Long COVID patients are told symptoms are in their head – here’s how to change the narrative

By Kate Sheridan, Assistant Professor in Athletic Therapy and Training, School of Health & Human Performance, Dublin City University
Sarahjane Belton, Professor of Health and Physical Activity, School of Health & Human Performance, Dublin City University

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…

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