Is being run down a physical thing?

[Itsgoodenough]

I have been extremely emotional this week about very small things. I've experienced lots of jealousy and stress and I'm hoping it will pass.

On Tuesday night, I had a horrible sore throat and thought a cold was on its way. Felt fine the next day but it has continued to return every night since. It's very painful and I'm struggling to swallow past 5pm. The pain is spreading to my head and keeping me up in the early hours.

I can't think what it is but both my partner and mum have said they think it's a symptom of being run down. Is this likely?

You can be emotionally ill as a pre-cursor to being physically ill - a virus or other.

Being emotionally unwell can make you more prone to being physically unwell.

If more than one person comes down with a physical ailment it is likely to be a virus.

Could you be perimenopausal?

Yes. If I say I'm 'run down' it's because I'm feeling exhausted, usually due to stretching myself too thinly between work, children and other things. I'll often succumb to viruses etc more easily than usual. So yes, very much 'a thing'.

Are you expressing the jealousy and stress? Eg talking, journalling? Because suppresses emotions can manifest as physical symptoms, and particularly with throat issues it could be your body wanting to express something. Colds/low immunity can also be a symptom of suppressed grief.

It's possible that stress could be behind it, affecting your facial, jaw and neck muscles. There are things like unconscious teeth grinding overnight that suggest that these areas can react without being under conscious control or intention. Look at diagrams of the nerves that go up from neck to parts of the head, the edges of the eye, or scalp - sometimes those paths can be followed and once the habit is there, it feels as if the paths are strengthened all the faster.

However, I have a horrible cold that's come out today after 3 days of similar sore throat, that were not nice but I felt ok enough to do normal things. Not so any more, though, so do rest up and distract yourself, ideally with some fresh air and body movement if you can.

It's all connected.

Agree. Sending love
It feels shitty when life is like this
For me the two come hand in hand

I often find I feel unwell when I'm run down. I work a lot of late and night shifts and have to juggle looking after the kids around them. I'll get up and feel like I'm coming down with something and then don't. I'm convinced it's just because I'm run down with everything I have to do.