How to soothe feverish, coughing, stuffed-up nights

Ever tried getting through the night when you been laid up with the flu or a bad cold?

Remember what it feels like when you lie down? You can hardly breathe, your head aches, fever is giving you the chills or sweats… and that cough!! Even with the best medications, you’re still feeling sick.

And all you want to do is rest. You’re not only exhausted, but you also know it will speed up the healing process.

That was me, last week. Sick, sad, lonely, and cranky. I knew I had to rest. But ugh, I didn’t want to deal with my body even to try. Instead, I distracted myself with solitaire games or episodes of Parks and Recreation. After a while I was too tired even to do that.

Time to face the music, and go to bed

Yes, it was past time for bed, but I dreaded it because I was all stuffed up. No nighttime cold concoction was in

When you’re all stuffed up

Many doctors say moderate fever is good for you—it helps your body fight off infection and it activates your immune system. Even acetaminophen or other NSAIDS (like Advil) may not knock all the fever down.

So, what can you do when you’re chilled, achy, or burning up?

• Relax your body, from the top down.
• Then imagine those flu bugs keeling over from the heat.
• When you accept the fever instead of fighting it, you can rest more easily.

When your head and sinuses hurt

The initial response is to tense against pain, which doesn’t help. Instead, dive into it with another healing visualization.

Start with relaxing as much as possible. Then try this image, which works well for many of my clients:

• Imagine tiny, healing elves (or fairies, doctors, nurses, whatever you’d like) magically entering your sinuses .
• They spray colored light or liquid which dissolves the congestion.
• When they hit a really blocked spot, they turn up the pressure or even buzz it out with tiny jackhammers.

You’d be surprised at how much this not only helps you rest, but also heals you physically.

When you’re coughing

Coughs are like itches—demanding attention no matter how often you scratch. When your cough still bothers you once you’ve treated it, how do you rest?

Well, instead of diving into the sensation like you did with your sinuses, put your attention somewhere else. Focus on a part of the body far away—like the toes, and imagine each one relaxing.

And here’s something you don’t usually do in Restful Insomnia—but useful when you’re sick and want to rest. Put your attention outside your body, by lightly engaging your mind or imagination:

• Design a craft project
• Figure out what to plant in your garden.
• Count backwards from 17,598 by 17(!).

You’d be surprised that when you’re not irked at your body’s irritations, it does what it wants to do—you know, to rest.

Gratitude

Gratitude balances the loneliness and sadness—if that’s as true for you as it was for me when I was sick. Maybe you can be grateful that:

• You remember the cold will end, instead of being a long-term issue.
• You found some chicken soup in the freezer.
• Even though it’s a crappy time to be sick, next week would be worse.
• Your fever came down to 99, and you can hobble down to make your own tea.

Gratitude helps you remember that being sick isn’t the only lens through which to see your life.

Come back to rest

Yes, sleeping when you have a cold is the best way to pass the time and heal. But… as you know, that’s not always an option. So practice rest, and keep returning to it. Rest and drowsiness are healing, too.

For me, my fever did finally break, and I recovered my energy several days later. No, my website isn’t done and I still have a cough, but you know, that’s the way it is, even if I don’t like it. I’m just glad I’m ready now to do something other than watch Parks and Recreation.