Denial

[thesneezingbeauty]

Personally, I hate admitting that I'm sick to my parents. Hate it hate it hate it! Whenever I have a cold, I always deny it until I'm so stuffy that there's no denying it anymore. I mean, I'm not going to say "Doe Bob. I'b dot sigk" But whenever I can, I try to hide my illness from my parents. Consequently, I have a mental block about sneezing in front of them.

However, I have no problem admitting to my boyfriend that I'm sick, and I have no trouble sneezing in front of him. My fetish includes both care giving and care-receiving, so I guess that probably explains why I don't want to tell my parents.

Does anyone else have certain people that they feel comfortable telling? Am I just weird?

[alejandra xx]

Oh gosh, I thought I was the only one! I can't stand admitting I'm sick to anyone but close friends or SOs. I once went through an entire forensics* tournament with the flu just because I didn't want to tell anyone. Strangely, I think I did pretty well too...

*Just to clarify for the inevitable confused few, I mean the acting type of forensics, not the studying-dead-bodies type. xD

[Chanel_no5]

I can admit that I'm sick, but I do not wish to elaborate on my symptoms and such. I just retreat to my own place and keep to myself until I'm better. I never say "I have a cold" or "I have the sniffles", for example, I say "I'm not feeling well" or "I'm sick", because that feels more neutral to me. I can say "I have a temperature" as well, but I would never ever talk about the typical headcold symptoms with anyone. Except for here, of course.

ETA: Oh, but I kind of loved it when I came down the the flu (the swine edition ) and Sweetie was concerned about me. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Either that, or it was just the fever rising.

[Kiwifruit]

The ONLY person I'll admit to being sick to, past or present, is my boyfriend, unless, like you, it's absolutely undeniable

[Quills & Wells]

I hate admitting sickness to my parents, and I don't explain details of my sickness unless I'm talking to my best friend or my SO

[polychrome]

I try to just keep going and hope nobody notices - they rarely do. I do tell my husband though - because I can be a whiny little pest at home when I'm sick.

[Vetinari]

I honestly have difficulty telling anyone, and unless it's extreme, I can usually hide it so well that most people would never notice. It's sad really, I'd love nowadays to be able to talk about it .... but a lifetime of habitual embarrassment is hard to remove.

[Prodigy]

I don't tell anyone. I will go to great lengths to avoid being seen as sick, pathetic, weak, etc..

I don't even tell my husband. I wait for him to notice, or if he's being especially oblivious, I will whine until he realizes something's wrong.

[NoV]

Yep, I agree with pretty much all of the above posts. Hate admitting I'm sick to anyone as it just makes me feel pathetic. Also hate it when people notice I'm feeling ill and comment on it. Urgh!

[Sawyer]

I never tell anybody. I hide and deny it, and if I sound stuffy then I just avoid words with m's and n's when speaking and generally keep to myself/don't go out. If I don't feel well enough to go out, I just say that I'm dizzy or tired or my stomach hurts or something, instead of listing any cold symptoms or admitting to having a cold.

I haven't been sick in the 8.5 months I've been with my boyfriend, except for the time I caught his cold which I had no problem telling him. I've told him when I thought I was getting sick, more out of courtesy because I hate feeling contagious or being responsible for someone else's discomfort. But he said I was worth the risk of catching anything, which was sweet. So, I guess he's the only one I would actually tell. It's nice when he takes care of me, or worries about me. I'd definitely do the same for him.

[zneeze]

I'm more for not saying anything than flat out denial, myself. And I will tell very few people I'm sick.

[Sneezyhugsandkisses]

Not really I don't get sick that often but if I am ...I still go to school and such...and I just ignore it...I usually take care of myself even with my man I rather take care of him instead the other way around...I don't want to be dependent on anyone. :D

[Sneesee]

If I can hide it, I will. I prefer to never tell anyone I'm sick. Honestly, I don't have to worry about it that much since I don't get sick much at all anyway. But, there were a couple of times where I lost my voice, or it was so hoarse, I couldn't hide it. And then I had to admit to others I was sick. But generally, I like to keep it to myself and hopefully no one else will ever know.

[stevie_sloth]

I don't think I've admitted to being sick for the past...16 years to my parents!!! I am cool with it in front of my partner, and friends and work people to an extent...I'm ok at work unless I have symptoms. I don't want to sneeze or cough there much, so I tend to stay home longer than I really need to for that reason.

But my parents...when I lived with them (until I was almost 25 years old, and I'm 32 now), I just always hid my colds and coughs. I would NOT admit it ever, and I don't think they knew...I was never THAT stuffy...I'd talk in a slightly higher tone of voice and that tended to disguise any sick-sounding voice clues. I would never sneeze or sniff in front of them. I'd spend a lot of time in my room anyway, where I'd sneeze silently and blow my nose as quietly as possible all the time. I used to get 2 colds a year back then, always at much the same time of year too. And 1 of those colds would give me a chesty cough as well. When that happened, I'd always cough into my pillow. And I remember one time I had a particularly bad cough, and I had it for about 3 weeks, and whenever I was out somewhere with my mum, I'd take advantage of any brief moments when we weren't together and she couldn't see or hear me to cough as much as possible to get it all out before I knew I'd not be able to cough anymore.

