Comments on: Being sick and feeling guilty http://www.apartment2024.com/2008/12/05/being-sick-and-feeling-guilty/ An old-fashioned personal blog, currently featuring a photo a day. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:08:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jess http://www.apartment2024.com/2008/12/05/being-sick-and-feeling-guilty/#comment-2793 Jess Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:39:12 +0000 http://www.apartment2024.com/?p=1115#comment-2793 I get a ton of sick days from work so I am pretty generous with allowing myself a mental health day here and there. Plus there is seldom a work emergency at the library so I don't feel too badly about it. This is Jess from the potluck, just stopping by to say hello. Looking forward to your demo on Tuesday. I get a ton of sick days from work so I am pretty generous with allowing myself a mental health day here and there. Plus there is seldom a work emergency at the library so I don’t feel too badly about it.

This is Jess from the potluck, just stopping by to say hello. Looking forward to your demo on Tuesday.

]]> By: Fran http://www.apartment2024.com/2008/12/05/being-sick-and-feeling-guilty/#comment-2792 Fran Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:35:25 +0000 http://www.apartment2024.com/?p=1115#comment-2792 With teaching it is a little different: being out of school usually means EXTRA work - planning lessons and sending them in to school and then grading extra papers because if you don't tell the substitute to COLLECT the papers, many students won't do the work assigned. And then catching up with the things that you just COULDN'T cover in the curriculum by telling a sub to teach them. Most subs can't teach physics. So I rely on Day-Quil and sleeping a lot while I AM at home, and I only stay home if I'm feeling really horrible. Day-Quil (the kind with pseudoephedrine that you have to show your drivers license to the pharmacist to buy) is really powerful stuff! With teaching it is a little different: being out of school usually means EXTRA work – planning lessons and sending them in to school and then grading extra papers because if you don’t tell the substitute to COLLECT the papers, many students won’t do the work assigned. And then catching up with the things that you just COULDN’T cover in the curriculum by telling a sub to teach them. Most subs can’t teach physics. So I rely on Day-Quil and sleeping a lot while I AM at home, and I only stay home if I’m feeling really horrible.
Day-Quil (the kind with pseudoephedrine that you have to show your drivers license to the pharmacist to buy) is really powerful stuff!

]]> By: Michelle http://www.apartment2024.com/2008/12/05/being-sick-and-feeling-guilty/#comment-2791 Michelle Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:35:47 +0000 http://www.apartment2024.com/?p=1115#comment-2791 There's always the sense of passing on some important obligation that will cause others to have to do our work for us. I have realized, in the course of my life, that the following things hold true: 1) Sometimes you get sick (don't hear the alarm go off; get stuck in traffic; insert thing beyond your control of your choice). 2) This happens to everyone. The people who say it's never happened to them are lying and deserve a flat tire. 3) Apologize twice and bring in a treat, and then move on. If you must develop prolonged hangups about causing inconvenience, allow yourself 10 minutes by the clock, after which you get back to work. The residual guilt thing causes mopiness, which is just a bugger. :-) (It's one of those things - one puts more time into thinking about it than anyone else.) There’s always the sense of passing on some important obligation that will cause others to have to do our work for us. I have realized, in the course of my life, that the following things hold true:

1) Sometimes you get sick (don’t hear the alarm go off; get stuck in traffic; insert thing beyond your control of your choice).
2) This happens to everyone. The people who say it’s never happened to them are lying and deserve a flat tire.
3) Apologize twice and bring in a treat, and then move on. If you must develop prolonged hangups about causing inconvenience, allow yourself 10 minutes by the clock, after which you get back to work. The residual guilt thing causes mopiness, which is just a bugger. :-) (It’s one of those things – one puts more time into thinking about it than anyone else.)

]]> By: yoko http://www.apartment2024.com/2008/12/05/being-sick-and-feeling-guilty/#comment-2790 yoko Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:18:39 +0000 http://www.apartment2024.com/?p=1115#comment-2790 I used to go to work sick unless I was barely conscious. I stopped doing that when a workaholic co-worker of mine would come into work sick and I would catch whatever she had every time. Everyone in the office would tell her to go home and get better, but she felt guilty for not doing her job, and would make herself worse by pushing herself so much. Nowadays, given that I've been seriously ill recently, I actually call out of work if I have even a hint of something wrong. I don't abuse my sick days (I still have so many banked at this point), but I don't beat myself up if I have to take a day off. Giving myself some rest is always a good thing. There is nothing we do in our jobs that can't wait a day until we get over a cold. No one wants to be around someone who's sick, either. Being kind to yourself by taking care of yourself is always a good thing-- I wouldn't feel guilty about that. I used to go to work sick unless I was barely conscious. I stopped doing that when a workaholic co-worker of mine would come into work sick and I would catch whatever she had every time. Everyone in the office would tell her to go home and get better, but she felt guilty for not doing her job, and would make herself worse by pushing herself so much.

Nowadays, given that I’ve been seriously ill recently, I actually call out of work if I have even a hint of something wrong. I don’t abuse my sick days (I still have so many banked at this point), but I don’t beat myself up if I have to take a day off. Giving myself some rest is always a good thing.

There is nothing we do in our jobs that can’t wait a day until we get over a cold. No one wants to be around someone who’s sick, either. Being kind to yourself by taking care of yourself is always a good thing– I wouldn’t feel guilty about that.

]]> By: Erin http://www.apartment2024.com/2008/12/05/being-sick-and-feeling-guilty/#comment-2789 Erin Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:54:39 +0000 http://www.apartment2024.com/?p=1115#comment-2789 I had a serious case of "school-itis" as well when I was younger. It would always mysteriously clear up as soon as the school bus had pulled away from our house without me. Hmm...imagine that... I think you really need to cut yourself some slack. I can't imagine anyone thinking that you aren't pulling your own weight at work. When you're sick you're sick and guilt of any kind shouldn't even come into the equation. Personally I sometimes hope to be sick so that I don't actually have to go into the office. Pretty twisted, right? See. I'm a much worse employee than you could ever aspire to be ;) So take it easy, get well, and be kind to yourself. After all, as many wise people have pointed out to me over the years: guilt is a wasted emotion. I had a serious case of “school-itis” as well when I was younger. It would always mysteriously clear up as soon as the school bus had pulled away from our house without me. Hmm…imagine that…

I think you really need to cut yourself some slack. I can’t imagine anyone thinking that you aren’t pulling your own weight at work. When you’re sick you’re sick and guilt of any kind shouldn’t even come into the equation. Personally I sometimes hope to be sick so that I don’t actually have to go into the office. Pretty twisted, right? See. I’m a much worse employee than you could ever aspire to be ;) So take it easy, get well, and be kind to yourself. After all, as many wise people have pointed out to me over the years: guilt is a wasted emotion.

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