I got my 2nd stripe… on a RAT tesT.

I caught THE spicey cough a few weeks back, the most politicised and publicized illness in human history. We now live in a strange time, specifically with respect to ‘health.’ We have never had a better understanding of the human body and mind then we do today, and the same will be true tomorrow, and every other day after that. But we, in the western world, have never been more physically or mentally unwell. The last 2 years simply poured fuel on an already blazing fire. I struggle to imagine how these last few years will be viewed 50 years from now, when all the dust has truly settled. . .

Something I’ve always found interesting about this illness, apart from its PR and marketing team, is how vastly different peoples experiences seem to be. From nothing, to death, and literally everything in between.

As a clinical physiologist, I have always enjoyed solving complex health problems. As such I felt my insights into this experience might be worth trying to get in order. If you know me, you know I can talk (sorry friends, family, and clients), but writing, this is the hardest form of expression for me.

I feel it is important to point out that my insights are derived not only from 10 years working and studying the world of ‘health,’ but from attempting to practice what I preach. This is an important distinction to make in the field of ‘health’ these days, especially when we look around at those claiming to be experts in the field.

After a youth spent playing high level rugby my body was beat up, by the time I was 22 I was in some serious pain. Now at 32, I’m fortunate enough to be able to participate in Submission Grappling at a high level (including the strength, conditioning and recovery required to literally keep your body together) and practice yoga regularly (including the breath-work, mindfulness, and meditation of this practice). Then, for fun, I like to go bouldering (indoor rock climbing) and practice free-diving drills at a local pool.

I’m not saying this to big note myself, I’m saying it to point out that I have worked through some pain and discomfort and clearly enjoy stressing out both my body and mind (in a wide spectrum of ways). This can only be done and maintained if you’re in good shape and when I got the cough, I was in close to the best shape of my life.

So, here it is, my reflection on the spicey cough.

Now I don’t think I’m overstepping here to state that for some, catching the cough was a stressful experience.

And stress, is an interesting subject in today’s day and age. Some think it is really bad and should be avoided entirely, while others are genuinely addicted to it. Sounds almost like a drug, right?

Stress is like most things; the answer is somewhere in the middle (or the right dose). It’s not good, nor bad, it’s what you do with it that determines the outcome. By voluntarily exposing yourself to a variety of stressors, it’s understandable to believe you can improve the base line ‘skill’ of stress. This is what I work on with some clients - be it children with autism/ADHD, or professional fighters. We learn and develop the ‘skill of the stress’. This requires discipline and a bit of courage – two qualities that seem to have evaporated from our culture.

The stress of my symptoms was interesting. I had a very minor runny nose/cough, but rather severe pain in my body, particularly around the rib cage/behind my eyes/upper sinus, and I was quite lethargic. It was a strange, ‘nervy,’ type pain too, with the outside of my ribs sensitive to touch. I just felt inflamed everywhere, but worse in those aforementioned areas.

Now in the absolute sea of fuckery surrounding the spicey cough, one thing I tried to understand was the pathophysiology of the virus itself. What is happening under the hood when the virus gets its hooks in a bit (or spikes in this case).

As we’ve understood more in health over the years, some things have simplified. For example, the root cause in many illnesses seem to be the location and severity of inflammation. This virus is no different. It has these spike proteins on its outer surface and as it floats around our system it starts to damage cells, which the virus then hijacks to make more of itself: Viral Replication 101.

This chain of events triggers an inflammatory response which can become destructive. This response is trying to clean up the mess, however, when our immune system goes overboard things can get worse – think ‘autoimmune diseases’ as long-term example of this process going astray. Our body’s reaction, or over-reaction, to this novel-virus seemed to be problematic.

The stress this puts on our system can lead to strokes, heart attack, and organ failure. It makes sense when you consider the fact (which is no-longer deemed misinformation) that those who are obese, or with co-morbidities, have had worse outcomes.

When you carry excess body fat (adipose tissue), that results in an increased baseline inflammation – the more adipose tissue, the higher the baseline. And if, to go along with this, your kidneys are only functioning at 30%? Or you have a narrowing in one of the arteries of your heart? Then we run into serious problems when the ‘inflammatory storm’ this illness can be, comes to town.

We then must consider the ‘healthy young individuals’ having a hard time of it too. Less catastrophic issues (generally), more so intense fevers, headaches, pain, and respiratory distress. This wasn’t too surprising as many young people are pretty stressed out. Chronic stress can chew up your immune system. Younger people can’t seem regulate their nervous system and they all talk about mental illness as if they understand it. Often, they don’t. An awareness of something without genuine understanding is a great recipe for anxiety and disaster.

If you consider anxiety as your nervous system being on high alert from a threat, then consider the amount of fear porn rammed into everyone’s eyes and ears about this illness. It becomes less shocking to know an anxious young population who don’t exercise and spend too much time on screens, may have an over-zealous or fatigued immune system.

Circling back a bit: my symptoms were strange; unusual, like nothing I’ve felt before.

This is inherently anxiety inducing, as all our fears and anxieties live in the unknown. Fortunately, I was able to keep my heart rate low (parasympathetically dominant - rest/recover/repair vibes), keep my breath slow and expansive, and ride the waves of this illness somewhat okay.

During some of the worse moments I would simply try to sit still, in what would be perceived as meditation. I would sit on the back veranda where I’m surrounded by plants (which has an actual calming effect on our nervous system), put on some music and sit dead still for 20 minutes. Occasionally I would open my eyes to check in on the pace of my breath, which was roughly 13 seconds in/out through my nose. I felt I was then able to sit behind the discomfort of the illness and I felt okay. I wasn’t dying. Cool. My heart was slow and consistent. So was my breath. This calmed the anxiety of these strange symptoms as I knew my base was solid.

Sitting still when you feel like shit is hard. You want to distract yourself, drug yourself, sleep, and make it go away. And don’t get me wrong, lots of sleeping and PS4 was played, but taking the time to sit with discomfort, whatever it is from, was important in this healing process.

The spicey cough can be a mean virus, like all viruses. Ensuring your health is in order, establishing how you breathe, sleep, move and eat, will give the best chance to handle this virus and whatever others get thrown your way. Sitting still is an extension of the breath element, if we can control and extend our breath, we extend our window to respond, and expand our window of tolerance. Most importantly however, it settles our nervous system in a tangible way when done correctly.

Learning this firsthand in my own experience, I have found myself prescribing ‘stillness’ to clients more (with some additional focus/cues related to their specific concerns). The looks I get from clients - and ESPECIALLY parents of clients - is always entertaining.

This was probably the biggest take away for me from the cough. Can you sit still with discomfort? Maybe take a step back. Can you just sit still? For 5 min? What about 15?

Everyone needs to calm down, slow down, and sit still for a bit.