I just want to catch a chill and be in bed for a few days - is that odd ?

[rainbowsandclouds18]

the kind where you have goose bumps even though you have a temperature and feel really warm yet your body is still shivering.

I can then hide away in bed for a few days with a hot water bottle and recoup from general life and all the pressures on me.

Definitely odd,to want to be ill! Who wants to be ill.

Not at all. As unpleasant as it is to be sick it is so nice to just be able to laze around in bed all day with no feelings of guilt!

Sounds like heaven! I sometimes think this too! Not seriously ill! And just 24hrs please….

Oh go, no! I hate that shivery/fever feeling, I find it really painful for some reason.

However, a couple of days hidden away in bed does sound good right now..

I do know the feeling.

@rainbowsandclouds18 Can you not just pretend to have a chill and stay in bed anyway? Maybe uttering the odd 'ooh, I feel so cold' and cuddling up with a hot water bottle under the duvet? Is the actual 'being ill' bit essential?

I couldn't just stay in bed all day without a valid reason. A chill & aches would mean lots of long hot deep baths, a hot water bottle in bed, loads of sleeping, lots of tea/hot drinks (MADE FOR ME) and maybe a film in bed. I could only do this while the weather is so cold, grey, dull & wet. Never out of choice in the Summer.

You sound like you just need a rest. Is it possible to just go to bed with a hot water bottle without being disturbed?

I know what you mean - you feel you need an excuse.

But can't being overwhelmed and needing to recover a little bit from general life pressures be enough? If you don't take a break now you really WILL get ill.

Be very careful what you wish for, OP!

This actually happened to me last week but I felt wayyyyy too unwell to enjoy any of it. I couldn't get warm - trembling violently for hours beneath a winter-weight quilt with a fleece dressing-gown on top of it, feet like blocks of ice - and after a hellish night's non-sleep with a painful sore throat I was only sludgily conscious for much of the following day.

By coincidence, DH had that day off work so I was plentifully supplied with cups of tea and OTC medicines. When I did finally manage to get up and make my wobbly way downstairs in search of something to eat, he did his best to be helpful but drove me completely mad. I could scarcely swallow, let alone answer his constant bloody questions! - "Would you like a sandwich? ...Ham or cheese? ...Do you want it cut into two pieces or four? ...Square or triangular? ...And a banana? ...What about a jaffa cake?" He was like Mrs Doyle on acid!

The feeling of relief when realising a fever has hit and you can just drop everything for a few days... totally relate!

However, I now retreat to my bed/bath whenever I feel the need and anyone who objects can jog right on

Not odd.

I have fantasies about breaking some kind of minor foot bone than will mean can't walk or drive for a few weeks, but cause no lasting pain or damage.

I sometimes felt like this when my children were still quite little. I think it’s because you don’t get a second to yourself and spend all your time nurturing others- sometimes you want to be the one that gets nurtured! And just to get some headspace really.

@Noicant Totally ! I need a break/rest from:
working 50 hours a week (not perm, but to the end of the year)
pressures from family & friends (all of whom I love dearly) who I try to make sure I set aside time to see everyone/fulfill everyone's needs but it leaves no time for me
running the house and doing it ALL
Life admin - keeping tabs on/making every appointment, school letters, DC clubs, DC needs, uniform washing, manging household finances, being DC taxi, having a never ending to-do list, food shopping (online but I book all the slots in advance and book as they come out so we can get our preferred slots), making sure we don't run out of things in the week including having easy dinner things in for unplanned DC friends coming back after school,
trying to fit exercise around a 50 hour working week

.. can I crawl into bed now ?!

I had a chest infection before Christmas and actually enjoyed having a few days in bed with no worries, and nothing to do.
I used to take a couple of days off work to stay in bed and do nothing a couple of times per year. Just getting up for food and straight back to work. The only reason I can't do it right now is because we have a dog to be walked lol.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads I can totally relate ! I could more than manage an injury for a few weeks. Stay at home, largely bed/sofa rest, no stresses (i.e. no working or maybe just light duties (I WAH) only/reduced hours on medical grounds but full pay still given) no going out out but could manage a trip to the local supermarket for a change of scenery or a quite pub in the eve. Only issue is that the house would fall to shit around me

Is having a day off sick due to mental health acceptable ? when nothing is physically wrong but you need a day to re-set before you hit burn out or a breakdown and are then potentially off for weeks/months

@magicstar1 I like your style

Trust me , you really, really don’t .
I’m just getting over Pneumonia. I have never been so poorly in my whole life.

Please don’t wish illness upon yourself.

I don’t really get this any more but def used to when the kids were little. But the few times I actually was ill, I remembered that being ill actually sucks and watching films made my eyes and head hurt … Maybe there’s some blissful compromise between too ill to get up but not too ill to enjoy rest and movies.

I wouldn't want a fever but always thought something that would actually stop you being able to type (for work) for a while would be nice.

Catch a chill sounds a bit 1890s. Can you take a day of annual leave to have a bit of a relax?

It’s very common, completely harmless escapism - it’s been coined ‘hospital fantasy’. The daily grind is oppressive for so many women so a bit of daydreaming about being ‘poorly’ in a delicate, romantic heroine way is absolutely understandable.

It’s so sad to read just how many women are burnt out for what you describe @rainbowsandclouds18
I got pounced on for calling it ‘mental load’ on MN 🙄 apparently we have to to put up and shut up or we have to wish we were ill to get a break.
What is your OH like?

I know exactly what you mean and have been feeling the same lately. It's because I have absolutely no downtime. I would really love a week off to lounge around in bed, get some stuff done around the house, maybe do a day trip. But I can't, because all my holiday goes on covering school holidays. So if I got just a little bit sick, I could at least go to bed and rest while my partner took over...

Needless to say I don't actually want to be ill. I hate being ill. I just want to lie down without feeling guilty.

I had 4 kids under 6 at one point. I used to day dream about getting the sort of illness that didn't hurt too much but which meant I could get a couple of days in a lovely quiet hospital room, suddenly without preparation so DH would actually have to experience the wifework.