I've got the impression that a lot of people are coughing at the moment, and it's a real nuisance because it lasts for several weeks. So I thought I'd share my experience and my view of this cough, which I've experienced myself and which wasn't the most pleasant, but was a profound learning experience. I managed to get better more quickly, but it was a real challenge!
I know exactly when it started!
We were having dinner with some Irish friends and my parents. I was translating from French to English and from English to French, and I'm generally quite agile because I'm quite familiar with the gymnastics of switching from one language to another.
What was interesting was that at one point I felt overwhelmed... the conversation was speeding up and I hadn't even finished translating when the other person had already started his sentence. I felt like I was starting to bubble up inside because I really needed to catch my breath, to have some space and slow down between each translation, and I don't think anyone noticed, being themselves in a never-ending stream of words.
At that point I should have said stop, but I didn't dare... probably because I thought it would ruin the atmosphere, and I wanted to be in the flow.
And then the first cough came! I didn't think it would get worse, last for several weeks (as it did 2 years ago), and that I'd go through several very uncomfortable phases of realisation.
I'm convinced that this was the triggering factor, because there was already a fragility with everything I'd been through over the last few months. And it's due to the non-expression of what was going on inside me at the time, something that wanted to come out, that I held back, and it expressed itself in another way, which cost me more.
And yet, afterwards, I said to myself that it would have been so beneficial for everyone to take a deep breath and for the conversation to move on to something slower and more qualitative.
The next day, I could feel the cough getting worse, and I tried to take it easy on my diet. It's not easy because I'm in Ireland, and being the gourmet that I am, I want to try the local dishes, desserts and cakes.
I know from experience that anything too salty or sweet makes my cough worse.
A week later, back in France, I was coughing terribly. I had coughing fits that wouldn't stop, and I couldn't take it any more. It creates pressure in my body, in my head, and I have the impression that every time I cough, it creates an explosion in my skull, it's terribly uncomfortable and tiring.
In my chest, everything feels tight, and when I try to breathe more deeply to create space, I cough even more because the expanding breath tickles my throat.
I have peaks of coughing fits around 7pm and 9pm, and in the morning when I wake up. During the night, surprisingly, I don't cough.
And then I said to myself that I absolutely had to do something to stop it, I didn't want to stay with this cough, and I was also afraid that by continuing to cough like this, it could cause collateral damage to other parts of my body, particularly my skull, chest and back.
I had the intuition that these remedies would work for me, and they did. No, I didn't go and see the doctor because before putting my life in someone else's hands, I'd rather see if I can do something myself.
I'm really grateful for all these years of practising mindfulness, where I've been able to find resources by listening to my body and my breath with finesse and gentleness, by going and reading, and by experimenting in concrete ways. I'm my own guinea pig, and I don't feel helpless any more. I can try out different cures, see what feels right to me, and readjust from day to day.
My little brother told me I probably had whooping cough, and other people told me it might be a variant of covid. I really wanted to go and get tested, but I was no longer in the incubation phase.
Anyway, here's how I treated myself:
Thyme tea, I didn't know at first but on a hunch I turned to this plant, and I've had confirmation that it's a very effective cough suppressant. It worked instantly for me, I drank some and I had longer intervals between each coughing fit, and these were times of rest and calm for me. You can add lemon and honey.
I talked less or not at all. I didn't feel like talking any more because it made me cough. And I realised that it had done me a lot of good. It was as if I'd been longing for this, and it had taken this cough to make it happen. I loved talking less, being much more observant, and at the same time I could see how much I often want to interact with people.
If I had to talk, I'd whisper. And people adapted too, I found it very relaxing (and amusing) that people had to lower their voices to talk to me. They did it by mimicry, and I can see how empathetic we can be (in this case, for most people, it happened naturally, I don't even know if they realised it).
I stopped eating in the evening after 5pm because I thought it would give my body a rest, so that during the night it could go to the front to fight this cough, without having to worry about anything else, like digestion. I also felt lighter. And to be honest, I'd lost my appetite a bit because it's not pleasant to eat and cough so much at the same time.
Every morning and evening, I rubbed black spruce or evergreen cypress essential oil (2-3 drops) mixed with apricot vegetable oil on my chest.
decoctions of ginger to boost my immune system.
I used pranayama-type breathing, which allowed me to breathe deeply at the end of each cycle without it tickling my throat.
I no longer ate anything sweet (no more pastries and cakes...), nor too many salty or fried dishes. Only steam, soup or lightly sautéed vegetables. Even fruit made me cough, so I always ate it in a hot liquid. Either in porridge or just in hot water, and that worked really well for me.
I meditated to accept what I was experiencing and also to accept that I didn't know how long this cough would last. This acceptance soothed me both physically, with less coughing during these moments of practice, and emotionally, when I was able to take a step back.
And of course, as much rest as possible (going to bed early, getting up late). I'm not at all used to getting up late, but it put me in the mood for ‘gentle listening and taking care of my body’ when necessary.
What wasn't easy was the social aspect, where sometimes I'd even go to restaurants or friends' houses in the evening (I already had appointments planned) but I wouldn't eat. I always had my thermos of herbal tea with me (and I still have it, in fact). It wasn't difficult for me not to eat because I knew what was right for me, but it was more the reactions of others who could comment on my attitude.
I think the most trying moment was when I was on the night train, in the sleeping compartment, and for 30 minutes I was trying to contain myself by breathing rapidly and then deeply to calm my coughing. There were five of us in the sleeper and when I know that I can be a nuisance when people are trying to rest, it's really terrible for me. Fortunately, I had to fall asleep in 30 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.
Within 10 days, my cough had largely calmed down, it wasn't as annoying, and a week later I had nothing. It lasted 4 weeks from that first cough until it disappeared. However, I have the impression that I'm much more sensitive, and that my body doesn't accept too many deviations, so a little but not too much sweet, salty or fried food.
I see these periods of illness as opportunities. They allow me to understand how I function, to refine my relationship with my body and my mind, but also to be more open and compassionate towards others. A ‘simple’ cough can really change a person's mood. When a part of the body is affected, it creates disturbances, there's adaptation, so there's a need to refocus, and to use your energy in the right place.
I came out of it with so much gratitude: my body is working well, I've regained all my capacities, my energy has fully returned!
In a natural way, I'm returning to a simpler way of life, a desire to get back to the essentials, where I can see that I'm satisfied with what life has to offer, and at the same time, I'm putting in place the right actions for what I want to live, for what makes me vibrate, dance and sing!
And it all started with a cough - what an adventure!
Pixabay photo credits: Boris Rager, Mohamed Hassan, Stephan Fuchs, Philm1310
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