Long COVID symptom management happens mostly behind closed doors, not seen by other friends and family members.(written 06/30/2024)

We are halfway through 2024. When I was competing, we had certain goals for different times throughout the year. Athletes spend so much more time training and preparing for competitions than they do  actually competing. As a winter sport athlete, I often got asked what I do all summer long… I found this question confusing, but it also shows that things that are happening “behind the curtains” and aren’t obvious to others. People aren’t always aware of the small, consistent steps needed for performance until it becomes relevant. 

You may not receive the Notes from ThriveNinety to learn about high-performance athleticism, but are looking for ways to support you in managing Long COVID symptoms. 

Athletes are often invited to speak at corporate events because so much of professional sports can be transferred to environments where companies are working toward goals. Motivation is a big topic, as well as working through setbacks. Those perspectives can also be transferred to managing Long COVID symptoms - and are relevant. As you know, Long COVID often is a silent condition, invisible to family, friends, and others in our lives. Like my training in spring, summer, and fall was not very visible to most people, the regular steps needed for Long COVID symptom management will often not be seen by others, and that’s okay. All that counts are the results. For you, the outcome of using simple tools consistently to manage your symptoms long-term is being able to live your life in a way that is more in line with what you expected and hoped for yourself. When this means you have to add some small tweaks into a daily routine, it’s totally worth doing. 

For this week I wrote a blog post Maintaining Gains After Overcoming Long COVID Symptoms, translating my approaches as a former professional athlete into Long COVID symptom management. 

Please let us know if any of this reflects your own experience or resonates with you. We love to hear about people’s experience and symptom management journeys.  

Warmly,  
Andrea

PS. A different perspective often helps us to see possibilities and find the motivation needed to take the next step. In our blog post for this week Maintaining Gains After Overcoming Long COVID Symptoms, I use my background as a former professional Olympic athlete and translate it to symptom management approaches for Long COVID.