Zalacsany

I once wrote to a friend in a sanatorium, advising her bow to recover from her nervous illness. Some months later, a stranger telephoned to thank me for the letter, which my friend had shown her. This woman said she knew she was cured before she finished reading it, and had been able to leave the hospital within a few days. She said that now, four months later, she was still cured and was confident she would never relapse. Complete understanding was her shield.

Such quick recovery is possible, and when I say you may continue to feel fear and the persistence of symptoms for some time and must be prepared to let more time pass, do not misunderstand and think that I mean that all recovery from illness is a long-drawn-out process. Recovery can be, as just illustrated, dramatically quick. I have merely warned you that your recovery may not be as rapid as you expect, so that you will not be unnecessarily disappointed, “Letting more time pass” means no more than being patient a little longer, but I purposely have not asked directly for patience, because the thought of being patient may seem an impossibility to a sufferer from highly tensed nerves. For this reason I chose the phrase, “let more time pass.” The difference is subtle but important. Where the sufferer is prepared to let more time pass, he may think he could not take advice to be patient. The very sound of the word is exasperating.