Every quarter we tell ourselves the same thing: “I will not get sick around midterms/finals.” This, however, always proves to fail as we inevitably catch a cold or flu thanks to the hundreds of sneezing and coughing students we are forced to share space with in our lecture halls. And if your roommate or best friend is sick? Forget it. You’ll be sick in no time flat. Here are the five stages we all go through upon getting hit with those first few symptoms of sickness.
Stage 1: Denial
You wake up with a sore throat and stuffy nose and the first thing you think to yourself is “there is no way I’m sick. It’s definitely just allergies.” This stage lasts until you’re ultimately hit with a sneezing/coughing fit, which is when the next stage kicks in.
Stage 2: The “Fix-it” Phase
This is when we all start panicking about being sick before our tests and do everything in our power to try and stop what has already begun. The amount of vitamins and Emergen-C consumed at this point is almost pitiful as it does practically nothing to stop the progress of the sickness.
Stage 3: Hysterics
This is the point where you can no longer deny that you are very sick and now very stressed out because midterms are here and being sick makes focusing way harder than it needs to be. All we want to do is sleep, but our responsibilities hover over us and make our pathetically sick selves reach an emotional breaking point.
Stage 4: Resignation
When you’ve passed the point of emotional hysterics, the next thing that happens is a small period of time where you don’t have the strength to study or fight the sickness, so we inevitably succumb to our fatigue and lay down with Netflix and hope that things will get better.
Stage 5: Acceptance and Healing
Usually, this comes after your roommate or friends tell you to basically suck it up and take some cold medicine. After accepting the tea and chicken soup (and medicine), it is easier to take the time to recover. Because let’s be real here: how well are you really going to do on that exam if you’re slowly dying?
Remember to stay healthy and take care of yourselves this cold/flu season Gauchos!