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Can you remember times when you had multiple colds in a row or that one cold that just didn’t want to go away? Or you got injured, then went back to work too early, only to end up prolonging the healing process? We are all so busy in our lives. And falling ill often seems like an annoying hindrance. Yet it is so important for us to give our body the time it needs to recharge. How else do we want to be able to sustain long-term energy in this marathon called life?
Over the years, there were many instances when I refused to listen to what my body was trying to tell me.
I remember, living in Macau and Hong Kong, and working backstage for shows and events. I was always exhausted. Never gave myself enough time to properly recuperate from anything.
And this, coupled with the immense air pollution of the area led to the worst pneumonia I have ever experienced.
I was out cold for 4 weeks and could barely muster the strength to take those 5 steps to go from my bed to the bathroom.
Another tough example that comes to mind was when I worked in Malta. Here there was heavy air pollution again. Plus, humidity and mold everywhere. Plus, a work environment with 3 shifts covering 24 hours a day. During which we all shared our workstations which were never sanitized well enough.
During the first 4 months I caught 11 colds. And I never gave myself enough recovery time. Because it was hell to try and get a doctor’s note. You had to sit in crowded waiting rooms for hours, almost falling out of your chair with exhaustion. Only to get a few ineffective pills. Unfortunately, our company didn’t accept anyone staying at home even for just 1 day without a note.
So, more often than not, I rather dragged myself to work instead of exposing myself to that excruciating waiting room experience.
After those first 4 months, I had to travel to London on business.
It was in the middle of the first night during my stay there that I woke up with incredible chest pain. The more I moved the more I felt like daggers were being stabbed into my heart.
I called a cab, somehow made it downstairs to the hotel lobby, and somehow found the strength to wheeze, “Please take me to the nearest hospital. I think I’m having a heart attack.”
At Charing Cross Hospital in London, I was immediately rushed into the intensive care ward, where I was monitored for the next few hours and had visits from several heart surgeons and their teams.
It was like a friendly yet profoundly disquieting invasion.
Thankfully, it turned out I did not have a heart attack. They all agreed that instead, I had caught something called Pericardia. An inflammation of the tissue around the heart. Which causes so much pain that it can indeed feel like a heart attack.
The doctor’s asked me if I had been ill often recently. And I said, “Yes, I had multiple colds these last few months.” To which they responded, “This is the most common cause for Pericardia. Your body didn’t get enough rest from the sound of it. And you never fully recovered from each cold. This put enormous pressure on your entire body, including your heart. Try in future to be more careful and aware and give yourself the rest you need.”
I was 40 years old at the time and it was a terrifying experience. For a while there, I had been sure that this was it. I was toast. And my life was going to end in Charing Cross Hospital at a very young age.
Ever since then, I’ve been more careful. And so should you be. Especially if you work in an industry, like the entertainment industry, where we are often understaffed and where it feels often almost impossible to leave one’s post.
I am now working in an office. And often in home office. However, don’t be fooled. Home office doesn’t mean less work. It’s rather the opposite.
It is so easy when you are in the comfort of your own home to just keep working. It is so easy to forget to take breaks or even to forget to eat.
And all of a sudden you look at your watch and you’re like, “Oops, I’ve already worked for 10 hours straight without a break.”
Also, when you fall ill, I find home office makes it much harder – yet again – to allow your body the rest and recuperation time it deserves.
When your workstation is at home it is so easy to work through a bad cold, fever, or even Covid. I’ve done it myself and have witnessed my colleagues many times falling into this trap, too.
You end up thinking, “I don’t want to burden my teammates. It’s ok, I’m at home. I’ll just drink a lot of ginger tea and take a nap in my lunch break. I’ll be able to push through.”
And you do. Push through. But you have denied your body the rest it so desperately needed to really recuperate and recharge.
And in the end this is disadvantageous for both you and your company. Because the better you look after yourself, the more energy you can dedicate to your work long-term.
Not to mention that working whilst ill and producing top results at the same time is an almost impossible feat to accomplish. The quality of your work will to some extent suffer from your reduced physical and mental capacity.
There is no shame in having to miss work every now and then. Remember, your body is your home. It’s the only one you’ve got. Take care of that home. Treat and maintain it well.
Because life’s a marathon of sorts, but it’s not a race. And you can’t win a marathon if you’re constantly running with pebbles in your shoes. You need to stop from time to time, to take out a pebble. Or you’ll end up being exhausted and breathless long before the finish line.
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Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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