# You're sick. Want company? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 16, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859 "2013-04-16T19:27:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/41 "2013-04-17T09:52:58Z")
> [@iftheresaway](#): > > Seriously, am I the only sicko who wants company? I am a complete toddler when I’m sick. I want someone to rub my back, fetch my drinks, and cuddle me. My husband is a " don’t touch me!" guy, and we spent the first couple of years of our marriage getting butthurt when the other person was doing sickness “wrong”. That’s why I started this thread; we are you guys. And all this time I thought my extreme “leave me alone” attitude was the strange one! ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/42 "2013-04-17T10:46:44Z")
I want someone to bring me food if I’m hungry and leave me the hell alone apart from that. You can be in the dwelling, but don’t bug me. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/43 "2013-04-17T10:56:15Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > I would like to be offered whatever (soup, sympathy) and _then_ left alone. > [@overlyverbose](#): > > Dammit - I expect you to magically appear whenever it pops into my head that I want water and to immediately go away and clean the whole house for me. Is that too much to ask (because, seriously, that’s what I want)? 🙂 These. We find an old fashioned bell on the bedside table works well, but I feel like a total ass using it. But it’s the best way to summon assistance and yet not have him popping his head in and waking me up every half hour. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/44 "2013-04-17T10:59:52Z")
What I really want when I’m sick (tho it’s been a while since I’ve had more than a cold – _knocks on wood–_) is to be left alone but have someone, aka my husband, do the chores for me. As much as I hate being hovered over, I’ll take that if I don’t have to get up and feed dogs, cats, and horses, run laundry, get the trash to the road, do dishes etc… ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/45 "2013-04-17T13:18:39Z")
Fussing, hovering over, pestering…I don’t think anyone likes these things. But I don’t want to be left all alone. I want my hubby and my dog to come and check on me from time to time. Because sometimes I am so pathetically sickly that I will be lying in bed, on the verge of tears because I want aspirin/juice/soup, etc, and forgot to bring it up with me! Not wanting to get up from my warm bed and go downstairs into the cold pantry, I’ll just stay there thinking about it forever. Being pathetic, feeling crap. I am always grateful to NOT be all alone when I’m sick. Especially when there is someone who loves me and goes out of their way to assist me and fill my every wish, even tolerate my grumpy self. One of life’s finest blessings in my book! ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/46 "2013-04-17T13:24:21Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Fussing, hovering over, pestering…I don’t think anyone likes these things. But I don’t want to be left all alone. > > I want my hubby and my dog to come and check on me from time to time. Because sometimes I am so pathetically sickly that I will be lying in bed, on the verge of tears because I want aspirin/juice/soup, etc, and forgot to bring it up with me! Not wanting to get up from my warm bed and go downstairs into the cold pantry, I’ll just stay there thinking about it forever. Being pathetic, feeling crap. > > I am always grateful to NOT be all alone when I’m sick. Especially when there is someone who loves me and goes out of their way to assist me and fill my every wish, even tolerate my grumpy self. One of life’s finest blessings in my book! Same here :nodding: My husband, actually, is a very good nurse. He’ll fetch things, feed/walk the dog, help you to the bathroom if you’re dizzy, clean up your mess if you make one without complaint. He’ll also leave you alone if you explicitly tell him to, but he will pop in for a look-see every so often just to make sure you’re still breathing. ---
**Author:** ![Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obnoxious_Hood_Ornament)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/47 "2013-04-17T14:08:23Z")
I had the flu many years ago, and was stuck at home all by myself for an entire week. Believe me, that was most unpleasant. I now appreciate a little attention, but for the most part when I’m sick I just want to sleep it off. Throw a blanket and a couple of cats on top of me and I’m good for 6-8 hours. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/48 "2013-04-17T14:49:44Z")
I really enjoy getting “pampered” I guess when I am sick, by a person I love. I also love doing the same. In fact, when I am single and sick, it is perhaps the strongest reminder of my single-ness and I get pretty sad. When I am in a relationship and I get sick, it is a reminder of how happy I am to be with someone. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/49 "2013-04-17T14:59:27Z")
Let me die in peace. While I do that, you take the dog out and feed the cats so _they_ will let me die in peace. Also do anything else that is urgent without me having to get up and remind you. I’m dying in here! ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/50 "2013-04-17T15:19:41Z")
