Malaria

The chills come in waves. First the cold, driving through you from the inside, as though you were plunged into ice water. Then the fever — high, burning, consuming everything. Your body swings between extremes, like a system that no longer knows where its centre lies. And in between: the exhaustion, the headaches, the feeling that every cell in you is fighting.

Medically, malaria is an infection by Plasmodium parasites, transmitted through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. It can be life-threatening — and must be treated medically. That is beyond question. But the psychosomatic perspective asks an additional question: Why is your system vulnerable right now? What in your inner life has created a breeding ground on which this illness could gain a foothold?

Malaria is not only an infection — it is a collapse. And every collapse tells a story.