Long Covid = lazy?

[HappyBinosaur]

I read on another thread that someone thought that most people with Long Covid were lazy and people admit they use the excuse ‘Long Covid’ to delay going back to work. It made me worry to be honest.

AIBU to think that is what a lot of people think? I’ve seen it on Twitter a lot too.

I developed Long Covid a year ago and as a result also developed POTS and asthma. My life has completely changed and I’m still only on 60-70% of my usual working hours on a slow phased return. I use an electric scooter or wheelchair most of the time at work as I can’t walk far and work on a large school campus, I have to do most of my usual standing up duties sat down on a stool and still can’t manage full days.

Most people have been supportive and kind to my face but I do wonder whether people think I’m exaggerating or its psychological. Do people think I’m lazy? Or it’s an excuse.

I need to lie down a lot and walk very slowly I can still walk and some days are better than others.
I went on holiday and am getting out and about socialising in my school holiday because I want to do as much as possible with my children despite my limitations but again this is predominantly with the use of a mobility aid.

People tell me a look a lot better but that’s mostly because I’m now well supported so my mental health is better than it was when I first became unwell, mostly due to the fact I’m back in work.

For context I worked 40-45 hours a week before I got Covid and exercised a lot. I now spend most of the time sat down and have to rest frequently.

Apart from the twat on that thread I haven’t seen anyone else say that, online or in real life. Having said that, there’s a staggering lack of sympathy generally for chronic conditions so I think you’re right that some people are keen to throw accusations of swinging the lead about.

I hope you get better.

There is always some cunt out there who won't believe that a condition exists or is being exaggerated on the basis they haven't experienced it themselves. Long covid, ME = lazy. Aspergers = rude. Depression = your own fault, just cheer up.

I think it's lack of awareness (for example some of the symptoms sound similar to ME and that's a very misunderstood illness.) Unfortunately some people definitely do use it as an excuse, my SIL admitted she was using Long Covid as an excuse not to go back to work as it's difficult to prove one way or the other.... there's no definitive test. It's shocking really and I'm sure these people are a tiny minority. Your situation sounds horrible and it must be really difficult to have changed your life so dramatically.__

Unfortunately I’ve seen a few twats say the same on Twitter!
It has affected my confidence and made me anxious socially so I’m probably being paranoid.
Thanks for your well wishes.

I think people using it as an excuse definitely causes issues for people who are actually suffering with it.

I'm not sure what to say. This is living with a chronic illness - wedged between both sympathy and the suspicion that you aren't pulling your weight. You'll get it from colleagues, some people in the NHS, it's implicit in the way that the government narrates you as a worthy hero or shirking loser and builds policy to suit. A thicker skin is required but it won't appear overnight.

@FourTeaFallOut I definitely need a thicker skin. It’s all been so quick and unexpected that my whole world has changed and I don’t know how to navigate it.
I’m already mentally a lot better so really hoping I’ll develop a thicker skin over time.

I have long Covid and have been ill for a year. I have found it suffers from similar ‘press’ as ME / chronic fatigue / fibromyalgia and mental illnesses. Invisible, therefore hard to understand.

I’ve had mixed reactions, no long covid deniers but some people cannot understand why I can do x but not y, or how I could do x yesterday but not today.

I don’t understand it myself and nor do most of the medical profession so I try to be open minded. The trouble is I’m so conscious of it all being in my head / not trying “hard enough” to push through, that any questioning can go in my head as criticism.

All I’ll say is it’s like nothing I’ve ever known, the progress is slow and by no means linear, and I wish the long covid deniers the best of health and hope they never have to experience what we have.

Long covid does not equal lazy. It's a genuine condition that some people have been unlucky enough to get. However, you'll always get some twats who deny its existence. I also suspect there will be some who will use it as an excuse to not do things they don't want to do (years ago people used to use the excuse of a bad back to get out of doing stuff). This means that genuine people like you are OP will be disbelieved by many.

It doesn’t really matter what other people think - you know what’s going on in your mind and body best. Focus on what you know you need to rest and get better. I think the concept of laziness is a myth really - we’re very good at dismissing our needs for rest in our capitalist society.

I do think long Covid might be psychological in some cases and, while appreciate that some people say that from a judgemental and dismissive place which can be hurtful, it’s a valid point worth serious exploration with the right sources (i.e. non-judgemental, knowledgeable people).

The Curable app explains the science behind psychological causes of physical pain and symptoms if you want to delve further, and people like Nicole Sachs and Dan Buglio have both talked about the long covid in the context of it having psychological causes (see YouTube for Dan and Google for Nicole’s website).

some related podcast links -

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/summer-series-3-grief-and-long-covid/id1439580309?i=1000568397778

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/like-mind-like-body/id1265323809?i=1000469384537

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tell-me-about-your-pain/id1503847664?i=1000530279569

I think until you know someone with long covid its really hard to imagine how debilitating it is. Iv seen a work colleague go from being a vibrant young person full of energy to someone who can barely walk down a corridor or stay awake for more than a couple of hours - its heart breaking.

Actually this is a fierce debate in the medical community and controlled studies are being organised.

for patients who were critically Ill or hospitalised through Covid there is no question but for a group who had no physical damage there is a concern it maybe physcosomatic, but what people need to understand is that doesn’t mean it’s any less real to the sufferer. The anxiety and belief means they one hundred percent suffer these symptoms, the brain is a very powerful organ.

so the medical community need to try to work out how to support these people on the road to recovery.

so I think the answer is eve if it is mental illness rather than physical that mental illness causes very real physical symptoms and doctors need to work out how to treat the right thing.

both of these are very different to faking it. In both scenarios the person is indeed very Ill.

