Well guess that your not facing this need to monitor. My blood pressure spikes to 185/123 & heart rates can spike to 140 so my monitoring is to me not a form hypervigilence but a tool so can keep myself from flare ups & prevent a stroke or injury. Example My weight spike with long covid despite low calorie diet due to it causing insulin resistance by using a keto mojo GK+ i could monitor the effects of my diet and reduce my hgbA1c from 6 to 5.4 that not hypervigelence thats self care Example By monitoring my heart rate once i felt symptomatic i could glance at my watch & confirn that my heart exceeded my limit & confirmed why was symptomatic which only help my pacing improve. Example: By Using my blood pressure device I could monitor my blood pressure when it spiked knew needed to rest & hence preventing risk for stroke. I do not view these tool as hypervigelence but inside proactive measure so i know if i need a treatment , need rest , or make changes. This is no different then a nurse montoring you in a hospital. She can not look at you and know your well she takes vitals and makes intervention based on results in order to keep yourself safe. I dont have an imaginary condition but a multi system dysrugulation caused by long covid affectibg receptors in my body that affect heart rate, blood pressure, glucose, inflammatory response. If i dont monitor I can cause more harm to my self in long run. These are just tools & devices which can help monitor and help you stay active by pacing yet at the same time know when you exceeded you limits. You dont realize the internal damage this condition can cause because some of its effects are silent killers, like blood pressure, chronic inflammation when you push to hard. For me its just a tool just like deep breathing, trusting God , praying , eating well, taking supplements they all combine together for better quality living. My monitoring and pacing has taken me from baseline heart rate of 110 to 120 to baseline heart rate 70 to 80 . By pacing i can get more activity in and less down time since got a device help me not exceed my limits . Long covid is a lot of mental work to manage but in my case once I accepted its part of my proactive efforts to make my self better for a condition that has no current cure & may or may not remit. My efforts are worth it. Chronic inflammation cause by pushing thru your symptoms can cause silent damage. I rather make the mental effort. It dont hurt me & its not hypervigelence it me being proactive about my care and being my own nurse and care taker and not do it blindly. I did Enjoyed you video since always good to hear about others situations & perspectives. However just thought it equally important to share mine. To all those strugglingwith long covid I pray you get better & get the support you need since this is a difficult condition to navigate alone 💕❤️❤️

Do something small for someone else other than yourself. Serving others usually makes me feel better.

Thank you for doing a video on this topic. I cried abit while you were talking as I really felt how difficult this journey has been. I think I'm feeling unmotivated as I've been unwell for quite a few years now. At first I was so good at keeping motivated and going crafts and small activities I enjoyed. Now I'm feeling really demoralised I think and I've lost that spark of joy like you say for even the things I did enjoy. I think the 10 minute idea sounds helpful as just doing a little thing would bring a sense of reward and hope...and at least take my mind off things. I guess fake it til you make it might be needed for a while! 😊 xx

This video is pure GOLD 🤗✨ thank you so much! I’m currently struggling through an infection on top of LC, starting to spiral but now i have some tools (and homework 😉) that I didn’t have before. Thank you so much!!!

Thank you so much for this video! I’m in the midst of my severe CFS/Limbic impairment recovery and I just tested positive for Covid. I’ve made such good progress in the last 4 months so testing positive for Covid really jolted my system today. I feel much better now after watching this video 🩷

Thank u for doing the video .

Such sage advice! Thank you Lucy! ❤🙏

Wow! I recognize all of those in me.

Hi, i have been struggling with all weird symptoms, tingling, sometimes crowling under my skin , pins e d needle all over my body…they keep changing and spreading…All day they are very uncomfortable and untollerable….Any help🥺

❤💗

I'd absolutely love a video about why the brain doesn't go "okay, this person feels safe with this symptom present, therefore I will continue to send the symptom" - the mind body approach has worked for me! But I'm just extremely curious about this as it's what put me off trying it out at first, I'd just love to understand the brain's logic more! xx

Thank you so much for this Lucy ❤ I appreciate you sharing your lived example, it really helped to hear how the grief appered like this after the event. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend 💕 sending hugs xx

Well...ive tried....with the i am ok.. I'm safe....etc etc....but...my mind still refuses to give up , causing me awful worry and fear... So tired ...its relentless.

Lucy, I've got 2 questions for you. :) When people have mindbody syndromes, isn't that actual disorder which you just learn to manage better? I guess it's not "normal" to somatize everything, especially to level of CFS. Is there even a thing as "being healthy" then? And the second question - the consensus is that the brain creates these problems - more specifically some threat detection center. But then your brain is perceiving these symptoms as dangerous too? This doesn't make any sense, unless there is some sort of brain disconnect? How do you wrap your head around this? Is there some scientific way to explain this? Thank you.

