Protecting your health without hurting people’s feelings
Hi! I wanted to ask how to go about creating boundaries to protect your health without making others uncomfortable. I know my health should be a priority (and it is) but I have been in situation where I was overly nice about my boundaries (example: not being around sick children) and people have gotten offended. I have also been in opposition situation where I have more leeway (example: let people be in my personal space) and the other person is extremely cognizant of my condition so they back away themselves. I have been told by people that I offend them and make them feel “gross” or “disgusting” by not wanting to do things like: share food/hold hands/be in close proximity - despite explaining that I am immunocompromised. I know that being around people is okay and that not every common cold will lead to a relapse. But it’s hard to create boundaries/communicate them when I am still managing my own health related anxieties. I don’t want to push people away by making them think I perceive them to be walking germs. Any advice?
@hannah7 Personally, you can't protect your health unless you take the necessary precautions like yearly vaccinations. The rest is up to luck. Maintaining a good eating regime, exercising, ensuring you get enough sleep, drink plenty of water, all the stuff they tell healthy people they should be doing is still relevant to us. The drugs we take reduce our immune system's response but it's not completely wiped out, and catching Covid, flu or a cold, isn't going to kill us if we have taken the necessary precautions. You can't avoid people and there are people out there who are a lot worse than us when it comes to avoiding infections (HIV, cancer patients, transplant patients). We are walking germs, a good percentage of the human body is made up of bacteria. Germs are all around us and have been for a very long time. Personally, I would stop worrying about what might happen and get on with life. I'm off to go jumping in muddy puddles, employing the 20 second rule when food hits the floor, mixing with sniffy, coughing commuters and looking forward to lots of hugs with my family at Christmas.