Step back and ask yourself:
What do you want to be doing in this moment? (Not what you think you should be.)
Which commitments would you actually miss if you gave them up?
Which obligations bring relief when they're temporarily lifted?
These observations can guide you toward a more sustainable pace of life—one where stillness and rest aren’t reserved for when you’re too sick to resist them.
And the next time you find yourself sick in bed, frustrated by the interruption to your carefully planned life?
Maybe, just maybe, it’s an invitation to remember this:
Sometimes, doing nothing is exactly what you need to do.
