Coping with Long COVID and Other Long Term Health Conditions

Psychologist Dr Sue Peacock is co-author with Sheila Grainger of

How did you become an authority on long COVID and similar conditions? I’m a chartered consultant health psychologist and have worked with people with long-term health conditions for 25 years, including 20 years in an NHS pain clinic. Recently, people have been contacting me about their long COVID symptoms. They are desperate and some feel disbelieved by health professionals, while others are unable to access services if they have less severe symptoms.

What is long COVID?

The most up-to-date definition is COVID symptoms lasting for over 12 weeks. There are more than 200 symptoms. I’m mostly seeing people with milder symptoms such as pain, fatigue, breathlessness, anxiety from the illness itself, and brain fog, including impaired memory and forgetting words. Some of my clients were experiencing trauma from being in intensive care.

How can people cope mentally? Pacing is great, making sure you plan