Let me tell you what happened to me last week, and you can weave your own story from this if push comes to shove.

Last Thursday night, I caught myself Becoming obsessed with making YT videos for the first time. I made them for my daughters, who have been alienated by their father. I could not stop where I initially planned to stop - I wanted to make slideshow from their art, find music scores to match, etc.

I was glad that I caught myself getting obsessed on my own. I reported it to the therapist, who said that with this level of focus and determination I was nearing mania.

I went home, put all the art pieces I corralled earlier for the slide show in their places, wrote down my plans for the videos as scripts so that I would be able to return to them later, and went to sleep feeling proud that I nipped the problem in the bud.

Next morning I woke up with a migraine accompanied by nausea.

I have regular mograines whose most surefire trigger is dehydration and skipping meals. Both during my obsession and during that evening when I was dealing with the problem, I neglected to eat and drink.

The migraine lasted for three days during which I could not sleep at night.

Then I finally fell asleep and next morning got up at 7 feeling refreshed and happy to be pain free. I was doing some stuff when it started to bother me that it was so dark outside. 10 am and so dark.

Well, it was 10 pm. I slept almost 24 hours at a stretch. So it is pissible to be SO out of it that you confuse day and night. Quite possible after 3 days in relentless pain.

Another true story. Last summer I could not physically get up one morning. Not a depression... no sad ideation. Rather, I literally could not lift my head off the pillow. It was almost funny.

==> low blood pressure and very low thyroid.

These are non-mental things that happened to me and caused me to miss a party or a day at work.

Other physical ailments that have not happened to me - pernicious anemia; antibiotic-resistant UTI; chronic fatigue as you mentioned. Look for info on those and pick one or two you would use. Obviously, it has to be sonething without visible signs, such as a UTI and not a fractured arm.

Once you have woven a story to use when needed, you will become less anxious, and that may bring about such positive change that you won't be missing work and needing stories, after all.