Based on my experience in recovering from a fairly major surgery, I have begun to think that "sickness behavior" as in behaving as the sick, is really a motivational state that is intended to help us cope with being ill. It fails to motivate us to do things that might help us heal, but it does seem to prevent actions that might harm us when we are in the vulnerable state of "being ill". All in all, being ill is a form of behavior that need not be so closely linked to how ill one is. One can go through life behaving ill without being ill. So much of this behavior is driven by inflammatory cytokines and inflammation that at least the early stages of infection or injury trigger an immune response that does induce slight depression is to be expected. But, how does it become chronic or long-lasting? Likely it is in the way it influences others to respond to you and your "ill behavior". You may grow to like the attention and help and assume a more ill behavior and make it last. I have a hard time convincing my wife, WW, to let me do whatever I need to have done. I want to do it myself and quickly get rid of sickness behavior. I know it is a natural state and am not criticizing those whose behavior is influenced by illness. But, there is a time for it to end.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 20:17:24 +0000
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