What annoys me about the articles about long Covid is when they look for people who are finding ways to be productive and active in spite of their conditions. Like, who doesn’t love a good triumph of the human spirit story, but it’s the sort of thing that ableists use against the chronically ill to say “look, if they can do it, why can’t you” (sometimes the ableist and the chronically ill person are one in the same).
If you haven’t, for example, persevered to write the Great American Novel through your brain fog, forgive yourself. (“great” and “american” aren’t the aspirations they used to be anyway.)
If you haven’t been to a cafe or pub in years, those places are gross and shouldn’t be given business until they improve their air quality anyway.
If the best you can do is hang out to see if science can rustle up some effective treatments, that’s a valid way to be.
Of course, if you *want* to do those things and have found ways to do them while figuring out your own needs, care, and pacing, that’s cool.
Just don’t let feel-good stories in a mainstream publication add undue pressure to your recovery process.
Bleh. Feels like I’m being patronizing when I’m trying to relate, having gone through berating myself over lack of accomplishments and wrestling with my own internalized ableism. We don’t owe the world our productivity, while there are those of us who want to be productive/feel useful.
Don’t listen to me.