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I often get sick after travelling, and it happened again. I spent the last few days cooped up in the house, reading and watching movies when the headache wasn't too bad and sleeping the rest of the time. By day 4 (yesterday) I was going a bit crazy. Usually I am not an impatient patient, but this time it wasn't even assuaged by the fact that I had permission to do nothing and sleep as much as I needed. I ate too many carbs, my skin was breaking out, the time passed very slowly and I didn't see or speak to anybody (which explains why I just had a conversation with my landlady's son that was pretty much just me blabbering incoherently, in a high-pitched voice).

Today I decided I'd been sick long enough (I also felt better) and that in order to get out of the post-illness funk I needed to act the way I wanted to feel (click to read Gretchen Rubin's Third Commandment). So I acted energetic. It really works. I also did some deep breathing to get rid of toxins and a tiny bit of yoga (five minutes).

But what helped me most to feel myself again was playing around with the illustrations I am working on. That meant not worrying about the outcome, just enjoying the colours -green was a good choice- and the meditative state that drawing lots of leaf-shapes close together brings.

After that I was cured and even went for a run. I burnt some nice incense and I cleaned every square centimetre of my floors and all the skirting boards (immensely satisfying). And I have something to look forward to: my older sister and her husband are coming today- this August is family month!