Permission to Feel

Last week was nothing but pure hell. It started with Drake, my 7-year-old son, after his karate class when he said, “Mommy, my body hurts.” Then, a deep 5-day fever quickly set in with all the accompanying lethargy, depressed appetite, nasal discharge, cough, headache, etc. All I could do was keep him hydrated, give him herbs and supplements for acute immune support, provide lots of hot baths, rest, simply be there with him and most importantly, NOT do anything to interrupt his body’s healing process.

As expected, he got better and pulled through without any complications and then it hit me. Fuck.

Fuckity fuck fuck fuck. All my hard work: no sugar, no alcohol, 9 hours of sleep a night, restorative exercise, weekly floats, massage, acupuncture, supplements, herbs, etc and still, here I am – suffering.

Look, I need you to understand something about me: when I get sick, I get mad. Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know I have a chapter in my book devoted to being sick in peace, but that’s just a bunch of bullshit when my fever is 102 degrees.

So here I am moping around the house with a bottle of Broncafect under my arm, asking myself, “Can I EVER be sick and not be mad about it?” I mean, I teach people to celebrate acute illness. This is where the juice is! This is where the body heals! Your mucus membranes are rocking it! This is a sacred fucking space of self-care!

Embrace the pain.

Relish the rest.

Leave the world behind.

Stick it to the man.

And then I had an epiphany. What am I doing? I don’t need to make my anger wrong. We are complex human beings. We can hold more than one emotion at a given time.

I can be sick and rage about it.

I can be sick and cry.

I can be sick and grateful.

I can feel whatever I need to because that’s what’s there for me. It’s all good. And with that realization, I was free…to simply be sick in all of its horrendous glory. To let all the emotions just move through me and of course, to get in bed or watch another movie.

So next time you’re sick and angry (or anytime you’re making your emotions wrong), this is your permission slip: you can feel anything and everything all at the same time and that’s totally cool. You’re not wrong for it. You’re simply more human and more alive.

Be sick in peace, my friends…or not.

Love,

Charlotte

PS: I have two more things I want to share with you.

One is a short article from a hospital that addresses the myths and facts about fever. There is no reason to be scared of your or your child’s fever. Check this article out. I promise you’ll learn something! And then share it with a friend.

Second, try this next time you or someone in your family gets sick: the wet-sock treatment, also known as the warming sock treatment, is indicated for sore throat (or any inflammation or infection of the throat), neck pain, ear infection, headache, migraine, nasal congestion, upper respiratory infection, cough, bronchitis, and sinus infections and works best if repeated until you feel better.

Supplies

1 pair white cotton socks

1 pair thick wool socks

Towel

Bowl large enough to hold soaking socks

Several ice cubes

Enough water to fill the bowl

Directions

Soak the cotton socks completely in the cold water. Wring the socks out thoroughly until they do not drip. Warm your feet. (This is very important! The treatment will not be effective and could be harmful if your feet are not warmed first.) Warming can be accomplished by soaking your feet in warm water or taking a warm bath for 5-10 minutes. Dry your feet and body with a dry towel. Put the cold wet socks on your feet first and pull the wool socks on top of them. Go directly to bed. Avoid getting chilled. Keep the socks on all night. You will find that the wet cotton socks will be dry in the morning and you may sleep better.

I purchased my wool socks online through The Vermont Country Store. As a side note, this is a great store for 100% cotton clothing. They are called 30-Below Merino Wool Socks. Here is the link.

The Wet-Sock Treatment came from The Metabolic Approach to Cancer: Integrating Deep Nutrition, the Ketogenic Diet, and Nontoxic Bio-Individualized Therapies by Dr Nasha Winters and Jess Higgins Kelly, p169. Great book.

I did this the entire time Drake was sick, as well as for myself. I know the whole thing sounds strange but it works. Try it.

Thanks for reading and “see” ya next week!