Recovery Blog

September Blog post:

Working with Long Covid 

For more about my Long Covid recovery listen to my interview with Calum Macdonald on Times Radio linked at the end of this blog or head to my Instagram @theelliebrennan - it’s all in the highlights! 

I tested positive for Covid 19 on 8th January 2021 and now, over 9 months later, I’m still dealing with the effects of the virus. All aspects of my life have been altered by Long Covid - how I was going to continue working has been one of the most daunting parts of my recovery. I’m self-employed, I love my job so I knew I had to adapt to keep moving forward.

Here’s what I’ve learnt so far about working with Long Covid: 

Prioritise and stick to it 

• The fatigue you get with Long Covid can be triggered by both mental and physical exertion. An intense day sat in front of my computer on Teams can mean I end up in bed at 7pm with flu like symptoms, such as muscle and joint ache. I have to prioritise my work, do it efficiently and take regular breaks. No more emails in bed at 10pm - my brain has to switch off. 

Set boundaries 

• To manage the Long Covid fatigue, I have to pace myself and that means setting strict boundaries. If I push myself too far, I will physically suffer for the next few days or weeks so it’s better to work efficiently in short bursts rather than set myself back.

Adapt and plan

• Some parts of my work take a whole heap of energy so I take steps to avoid getting fatigued. For example, if I’m hosting a live event:

  • I will plan to have no social activities in my diary either side of the event

  • Where possible I’ll move any other demanding projects

  • I’ll book a hotel close by instead of traveling to reduce the stress and exertion

Having Long Covid has forced me to change my life in order to be able to continue working. Before catching Covid, I was burning the candle at both ends and cramming as much into every day as I could, often at the detriment to my health. Sometimes it feels like divine intervention to slow me down and make me work smarter. Pretty harsh intervention mind… next time some one sit me down with a brew!

For full disclosure, I have had brilliant support by the team at Viking FM who have made it possible for me to broadcast from home since January in order to give me the time I need to recover. There are thousands of people who also have Long Covid and don’t have that support or can’t work from home. It’s an extremely worrying issue that is only going to get worse and my heart goes out to anyone who is struggling at the moment. I spoke to Calum Macdonald on Times Radio about my experience and what it means for the 2 million people who are estimated to have Long Covid. 

Hear my interview with Calum Macdonald here: