own advice. And they suffered. The illnesses took more time, their health on all levels of body and psyche took a dip. They became gloomy, worried about themselves. Healing took months longer and, in that time, they made internal shifts and considerations they may have otherwise avoided or overlooked. They both came to realisations about the way they approached all their relationships, personal and professional. They made big changes in their lives. The painful path of illness and recovery, yielded rewards for them they were not expecting, were not looking for and did not know they needed.
The origin of the word convalescence is the Latin valescere: which means " to begin to grow strong." It means the period in recovery where a person gets over the body disruption of illness.
The period of convalescence should be at least equal to, if not more than, the duration of illness. Convalescence is a vital time. A practitioner needs to stress this. The simple naturopathic principles of rest, sunshine, fresh air are wonderful places to start.
Everybody has a different tempo for their convalescence, just as everybody’ s illness is singular. The process is slow and can manifest in different ways, including things such as breathlessness, insomnia, melancholy and stiffness, a sense of general malaise, despair. These complex gifts of darkness are all part of the process. Practitioners can support the patient through convalescence with all the tools of supplements, herbs, dietary and other wholesome advice. But perhaps one of the most important remedies is that of emotional support and encouragement to trust the body as the vital force is restored within.
It is tempting, as a practitioner, to want to heal or fix patients, to want them to‘ get better’ quickly, but supporting convalescence and encouraging patients to honour their healing, even when it’ s slow and requires stillness, is a valuable, critical professional task. The deep work of recovery, if not done in this time, often reappears in another form. A friend told the story of having a serious illness, after which he rushed back to work, only to encounter dark depression which sat with him for months.“ I didn’ t take the time to understand what had happened to me. I didn’ t see how the illness had changed me. I didn’ t acknowledge the ordeal my body had gone through, and I failed myself in a deep and subtle way. I took a long time to really get over what had happened. I just didn’ t see that there was a cellular level of distress which needed to be healed,” he reported.
THE PERIOD OF CONVALESCENCE SHOULD BE AT LEAST EQUAL TO, IF NOT MORE THAN, THE DURATION OF ILLNESS. CONVALESCENCE IS A VITAL TIME. A PRACTITIONER NEEDS TO STRESS THIS.
In the olden days, there were convalescent hospitals, where patients were given time to heal. It was understood that bodies need a special space and time to recover from severe body disruption – at any level – before re-entering the hurly-burly of daily life. While not everybody has a place where they can rest deeply and gaze upon the mountains, breathing crystalline, alpine air or watching the gentle pulse of a lake, an uninterrupted place in the sun can offer holistic solace. A remedial retreat of some kind can be restorative. Time is curative.
Both women took the lesson they had been given, returned to their homes and their beds, allowed others to assume responsibilities for them and waited until they were properly ready to return to daily life. They stopped resisting. Both were humbled by their illness experience and both said they would be better people and better practitioners because if it.
The process of illness, especially deep illness, is one that involves all layers of the body, psyche, and spirit. A practitioner’ s work is clear in the beginning, to approach the physical, clear away obstacles to enable vital force. But deeper illness requires a different approach. When there is a powerful body upset and the spirit is damaged, another kind of therapeutic respect needs to take place to enable healing on an energetic level. Convalescence is an essential way in which the subtle energies of the body can be rebuilt. The tools here are stillness, gentle nurturing, digital abstinence, sunlight, fresh air, and as much peace as can be mustered to support the patient, along with all the supporting medicines and therapies.
Convalescence is in the holistic practitioner’ s toolbox. It needs to be advocated for, and the importance of it to be explained well. People can be resistant to the concept of staying still, and feel a need to jump back into their life and all its responsibilities and distractions. They may consider convalescence an indulgence, but it is so much more than that. It is critical and if overlooked, can mean incomplete healing and a wobbly recovery. As Sontag notes, everybody has a passport to the kingdom of the sick. Understanding the nature of that citizenship is to deepen self-knowledge, respect for vital force and learn about the body and what it is that really matters in this crazy journey of life.
The women needed to learn about the critical value of convalescence. This vital stage of the recovery process should never be overlooked. It cannot be hurried. It must be respected. The consequences of not obeying the need for convalescence can and will be felt. Illness demands that you listen to your body. You must obey its needs.
JATMS | Winter 2025 | 91