On Physical and Mental Health

I've been physically unwell the past few days. I think it's just some kind of cough-cold-virus thing, nothing major, but it's had a pretty big effect on me. Lots and lots of awful coughing, perpetually feeling cold despite many layers, headache, being unable to sleep due to cough/cold, loss of appetite and generally feeling very unmotivated and lacking energy.

I've been dealing with it the best I can- I've been off sixth form for the past two days, and can take more time off if it doesn't get better. Instead, I've been spending the time resting and watching TV and doing sudoku. I guess I've been making the best of a bad situation.

The thing that strikes me most, though, is the interaction between my mental health and my physical health. I noticed a distinct drop in my mood last week, which I connected to an increase in feelings of exhaustion; now, I'm guessing that's linked to the beginning of getting ill. My mood has been good when I've been busy and distracted, but has been low otherwise, and it's been frustrating, to say the least. I think it's largely due to the exhaustion and lack of energy that comes with being ill- for one, I end up in a vicious cycle, where being exhausted makes anxiety worse, and anxiety makes exhaustion worse; for another, I think generally being tired has a massive effect on my overall mental health, in all areas.

In addition, I've been housebound for two days, and have largely kept to my room. As a pretty sociable person, this always has a big effect on how I feel; and having no energy to do anything means that I haven't done anything, which is another big impactor.

One of the main issues, though, is working out what's coming from where. I know I found it difficult to have a shower today- was that because of the virus, or because of my mental health? I'm finding it difficult to let people in at the moment, and am feeling very distant and weird about people- is this due to feeling grotty, or due to my mind trying to push people away? There's a number of things I can apply the same style of questioning too, and to be honest I'm not too sure on any of the answers.

For now, I'm just really really hoping that this clears soon, and that I start feeling better. I've got things to do! People to see! I don't have time to feel this awful!