<
https://theconversation.com/long-covid-patients-are-told-symptoms-are-in-their-head-heres-how-to-change-the-narrative-286078>
"Between us, we bring two perspectives to persistent illness: personal
experience of long COVID, and clinical and research experience in chronic
illness rehabilitation.
Both have taught us the same thing: when symptoms are real, disabling and
difficult to explain, patients need more than reassurance that tests are
normal. They need to be believed, assessed carefully and offered ways to make
sense of what is happening in their bodies.
One of us, Sarahjane, knows this personally. Before developing long COVID, she
was fit and healthy. As a professor of health and physical activity, her life
was dedicated to helping people understand and improve their health.
Then she became ill.
For two years, she could barely function. At her worst, she could not stand for
more than a few minutes. Everyday life shrank around severe and frightening
symptoms. Like many people living with long COVID, myalgic
encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, often shortened to ME/CFS, chronic
pain and other persistent conditions, she searched for answers. There were
scans, tests and consultations. Again and again, results came back clear. Yet
the symptoms remained.
That mismatch can be devastating. When the body feels as if it is screaming for
help, normal test results can feel less like reassurance and more like
abandonment. The more medicine struggles to explain symptoms, the more patients
may fear being disbelieved."
Via Violet Blue’s
Threat Model - Pandemic Roundup: July 16, 2026
https://www.patreon.com/violetblue/posts/pandemic-roundup-163958948
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
