Origins
Drawn from the phrase wax and wane, commonly used across music, film, and everyday language to describe cycles that rise and fall naturally. The blended form abstracts the phrase into a single internal experience rather than a descriptive pattern.
Meaning
Waxwane names the early recovery realization that discomfort has a shape and a lifespan. When we stop interfering, fixing, or fleeing, we begin to notice that pain intensifies, peaks, and recedes without our intervention. In Waxwane, the body learns something the mind did not trust before: that discomfort is dynamic, not permanent. What once felt unbearable reveals itself as a passing wave, teaching us, slowly and imperfectly, that staying is sometimes enough.
Usage
That was the first time we noticed Waxwane – the pain rose, hung there, and then eased without us doing anything at all.