You’re Not Alone

Talking and working with my clients has taught me to be careful about what you say. It’s not really correct to say that you understand because oftentimes, you don’t. You can’t say that it’s going to be okay because you can’t promise that it will be.

So, instead, I learned to say the one comforting thing that I can say: “from this point, you’re not alone. We’re going to try to help however we can.”

Now that I am a long-hauler, I find myself saying something similar to other long-covid survivors: “You’re not alone.”

None of us really can say to each other when and if we get better. The jury is out. I’ve heard some people get better. Some people feel better for a while and then they don’t again. And a lot of people are like me. We wake up on the average day and things hurt and we aren’t okay but we can manage. And then, other days, things aren’t okay at all.

We’re hurt, we’re bed-ridden, we’re frustrated. And we’re wondering if we ever get better.

And on my part all I can say is “I don’t know. But, you’re not alone.”

I hope it brings comfort. It brings a little comfort to me. My head bobs up and down every time that I read something from a fellow sufferer that also describes how I feel or what I have been through.

I suppose it’s the old adage “misery loves company” or maybe it’s just the feeling of validation. Of knowing that you aren’t imagining symptoms and you aren’t overreacting in how you feel emotionally.

So, to all my fellow long-haulers out there who may happen to read this, you aren’t alone. And to find other places to share resources, compare and contrast symptoms, and vent frustrations, I recommend starting with the support groups Survivor Corps and Body Politic. You can find links to their pages in my link library here.

#longcovid #longhauler #supportgroup