The LOST ART OF CONVALESCENCE

EVEN WHEN WE'RE SERIOUSLY ILL, WE NO LONGER TAKE THE TIME REALLY TO REST AND RECOVER; WE RUSH BACK TO WORK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. BUT WITH THE ARRIVAL OF LONG COVID, WE MAY BE FORCED TO RETHINK RECUPERATION.

- GLYNIS HORNING

Once upon a time, when you took ill with something like tuberculosis, suffered a wound in a great war or had a mental breakdown, the healing process was gradual. You would typically move on from a place of high care after the medical crisis to a place of convalescence where you could be supported and cared for.

In 18th-century England, the wealthy would travel to spa towns like Bath or mountain retreats in Europe to get their prescribed dose of fresh air, nature walks and dips in the freezing ocean. And once people realised that returning to crowded slums in filthy industrial cities compromised the recovery of the poor, reformers and philanthropists created convalescent homes in the country or by the sea, where at least some could recuperate with fresh air, wholesome food and rest, as described by Scottish GP Dr Gavin Francis in his book, Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence (Wellcome Collection).

Recovery, he says, is a separate therapeutic process that deserves attention - the recognition that it takes time to rebuild ourselves, that not everything can be solved instantly with a pill or a high-tech procedure.

"The medicine I was trained in often assumes that once a crisis has passed, the body and mind find ways to heal themselves there's almost nothing more to be said on the matter. But after nearly 20 years as a GP, I've often found that the reverse is true: guidance and encouragement through the process of recovery can be indispensable.