# Stress Sucks **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 30, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stress-sucks/402182 "2007-04-30T17:14:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stress-sucks/402182/1 "2007-04-30T17:14:34Z")
Nothing new, I know. Once every couple of years, I catch a cold, it settles in my chest and becomes viral bronchitis. This always happens when I’m under a lot a stress, usually a one-two punch of exams at school and deadlines at work. (One of the downsides of working in academics while a part-time college student: overlapping time tables.) I felt a cold coming on last week; I even took a day off from work hoping that it would go away. The time off was useless because the cold stuck with me. Rather than miss more work, I went back while sick. To make things worse, I had agreed to help a friend pack for a move and kept the promise. By Sunday afternoon, I had the all-to familiar feelings of chest congestion and a persistent cough. Since I recently gave Mouse\_Spouse a lot of [grief about not seeing a doctor](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=418504&highlight=Gentlemen) , I took time off of work to go to the clinic. My suspicions were confirmed – the bronchitis was back. Now I have a note stating that I can’t return to the lab until Wednesday and got scolded for not taking care of myself. (Would I have been treated differently if I wasn’t pregnant? Maybe. Working yourself ill is not uncommon. Hell, I work with MDs and it’s next to \*impossible \* to get them to slow down when they’re sick!) I have **got** to learn to relax. (Again, no novel revelation.) It’s a beautiful spring day here. A better “sick” day could be spent on a hike somewhere. ☹