Man Flu

 I have had a cold for the last week or so, and I suspect it is man flu. 'Man flu' is a derisive term for the phenomenon of men over-reacting to minor illness. Apparently, there may be physiological reasons for why men appear to exaggerate the symptoms of a minor illness like a cold or a flu. Apparently, men have weaker immune symptoms than women. I am certain that I am susceptible to man flu, because when I get a cold, it puts me in a horrible mood, much worse than the symptoms warrant. And, I have written before about how colds are particularly annoying because you are indisposed but well enough to feel the full weight of your symptoms. I have never had a cold and not thought, at least for a brief while, that it would never go away. On more than a few occasions, the cold was brought on by me doing vigorous exercise despite feeling under the weather. It has happened often enough that I should know better than to exercise when I am feeling a bit iffy. But, it is amazing what lengths people go to when faced with restlessness. And, the inevitable self-flagellation that follows the onset of sickness is par for the course.