I was literally just going to post what @Heroicallyl0st did. I have suffered with chronic pain for the last four years, along with fatigue and myraid other symptoms. The medical profession is woefully unequipped to help. It is only after discovering the curable app, and Nicole Sachs' work, that i am healing. I'm in a set back at the moment after having covid again a few weeks ago, but through this work, I am confident I will get back to my old self (ironically, right before catching it, I felt so good, finally, after a year of this mindbody work). I would really recommend looking up the curable app and looking up Nicole Sachs' work. These are some more episodes where she covers long covid podcasts.apple.com/is/podcast/episode-122-recovery-from-covid-long-haul-with-lieke/id1439580309?i=1000510720985

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/episode-159-recovery-from-long-covid-with-kurt/id1439580309?i=1000543810781

I am sorry you are suffering. There is hope out there though, and I hope you find relief soon. I know how scary and debilitaing chronic conditions are, and people just don't get it. I look normal, I function pretty normally, if you're an outsider looking in, but i never know when i may have pain, when fatigue will strike etc. It's exhausting, and all down to our nervous systems being stuck in sustained fight or flight.

This is a link to the curable app too. They have a free trial and i believe 50% off membership at the moment. I was wary of signing up in case it was some sort of scam, but honestly it has changed my life! So glad i took a chance on it. I wish you all the best www.curablehealth.com/

Is the curable app just for pain or is it for fatigue as well?

Breathlessness, racing heart and dizziness are my other main symptoms and occasionally I faint when I stand up.
Someone suggested the racing heart was panic but I’ve had anxiety before and this is different. The whole room spins and I can’t breath properly whenever I stand up.

DD (7) has long covid. Diagnosed by a frequent fluctuating high temp since last Summer. Ever since she caught Covid. Her GP took it very seriously and said unfortunately lots of kids have Long Covid with frequent fever, headaches and fatigue.

So if you’re reading this and wondering why your children may be irritable in the afternoons since having Covid, this could be why.

It’s taken over my life. Medication twice a day, numerous medical appointments etc.

I just want it all to stop and the thought others might think I’m lying or exaggerating just adds an extra layer of sadness to be honest.

This is so true. I’m under consultant care at rheumatology and I have had NHS staff comment positively on

1. I’m not overweight “you’re the only one in the waiting room who is the weight they should be”
2. I still try to run small distances
3. I have a job

Ive stopped running, I’ve now put on weight and I’ve been made redundant so I wonder if their attitudes about me will change from positive to negative.

I hope not but ya never know!

@HappyBinosaur curable mainly speaks about pain in its literature but it is used for fatigue etc too. Many people have healed from fibromyalgia, fatigue, long covid using its techniques (along with Nicole Sachs work - hers definitely covers all those conditions, along with anxiety etc).

Have a listen to some of the things recommended above, and hopefully it will make more sense. Curable is based on the emerging neuroscience around chronic conditions, including pain, and a lot of it is based on the work of Dr. John Sarno (Nicole’s work is very aligned with his theories, as she worked with him when he was alive). I really hope you find some relief. Nicole has a great Fb group that is so supportive if you do decide to try her approach (she has a course but everything about her work is available for free). I wish you all the best ❤️

This seems a very roundabout way of saying it’s all in your head. My mental health is fine, it’s not causing debilitating fatigue, heart inflammation or my cognitive issues. I wasn’t seriously ill with Covid, but have been suffering for 10 months +

In one of my long Covid clinics someone asked about how to deal with people who think it’s made up - the nurse leading it said that the NHS is skint but are spending millions on Long Covid treatment, so it must be real!

I don’t think many people will think you are lying you’re ill, but some might underestimate the impact if they don’t know anyone with long covid. There are so many unknowns with long covid and sometimes no clear medical cause for symptoms continuing. But as information and coverage over it continues hopefully people will see that impact more.
My husband was eventually diagnosed with long covid, he was affected badly for around 6 months, went from a marathon runner to barely getting out of bed. But he was made redundant around the same time, and I wasn’t sure if there wasn’t a psychological aspect to him feeling ill, he had so many tests done to his lungs which he said constantly hurt, felt like there was a lump, but there wasn’t anything found to treat.

i can understand people looking from the outside in being unsure about it.

There are many twats around that think people are lying, exaggerating or lazy when suffering from any chronic invisible illness. This ignorant mindset has always existed in the minority.

These same twats are unfortunately still around since long covid came about.

The good thing is the majority aren't stupid enough to think it's all fake and sufferers are just lazy.

I'm sorry you've been struggling since covid. There are many people who are in the same boat and most people understand it is a legitimate illness. Please try to ignore the idiots that say otherwise. The majority of people will be sympathetic to your situation even though sometimes it might not feel like it.

👆🏻Never were there truer words 👏 🙌

Sorry you’ve been suffering. I’ve also got long COVID, the effect on my energy especially has been shocking. I was working full time and also exercising nearly every day before I caught the virus. I have really looked after my health to date so to be suddenly so unwell was a shock.

To anyone reading this, if you meet someone with long COVID, be sympathetic. Most people are already doing what they can to get better and your suggestions won’t undo the underlying damage.

Easier said than done but try to focus your energy on recovery rather than these idiots. The vast majority of people know long Covid is real.