A Search for Healing from Long COVID: Recent Episodes
Maggie
As a person suffering from Long COVID, I was inspired to find a way to overcome Long COVID since about 2 weeks after my fever broke, long before anyone knew that Long COVID existed. There are many days when I questioned my commitment to that idea and thought I was crazy for thinking it was possible. But, a better day would come and I was still on the trail up this mountain. My support groups have been so helpful but I was left wondering the details of what was happening for the people who were announcing they were better. Then, I started getting better and this podcast was born. I want to have conversations about what may be possible in healing from this condition that has stopped the world for so many like myself. Have Long COVID? Have a whisper of knowing that you could overcome this? Join the conversation!
Words matter in nervous system regulation. They are one of the many pieces of this puzzle.
Dr. Sarah Myhill has studied and helped many patients with chronic illnesses including ME/CFS. Raelan Agle interviewed her here. She has a ton of information in that video and this episode is a summary.
- Dr. Myhill’s website
- Long COVID study
How fight/flight/freeze are working toward and within ME/CFS from a lay person perspective.
My body automatically kicks into fight/flight/freeze a mind blowing number of times a day. These are the stages from Awareness to Practice that requires my brain to take another road for the same trigger.
If you aren’t familiar with fight/flight/freeze or need a refresher. Check out these videos.
Irene Lyon- functional freeze
My improvements in quality of life are turning into healing. Here is my most recent progress including a big victory.
Another tool I learned from Raelan Agle is keeping a list of the thinnest to bigger improvements that you notice. This also has been so helpful.
Bookending is a tool I learned from Raelan Agle which has helped me expand what I could do now and then as I work to expand overall.
This is the launch for Season3. It was time for a new start as my healing journey continues.
I’m excited to share with you.
This is a summary of foundational knowings and practices in my healing journey as I close Season2 and announce Season3.
My history turned into my timeline for developing ME/CFS. COVID happened to be the catalyst to plunge me into full blown chronic illness. For others it’s glandular fever, an unknown virus, a toxin, an intensely stressful event.
Life is throwing curve balls and testing all that I’ve learned in managing ME/CFS. What it showed me is important.
New challenges to improvement and healing show up often and even at 70-80% recovered. What I’ve learned…
Hope is in my top 3 of most important pieces of the whole for improving my quality of life and progressing in my healing.
My top 3 are:
Processing intense feelings
Pacing
*Finding Hope
These include so many other things but they are the overarching concepts that I need in place to make this work. The great thing about them is that I can do pieces of them and find some sort of progress while I continue to figure things out.
This is one of my hacks to change my perspective so I use the little energy that I have much more efficiently.
I’d love to hear from you! Reach out to me on Instagram @search4healing or on email at search4healing@gmail.com.
Pacing seems simple but it’s complex and very hard. But I would argue very much worth the effort.
Recovery stories—Raelan Agle, CFSUnraveled
Intense feelings are everywhere when you are sick with Long COVID/MECFS. How can you release them to help you pace.
We have a lot of bad and wry challenging days with Long COVID/MECFS. A LOT.
There are things that help to take the edge off or distract me from them to help maintain a level of hope through them. This episodes talks about some tricks I learned.
Over time listening to my body during a crash gave me more and more information to help pace, avoiding crashes and finding the sweet spot to bounce boundaries resulting in a shorter crash and ability to do a little bit more before a crash.
Bouncing boundaries is a term coined by Alex Howard who wrote Decode your Fatigue.
Overtime I learned that crashes held a lot of helpful information that I learned to leverage toward healing.
Many or most of us consult our doctors on pain management and receive a prescription or recommendation for over the counter doses. I follow this as well but that takes the edge off the pain. I found 3 things that further assist in reducing it. Every bit helps!
I continue to have symptoms and crashes as I heal. That sounds wrong. But the difference is in the details. Common listen to find out.
While healing is possible and happens, we walk an incredibly difficult road of symptoms everyday.
In a long recovery such as the one of long COVID or ME/CFS, there are layers of healing that build into bigger points of improvement.
I didn’t even think that I was grieving for the first 6 months I was sick; never crossed my mind. But I was as we all are. We lost a lot in this sickness. Acknowledging this process helps us overcome the first stages and lead us to acceptance. Acceptance isn’t giving in, it’s opening up to opportunities.
Welcome to Season 2! And! Today is the 3 year anniversary of when I got sick with COVID. But, here's the thing! I getting a lot better and I want to share some things. Thanks for stopping by!
There is a ying and yang relationship between pacing and stress management that helps in reducing the intensity of relapses in my experience. As the stress of things "getting back to normal" builds, this is more critical than ever.
There are things I cannot change and can't influence in my recovery so I'm holding on to the things I can. Pacing and stress management have been two significant tools among several that I use to improve my symptoms. The way this has empowered me in my recovery made a huge difference.
Equipped to Function--my first introduction to the details of pacing from an Occupational Therapist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5BM4FFML-Q&t=21s
Team of docs and other professionals also suffering from Long COVID in the UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUPvNwvkOlA
My view of recovery shifted as I progressed through this journey. I'm learning how to leverage that to help me as I go.
Part 1--Stages of recovery are giving me insight to further healing. I was inspired by the story of and quote from Amy Purdy.
Quote: "It's not about overcoming our obstacles, it's about using them, and pushing off of them and seeing what amazing places they might take us!"
Link to the interview with her that inspired me. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/magic-lessons-ep-206-dancing-from-heart-featuring-amy/id1138081319?i=1000374857234
As I thought of a way to release my anger that arose with the pinata, I remembered an exercise from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron that I did about 6 years ago. I wrote a letter with no intention of sending it to release all my feels into the universe....the was powerful. I wrote a letter to COVID>
I found a COVID pinata today. I think I've actually seen them before but today it really resonated with me. I will take that as a sign of healing. I really want one now! This is not surprising that I might want to beat the crap out of a paper symbol of 16 months of intense challenge and uncertainty. What did surprise me was the level of emotion that the thought of that stirred up.