CONVALESCENCE: The lost art of recovery

It used to be considered that convalescence lasted 40 days after childbirth, or significant illness or bereavement. But now it seems the whole concept has disappeared from main-stream thinking! We’d like to bring it back into your thinking. It is a health-supporting tool, especially important in this society where many people struggle back to work almost as soon as they can get out of bed, or even work from their sick-bed.

The idea of convalescence is to rebuild what strength and vigour you may have lost during illness, and to build yourself back up to being even stronger than before. Investing a bit of time now, to make your health more robust makes good sense, but few of us get a chance or make the time to do it.

Although we recognise that no human resources department will give 40 days leave for convalescence, keeping the concept in mind for six weeks is helpful. Map out some “Me Time” for rest and rejuvenation, and put those times in your calendar as appointments with yourself. Think about what would make the biggest difference to you: what would feed you physically, mentally and emotionally.

At least take a day or two to rebuild your strength, before returning to work. If you can, use that time to boil up some nourishing broths or get some extra nourishing foods in the fridge or pantry. Use this time to plan how to nurture yourself, not just what you need to do to catch up at work.

Consider ways to get help temporarily reducing your load to free that time up. What chores would you love to let go of, even if only for a while? Here are some ideas to help you consider what might work in your world to enable that.

• If you have prepared food in the freezer, now’s a good time to use it.

• Make a rota so others in the family cook and clean up dinner. 

• Look for a health-focused restaurant to get take-out from, that nourishes you well. Some cities have restaurants where foods are local and organic, and some have great bone broths.

• If you have children, ask a friend to take them for an overnight, and return the favour later, when you are well.

• If you have a dog, ask a neighbour or other dog-lover to walk it for you.

• Consider what little chores your children have become old enough to take on for now, any maybe for good!

Plan to use that me-time doing things that nourish body, mind or soul. A recovery regime might include:

• Nourishing whole foods, warming broths

• Rest and sleep

• Silence, peace, calmness

• Mindfulness, meditation, reflection

• Yoga, Tai-Chi, Qi gong, gentle stretches

• Envisioning, journaling, artwork, colouring books

• Bathing

• Nature immersion

• Ambient music

• Reading books, doing jigsaw puzzles, and turning off social media

• Having a massage

• Meeting a friend at a sauna

• Allowing yourself spontaneous perks, such as: a diversion to a walk in a park or the woods. Give yourself the gift of time to stop and be awed by a flower, tree or rippling water.

Broths* are comforting easily-digested ways to replenish nutrients, and keep up fluids, proteins and electrolytes. If there’s no broth available, a couple of teaspoons of miso in water that is hot (but not boiling), adds some proteins, electrolytes, and probiotics**. If you are convalescing in winter, it is especially important to eat warming foods. If you do eat cold food, make sure it is with enough hot food to balance the cool, such as a mug of broth or a soup.

Probiotic-containing foods are good for almost everybody and include sauerkraut, kim-chi, and other fermented vegetables***, as well as miso. These are good for the gut, and especially important if you took antibiotics. In that case, also taking a probiotic supplement to help replenish the gut microbiome is often a good idea. Our experience is that a broad-spectrum probiotic is often preferable to a single strain in large doses. Talk to your health care provider about which strains to use.

People who have had a digestive illness do well to eat bland food for a while: steamed or baked white fish, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, or rice pudding. Broths and soups are good at all stages, as you build back up to eating more heartily and a greater variety over a week or so.

We start losing muscle after just a few days in bed, and as we age muscle is lost faster and recovers more slowly. Folks who have been in bed a few days are sensible to start exercising with gentle walks, preferably outdoors, wrapped up warmly if necessary. Malls or leisure centre tracks are bad-weather options. Movement also helps the lymph system clear out toxins associated with illness.

If there was a significant grief or shock, make time for meditation and walking in nature. If walking, swimming, Tai-Chi or other gentle exercise suits you, you can use these as a moving meditation to benefit your mind as well as your body.

Herbal medicines can help support your rejuvenation.

Adaptogenic herbs are used to improve energy, endurance, and stamina and to help protect from stress:

• Siberian Ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus)

• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)

• Huang Qi (Astragalus membranaceus)

Nervine herbs help people relax, to wind down after work, or to tuck into bed early. They include:

• Oat straw (Avena sativa)

• St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

• Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)

• Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)

They are often used in equal parts, a teaspoonful per cup of tea, steeped covered for 10 minutes.

Nettles are high in minerals, and can be added to any broth, soup or stew for an extra nourishing punch. Just remember that, until cooked, they are prickly, so wear gloves when handling them.

Using herbs in teas and food provides gentle support.

Ask your health care provider about these nourishing herbs.

Even if we just have a case of the sniffles, these ideas can help us look after ourselves well while we get through it.

* Broths

** Probiotics

*** Fermented Foods