[kilala]

Ugh, I absolutely hate admitting I'm sick to my parents, because they won't shut up about it. I avoid them as much as possible if I'm sick, and I absolutely will not sneeze. It makes me want to crawl under a rock if they realize it. I would do my best not to cough or sniff, and if I had to blow my nose I'd flush the toilet while I'm doing it to cover the sound. I don't mind telling other people, and I like to tell my SO and have him take care of me. Thankfully I never get sick so it's not a problem, I've never even had the flu, I get a cold maybe once a year, sometimes not even that often. Snce my eight months at the daycare, during which I stayed sick, and really sick too, my immune system got even stronger, so when I do get sick it's very mild and goes away in less than a week, which is fine with me because I hate being sick.

[cherry]

Woah, this topic makes me feel way better. I thought I was a total weirdo for being absolutely revolted by the idea of telling anyone I'm sick. The main reason I get irritable when I'm sick, even more so than just feeling miserable, is because I'm embarrassed and constantly on my toes trying not to let on about it. If it really comes down to the point where I have to say something (e.g. in order to avoid someone sharing my food or something like that) I just say my throat hurts and that's it. Luckily I get sick only once every 1~2 years but I freak out pretty hard if someone around me is sick because I don't want to get it.

[Vetinari]

I'm more for not saying anything than flat out denial, myself. And I will tell very few people I'm sick.

Yes, denial is probably the wrong word for me as well. If someone asked then I would admit it, I wouldn't lie ... though even that would be a horribly uncomfortable situation because I have not-mentioning down to such a fine art.

[Marshmallow Peep]

I never tell anyone if I'm sick with anything really. I'd just hide in my room and nap until I have something to do. That's pretty much my plan to avoid people figuring anything out.

[High on Lullabies]

Freely, to no-one except fellow fetishist friends who I think might enjoy knowing.

If it's to all intents and purposes undeniable i.e. I look and/or sound like death warmed up then I'll admit it to anyone who asks but do everything I can to shorten the conversation about it as trying to deny it in that situation would only draw more attention to it.

Same goes for days when allergies are bad too My parents don't even know I have them and that's how I plan on keeping it!

[The Random Lurker]

Depends on how sick I am. If it's mild then I just don't say anything to anyone. If it's more obvious I still wait for someone (usually my Mum) to mention something. I too won't deny anything but I certainly won't mention it first.

Like right now I have a cold, but it's pretty mild. Mostly sneezing and a sore throat but nothing too obvious. (On that note, if anyone can tall me how to unstick a sneeze it would so much appreciated it's not funny. I know there are threads on here about it but I can't find them. ^^

[Joe]

I absolutely hate admitting any kind of sneezy/sniffly illness to my family, I will hide (and have hidden!) colds for days on end before just so no one at home will mention it or talk about it.

Other than my family I don't really mind anybody knowing how sick I am. I mean, I won't start up a conversation by saying, "I'm sick and I can't stop sneezing!" or anything like that, but if someone asks if I have a cold then I won't deny it.

[snuffles]

After reading these replies, I must be the only person on this forum that this doesn't bother me in the slightest.

In fact, in my line of work (without me saying, think health care), I'm ethically not supposed to show up to work if I'm sick. So apologizing and explaining I'm sick comes rather natural. People are quite understanding, especially if I start going into details about symptoms and practically force me to stay home.

As far as family goes, I'm neutral to their sneezes and sneezy conversations. My parents and siblings are rather sneezy people imho. It doesn't bother me to tell them I'm sick and go into detail of it, especially if I want a favor.

The only thing I can't stand is that my mom sneezes into cupped hands and then proceeds to touch everything. I've scolded her about this and lectured her about germs (think health care) but she never remembers.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Usually try to hide it from parents as I always feel like it's somehow my fault I got sick, unless I think there really is something wrong because I'm silly and tend to rely on mother's medical knowledge.

Friends... usually don't really have a problem telling them really. S.O... if it means getting fussed over, don't mind telling at all.

[White Rose]

i am the same exact way!! i will NEVER admit it to my parents!! no matter how stuffed up i am. it can be so obvious and i'll still sit there and deny it. i just cant bring myself to say "i'm sick" to them. believe me, i've tried, but its like my mouth wont let me!

[count tiszula]

After reading these replies, I must be the only person on this forum that this doesn't bother me in the slightest.

As far as family goes, I'm neutral to their sneezes and sneezy conversations. My parents and siblings are rather sneezy people imho. It doesn't bother me to tell them I'm sick and go into detail of it, especially if I want a favor.

I was just struck by this, snuffles, because you are far from being alone. I think what we forget sometimes is that if someone starts a thread here everyone who agrees with it piles in, while those who don't , usually steer clear.

I have never had any problem telling family or friends that I have a cold or similar symptoms, in fact I am probably seen as a valetudinarian. This is all the odder as in more general terms I do hide the state of my health from my family because I do dislike them making a ludicrous fuss. In fact I'm not sure in what circumstances I do or don't hide things; but I certainly don't try and hide sneezes. Similarly, is it largely a matter of indifference to me if any of my family sneezes; in fact in the past I used to find it quite interesting in a generally non-sexual way.

But then, I wouldn't be intersted in their supposed hygiene or lack thereof either.