{"id":1195,"date":"2022-11-18T13:57:19","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T13:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/?p=1195"},"modified":"2022-11-18T13:57:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T13:57:40","slug":"whats-it-like-being-a-young-person-with-long-covid-you-might-feel-like-a-failure-but-youre-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/whats-it-like-being-a-young-person-with-long-covid-you-might-feel-like-a-failure-but-youre-not\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s it like being a young person with long COVID? You might feel like a failure (but you\u2019re not)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ana Leite<\/a>, Durham University<\/a><\/em>; Damien Ridge<\/a>, University of Westminster<\/a><\/em>, and Nisreen Alwan<\/a>, University of Southampton<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine you\u2019re young, healthy and active. Then, one day, the rug is pulled out from under you. You initially have symptoms akin to a cold, so you take a lateral flow test, which shows you have COVID. But it\u2019s nothing that stops you from getting on with things, at least from a distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

A few weeks later, or perhaps months, you start to have strange symptoms. You feel unwell after exercising, and you\u2019re exhausted after a trip to the shops or meeting a friend. Your chest becomes heavy when you load the dishwasher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You go to the doctor and they run some tests. None come back with anything out of the ordinary. Your doctor tells you: \u201cYou might have long COVID, but we still don\u2019t know much about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Fail<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This article is part of Fail Better<\/a><\/strong>, a series for those of us in our 20s and 30s about navigating the moments when things aren\u2019t quite going as planned. Many of us are tuned into the highlight reel of social media, where our peers share their successes in relationships, careers and family. When you feel like you\u2019re not measuring up, the pieces in this special Quarter Life<\/a> series will help you learn how to cope with, and even grow from, failure.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Suddenly words like \u201crest\u201d and \u201cslowing down\u201d become commonplace in your life. These words are not compatible with the life you want to lead, but your body gives you little choice. You feel shocked by this turn of events and you may even feel like a failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re not, of course. But living with a chronic medical condition like long COVID, when only months ago you were fit and healthy, can mean you feel that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young people and long COVID<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many might assume otherwise, but young, healthy people can develop long COVID. Data shows that 2.7% of people aged 17-24 and 3.6% of those aged 25-34 have symptoms<\/a> at least four weeks after an infection. Even athletes<\/a> are not immune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long COVID is still poorly understood, yet it can be life altering. Although symptoms<\/a> and their severity vary from person to person, debilitating fatigue is common. Many sufferers are no longer able to do exercise<\/a>, and even struggle with ordinary daily tasks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People facing cognitive symptoms like problems with memory and concentration (\u201cbrain fog<\/a>\u201d) might see the quality and quantity of their output at work decline. This may be particularly worrying for young adults only just starting out in their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long COVID can be episodic and unpredictable<\/a>. Energy can fluctuate<\/a> from week to week, day to day, and hour to hour. Physical, mental or emotional exertion can also exacerbate symptoms<\/a>. Over time, you may feel you are gradually improving. But just as you think you\u2019re reaching the end, your symptoms can hit you hard again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people with long COVID, while improvement is possible, there\u2019s a degree of uncertainty about the course their illness might take. This can cast doubt over all sorts of plans a young person might have, from work, to study, to travel, to starting a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People with other chronic and poorly understood medical conditions, such as Lyme disease<\/a> and ME\/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis\/chronic fatigue syndrome<\/a>), frequently struggle with feelings of identity loss. Research on people with long COVID is still emerging, but it\u2019s not difficult to see how it could lead to an identity crisis. The way a person saw themselves before getting sick \u2013 as a healthy and able-bodied professional, friend, partner, for example \u2013 is challenged when they\u2019re no longer able to carry out these roles like they once could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking support for an \u2018invisible\u2019 illness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, for people with \u201cinvisible\u201d medical conditions like long COVID, seeking understanding from others can be fraught<\/a>. Some may have their experiences discredited or dismissed as psychological by friends, family or even health professionals, which is sometimes called medical gaslighting<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be doubly so for people from certain groups, such as women and ethnic minorities, who are sadly at increased risk<\/a> of having their experiences trivialised or discredited in a healthcare context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
For sufferers, feeling they\u2019re being disbelieved or dismissed will only add to the emotional burden of living with a chronic illness. tairome\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the face of all these challenges, it\u2019s important to have social support. Research shows that belonging to social groups and maintaining connections benefits our health<\/a> and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, people with chronic conditions can face shrinking social circles<\/a>. Others may not understand the reality of living with chronic ill health, and so are not flexible about regularly cancelled plans, for example. Feeling guilty for missing social events is yet another aspect of chronic illness that can take an emotional toll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, people with long COVID can develop new communities of others who understand what they\u2019re going through. These connections can help them rebuild their identity and adjust to their new normal. They can also help them face challenges in how their new health status is accepted at work by sharing experiences and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people living with long COVID, it\u2019s worthwhile seeking out supportive social networks. Online groups may be particularly beneficial when symptoms make it hard to travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though there\u2019s much ground still to cover in long COVID research, the evidence is rapidly evolving and, with it, hopefully we\u2019ll see more enlightened attitudes and better treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our advice is to listen to your body and trust that you know its needs better than anyone else. Be your own best support, but at the same time, stay connected and seek out understanding people. If health professionals are unhelpful, remember you can seek second opinions and, in the meantime, pace yourself<\/a>, rest and respect your body\u2019s limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regressing after a period of good health may be particularly difficult. Know that it\u2019s normal to feel frustrated with the illness and with yourself, wondering if you\u2019re doing anything to trigger these symptoms. But try to be as compassionate with yourself as you can. It\u2019s not your fault, and long COVID does not make you a failure. Remember you\u2019re doing the best you can under the circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Quarter Life<\/a><\/strong> is a series about issues affecting those of us in our 20s and 30s.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Ana Leite<\/a>, Associate Professor in Social and Organisational Psychology, Durham University<\/a><\/em>; Damien Ridge<\/a>, Professor of Health Studies, University of Westminster<\/a><\/em>, and Nisreen Alwan<\/a>, Associate Professor in Public Health, University of Southampton<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ana Leite, Durham University; Damien Ridge, University of Westminster, and Nisreen Alwan, University of Southampton Imagine you\u2019re young, healthy and active. Then, one day, the rug is pulled out from under you. You initially have symptoms akin to a cold,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":749,"featured_media":1198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[205,100,24,286,142,66,51,33,285],"class_list":["post-1195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-sciences","tag-blog","tag-covid","tag-difference","tag-long-covid","tag-mental-health","tag-research","tag-school-of-social-sciences","tag-university-of-westminster","tag-young-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/749"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1195"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1199,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195\/revisions\/1199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}