I benefit from some forms of attention but I tend to withdraw and immerse myself in various trivial activities to keep my mind off how I feel. It’s one of the few times I might actually watch TV if I had TV. (I do tend to go on the computer and read message boards a lot instead). I’ve annoyed previous girlfriends by not being very interested in answering questions about what she could do for me (hot tea, fluff pillow, bring me cough drops, make me lunch) or acting very grateful. But I don’t precisely need to be left alone, just need to have my withdrawing sick-self tolerated for not being very interactive. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/51 "2013-04-17T16:10:04Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I want to be left alone, and this is the biggest reason I could never move back to India. Why is that related, you ask? > > Because if you are sick in India 500 people will come to your house, each with their own cold recipe. “Drink ginger tea,” one will say. “No, drink warm mil.” “Warm milk! Warm milk is for babies. Drink black tea.” > > And so on. And they will fight with each other. And argue. And you are expected to allow them to come in all the time. > > Nope. LEAVE ME ALONE. My parents will fuss over me if I’m at their house, but everyone else leaves me alone( or doesn’t even find out) when I’m sick. Maybe this is because I can be fairly misanthropic even when healthy. I suspect your experiences were more because you were visiting from Amrika, and that calls for special attention 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/52 "2013-04-17T16:59:48Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > I have decided this is one of the truest tests of whether someone is an introvert or an extrovert. If someone is an introvert, even if they’re really social and good with people in everyday life, as soon as they’re sick or hurting, they want to be ALONE. This makes perfect sense. The definition of “introvert” is not someone who avoids people, but one who needs alone time to recharge. An extrovert leaves a loud, crowded party feeling invigorated. An introvert leaves exhausted. A psychpath leaves carnage. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/53 "2013-04-17T17:30:36Z")
I live alone but in a community of loving and caring people who I have trained to leave me the heck alone when I am ill. Like today, for example. My sinus infection has flared up (again) and the Benadrl is zoning me out. I doubt I’d be a very coherent host if anyone came over. The fact that I actually typed this post is rather interesting. I certainly could not have verbally articulated it properly. And by ‘trained’ I mean with a whip, chair and sometimes fire. ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/54 "2013-04-17T18:01:09Z")
I must not get sick like the rest of you. I have only ever had to be in bed once from sickness, when I had a very high fever could barely move and that was over in one night. I don’t recall having any particularly strong feelings about being alone one way or the other. The first couple of hours or so after I got home from work, I slept on the couch. I don’t really recall where my wife was at that point. Then I went to bed and I think my wife laid in bed beside me and read, but I would have been perfectly content if she had gone downstairs. When I am normal sick (coughing, sneezing, sore throat, headache, etc.) I do the same things I do normally and work from home. I can’t stand laying in bed all day just because I have a sore throat. Heck, even when I had mono I was up and moving… Just not breathing well. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/55 "2013-04-17T19:44:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I on the other hand want left alone until I am well. Any attempt to pamper me is just an aggravation. My illness is chronic depression – I like to talk to people online. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/56 "2013-04-17T19:49:09Z")
> [@iftheresaway](#): > > Seriously, am I the only sicko who wants company? I am a complete toddler when I’m sick. I want someone to rub my back, fetch my drinks, and cuddle me. My husband is a " don’t touch me!" guy, and we spent the first couple of years of our marriage getting butthurt when the other person was doing sickness “wrong”. My SO wants company. He wants to revel in his sickness. He is a complete toddler when he is sick, as you say…I try and take care of him but after a while I just wanna be like SUCK IT UP PRINCESS. > [@bldysabba](#): > > My parents will fuss over me if I’m at their house, but everyone else leaves me alone( or doesn’t even find out) when I’m sick. Maybe this is because I can be fairly misanthropic even when healthy. I suspect your experiences were more because you were visiting from Amrika, and that calls for special attention Nah, I never got sick while in India. This is just stories related from my family when they got sick, and also we’d go and visit people who were sick and give them our cold remedies. ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/57 "2013-04-17T21:57:38Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Nah, I never got sick while in India. :eek: How is that possible? ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/58 "2013-04-17T22:11:52Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > Leave me alone for the most part but be close enough that when I groan/whimper for something you can hear me and have said item available to hand to me before fading into the background once more. Exactly! ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/59 "2013-04-18T00:37:18Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > If I have a bad headache, or **especially** a migraine though, (and people who don’t get real, legit migraines do not understand the hell they are) **I will stab you if you bother me**. Yes, this. If I have a migraine (I know \*exactly \*what they are, **Jragon** ), then just leave me the hell alone. It’d be best if you leave the house, because any noise you make will bother me. This 1920s house has crappy insulation and you can hear everything going on in every room, and I can hear you watching TV and talking to the cats downstairs and it’s bothering me, trust me. If I’m just regular sick, then you can stay in the house, but still, leave me alone. You can come check on me every so often and see if I need something, but for the most part, leave me alone. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859/60 "2013-04-18T01:23:28Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > Leave me alone for the most part but be close enough that when I groan/whimper for something you can hear me and have said item available to hand to me before fading into the background once more. Yes, me too. That’s a nice luxury. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-sick-want-company/655859.md?page=4)