I have a condition that pretty much never surfaces thanks to medicine. Sometimes though, effects can creep back. This happened the other night and I didn't feel safe going in, so I called out sick, just announcing I wasn't feeling well.

I have awesome coworkers, friendly and supportive, and tomorrow they're sure to ask how I'm feeling, sometimes things like, e.g. "Did you catch the cold that's going around the office? Are you better now?"

I feel sketchy taking random single days off and never saying why. To them I feel like I seem to recover 100% by the next day, apparently after being too sick to log on even remotely. (Working from home is common and acceptable.) I'm also not a natural conversationalist so my responses don't help. ("Yup, better.")

In the past I've used excuses like "food poisoning." Or, I've pretended to actually be a little sick the next day. Obviously it's not my first choice to lie, but it's to keep my privacy while not raising suspicion, or making well-meaning coworkers feel weird for asking.

Are there any more tactful approaches I can take that's worked for anyone else? Or maybe just, a more acceptable lie I'd feel less guilty about?

I have a condition that pretty much never surfaces on medicine, but sometimes does (no pattern I can tell). This happened the other night so I called out sick, just announcing I wasn't feeling well. It often passes within half the day.

I have awesome coworkers, friendly and supportive, and tomorrow they're sure to ask how I'm feeling, sometimes things like, e.g. "Did you catch the cold that's going around the office? Are you better now?"

I feel sketchy taking random single days off and never saying why. To them I feel like I seem to recover 100% by the next day, apparently after being too sick to log on even remotely. (Working from home is common and acceptable.) I'm also not a natural conversationalist so my responses don't help. ("Yup, better.")

In the past I've used excuses like "food poisoning." Or, I've pretended to actually be a little sick the next day. Obviously it's not my first choice to lie, but it's to keep my privacy while not raising suspicion, and to not make well-meaning coworkers feel weird for asking.

Are there any more tactful approaches I can take that's worked for anyone else? Or maybe just, a more acceptable lie I'd feel less guilty about?

I have a mental health condition that pretty much never surfaces on medication. Sometimes though, usually triggered by some sudden change in life or conflict in relationships, the effects can creep back. This happened the other night and I felt unsafe going to work yesterday, so I called out sick, simply announcing to my team that I wasn't feeling well.

I have some wonderfully friendly and supportive coworkers, and tomorrow they're sure to ask how I'm feeling, and inadvertently, what it was, e.g. "Did you catch the cold that's going around the office? Are you all better now?"

I actually don't feel unsafe revealing my condition to coworkers if I had to, as I work for a relatively with-the-times, mental-health-aware company (which is why I'm also not too scared to ask this question on a public forum like this). I just don't feel like actively revealing it. I don't want to be a mental health awareness hero.

But I am really not great with lying or being quick on my feet with responses. I don't want to look sketchy tomorrow, recovering 100% in a day after claiming to have gotten so sick I couldn't even log in from home. In the past I've used excuses like "mild food poisoning." I have also pretended to still be a little sick the next day. I don't mean to lie but I'm just not very graceful at trying to keep my privacy while also not raising suspicion or making well-meaning coworkers feel weird they asked.

Is there a more tactful route I can take that doesn't involve (as much) lying? Or maybe just, an acceptable lie that might not cause me to feel as guilty?

Edit

Something I failed to mention is that working from home is a widely-used and supported option in my company, everyone having unlimited sick days and bringing laptops home. This is what compels me to express that I'm indeed "sick" enough that I can't even log in from home. Which is why it then feels weird to me to come back the next day, seemingly fine.

I have a condition that pretty much never surfaces thanks to medicine. Sometimes though, effects can creep back. This happened the other night and I didn't feel safe going in, so I called out sick, just announcing I wasn't feeling well.

I have awesome coworkers, friendly and supportive, and tomorrow they're sure to ask how I'm feeling, sometimes things like, e.g. "Did you catch the cold that's going around the office? Are you better now?"

I feel sketchy taking random single days off and never saying why. To them I feel like I seem to recover 100% by the next day, apparently after being too sick to log on even remotely. (Working from home is common and acceptable.) I'm also not a natural conversationalist so my responses don't help. ("Yup, better.")

In the past I've used excuses like "food poisoning." Or, I've pretended to actually be a little sick the next day. Obviously it's not my first choice to lie, but it's to keep my privacy while not raising suspicion, or making well-meaning coworkers feel weird for asking.

Are there any more tactful approaches I can take that's worked for anyone else? Or maybe just, a more acceptable lie I'd feel less guilty about?

I have a mental health condition that pretty much never surfaces on medication. Sometimes though, usually triggered by some sudden change in life or conflict in relationships, the effects can creep back. This happened the other night and I felt unsafe going to work yesterday, so I called out sick, simply announcing to my team that I wasn't feeling well.

I have some wonderfully friendly and supportive coworkers, and tomorrow they're sure to ask how I'm feeling, and inadvertently, what it was, e.g. "Did you catch the cold that's going around the office? Are you all better now?"

I actually don't feel unsafe revealing my condition to coworkers if I had to, as I work for a relatively with-the-times, mental-health-aware company (which is why I'm also not too scared to ask this question on a public forum like this). I just don't feel like actively revealing it. I don't want to be a mental health awareness hero.

But I am really not great with lying or being quick on my feet with responses. I don't want to look sketchy tomorrow, recovering 100% in a day after claiming to have gotten so sick I couldn't even log in from home. In the past I've used excuses like "mild food poisoning." I have also pretended to still be a little sick the next day. I don't mean to lie but I'm just not very graceful at trying to keep my privacy while also not raising suspicion or making well-meaning coworkers feel weird they asked.

Is there a more tactful route I can take that doesn't involve (as much) lying? Or maybe just, an acceptable lie that might not cause me to feel as guilty?

Edit

Something I failed to mention but I now realize is a large factor, is that there is a very supportive and widely-used WFH (work-from-home) culture in my company, everyone having unlimited sick days and bringing our laptops home. This compels me to express that I'm indeed "sick" enough that I can't even log in from home. Which is why it feels weird to me (maybe just in my head?) when I come back the next day, seemingly fine.

I have a mental health condition that pretty much never surfaces on medication. Sometimes though, usually triggered by some sudden change in life or conflict in relationships, the effects can creep back. This happened the other night and I felt unsafe going to work yesterday, so I called out sick, simply announcing to my team that I wasn't feeling well.

I have some wonderfully friendly and supportive coworkers, and tomorrow they're sure to ask how I'm feeling, and inadvertently, what it was, e.g. "Did you catch the cold that's going around the office? Are you all better now?"

I actually don't feel unsafe revealing my condition to coworkers if I had to, as I work for a relatively with-the-times, mental-health-aware company (which is why I'm also not too scared to ask this question on a public forum like this). I just don't feel like actively revealing it. I don't want to be a mental health awareness hero.

But I am really not great with lying or being quick on my feet with responses. I don't want to look sketchy tomorrow, recovering 100% in a day after claiming to have gotten so sick I couldn't even log in from home. In the past I've used excuses like "mild food poisoning." I have also pretended to still be a little sick the next day. I don't mean to lie but I'm just not very graceful at trying to keep my privacy while also not raising suspicion or making well-meaning coworkers feel weird they asked.

Is there a more tactful route I can take that doesn't involve (as much) lying? Or maybe just, an acceptable lie that might not cause me to feel as guilty?

Edit

Something I failed to mention is that working from home is a widely-used and supported option in my company, everyone having unlimited sick days and bringing laptops home. This is what compels me to express that I'm indeed "sick" enough that I can't even log in from home. Which is why it then feels weird to me to come back the next day, seemingly fine.