Right now I’m experiencing various worrying symptoms: strong nausea, a slightly sore throat, possibly even a fever. But here’s the thing, I don’t actually admit it, I’m not going to do anything about it, and why? Well, that’s exactly what I asked myself just a couple of minutes ago.
Just how many times do you hear your colleges/co-workers/classmates complain about terrible headaches? You can’t actually tell that they’re having a headache by just looking at them, they’ll have to tell you that they have one. Complaining about it is a deliberate action.
By admitting (and accentuating) symptoms, you accomplish various goals. Most notably, you can decide that you are “incapable of doing any work”, and thus, excuse yourself from any work that might cross your path.
The reason why I don’t go around telling people how bad I feel is because I am aware that I have to finish the tasks I’m assigned to, that I wish to complete them, and thus, I don’t have the urge to tell everyone about my nausea.
So basically, unless you’re actually dying, admitting your symptoms to others means, more or less, that you’re simply being lazy.
So go back to work.