A friend and I were discussing our migraines. Horrid things; they totally wipe us out for the day.

After the pain has gone, we still have what is called a "migraine hangover." We feel weak, lethargic and shaky, with heads stuffed full of cotton wool. Thought processes seem to take twice as long as usual, and everything in the world seems distant and slightly unreal: we feel totally disconnected from everything.

What does that remind me of? Oh yes, it feels like having depression!

The difference with a migraine is that I know this has a physical cause and not a mental one. I know that the next day (hopefully) I will feel fine.

We think we can separate the mental and the physical, when the two are so closely interlinked as to be one entity. For those of us who acknowledge a spiritual dimension, I would argue that spirituality is linked to the mind and the body also.

So, where does the common cold come in?

A therapist friend of mine maintains that a cold is caused not simply by a virus, but by emotions. Cold viruses are, after all, ubiquitous, yet we do not always succumb. Sometimes everyone can drop around us, but we will remain healthy. Mothers often notice that they are the only ones in the family not to get a cold – although sometimes they will go down afterwards, when everyone else has recovered.

My friend holds that we succumb to colds when we feel damaged by a lot of small hurts, or when we feel overwhelmed by life. I cannot say about the small hurts, but I do know that I have noticed that I will have the thought, "I feel overwhelmed!" and that twenty minutes later I will feel that ominous tickle in my throat.

We all know how a cold makes us feel: tired, lethargic, miserable and yes, depressed…

I flew back from the States on Friday – a long haul flight with recycled air, which is an ideal breeding ground for viruses.

I came back to an overflowing in-tray, a pile of messages and a family who had obviously missed me (judging by the pile of laundry and the empty fridge and freezer); I feel overwhelmed.

Sure enough, there is a tickle in my throat and I have already sneezed three times.

But, there is hope. My therapist friend is an EFT practitioner. She recommends "tapping" to stop a cold in its tracks. She's even published a video about it and here's the link http://bit.ly/2N2qrS2 .

The nice thing about it is that she says you don't have to believe in it for it to work. Which is just as well, because I am hugely sceptical.

But – I've done it in the past, and it has worked. When I haven't tapped, I've got the cold.

So, excuse me here. My fuzzy head and I are just off to do some tapping.

Mary

A Moodscope member.