I just had a symptom of stomach churning. What happened was my husband acted in a way that annoyed me. We are retired and he often does and says things that I dont agree with. I find it difficult to accept this. Any tips'?

Spot on and a useful reminder!

I am dealing with ME/CFS and chronic pain to begin with. In the past I went on and off antidepressants. Sure there was withdrawal but it is not even comparable to what I go through now with benzodiazepine withdrawal. I was put on it in a hospital and my body was dependent after only 3 weeks. I am already tapering for 4 months and this was really hard but manageable. Now I hit a rough patch and I can’t manage it anymore. The pain and exhaustion are excruciating 😣😣 I feel like TMS maybe cannot help with this one :( It is so hard when you are already chronically ill and have to go through withdrawal of a benzo on top.. it will take at least 5 more months to taper and who knows when I will feel normal again after stopping. There are so many horror stories online..

Hi Lucy, thanks for this video it's something that has been coming up for me recently around pacing/planned rest throughout the day. In earlier stages of my Long Covid, a nurse (and everything I was reading at the time!) strongly advised planning my day with regular rest intervals and resting before feeling tired etc and how this was the key thing that would help me recover. This created a lot of fear for me and I routinely planned my day that way and would be worried if I missed rest or perceived I didn't have enough and would feel worse (likely as a result of the fear). Since believing in the mind body approach I am making small progress but still v much struggle if I don't rest at regular intervals throughout the day and do it daily. I personally feel that I've created a safety behaviour but it's difficult to shift given that my body still feels as if it needs this rest. Does that make sense? Do you recommend a graded approach to reducing rest and increasing activity? Thanks, Abi

Thank you very much ❤

For the large part I felt safe before this, but unsafe to a degree in certain areas perhaps Unsafety now comes not just from the condition, but the very foundations which no doubt allowed safety in life before..purpose, connection, family, independence, financial security All of these are gone including family which is the biggest kicker, not a soul in my corner How can I feel safe with no foundations. I think even if I wasn’t unwell and lost all the the aforementioned, I’d struggle

This is a big loop for me Essentially abandoned by family and literally fighting for my life alone It’s hard for me to feel any sense of safety in my body or immediate environment m, let alone the outside world or people It’s likely triggered childhood abandonment issues and the reality that throughout life I likely abandonment myself, with lack of boundaries I grieve so much in this, but the biggest grief is the loss of those whom I loved and trusted the most

This is insane for me, listening to someone who have red a book and worked with their feelings and emotions and somehow it cured them. I have fatigue, chronic migraines, digestive system problems because of long covid. Trying to find answers in internet. It has so much to do with immune system, viruses hiding in your body, that immune system can’t detect, blood cloths, nanotechnology and so on. Your lymph system is full of toxic waste, it’s a lot about blood, cells, and so much more. Yet here we are listening to people who red a single book who helped them manage their feelings and emotions and somehow that cures them 100% the allergies the chronic symptoms just vanished after that. That is absolutely insane to me..

Progress amnesia is something I experience. If I look back at my symptoms from one year ago, I can admit I have had a little improvement. But on a daily basis it’s easy to feel like there’s no improvement happening. Every now and again I make a list of what has improved so I have evidence!

Hi Lucy, can I ask what dose of LDN you were on? I’ve slowly worked up to 0.5mg but it’s taken about 3months. I’m increasing very slowly. Haven’t felt any improvements yet but so glad I’ve just found out about TMS & it all makes so much sense!… why 10yrs of CFS nothing has helped.

Did you have vascular issues? My veins in my legs, arms, and hips have been bulging since February. I even developed venous insufficiency in my legs. It’s hard to treat long Covid as TMS when I can see visible physical damage. Do you think the mind body approach can still heal me?

Thank you so much for making this video! I realize I struggle a lot with all of these! It helps a lot to hear someone else talk about it! It helps me gain a better perspective and makes me feel a little less alone! I really hope I'll be able to break these patterns eventually. One step at a time.

Hi lucy, Did you ever get the vaccine whilst long hauling?

What medication did you use Mine is setraline it helps a lot

Thanks for sharing your story, out of curiosity apart from the book and the IFS method, was there anything else that helped your recovery from long covid? Perhaps medications or supplements?

I can relate to these social triggers. Thanks for the instructive and helpful video.

Hey there Is your method based on dr joe dispenza s practices? If not can joe dispneza s method be a good alternatieve?

Gracias por compartirnos información tan valiosa y tan importante! A veces nos olvidamos de lo importante que es la compasión en nosotros mismos. Gracias Ellen!

Very interesting

Hope and Compassion are key …

Lucy I’m looking forward to watching more of your channel ❤

Ellen Alden’s Stess Less Studio is a gift ❤

It seems Stress and emotions can definitely contribute…and can even precipitate not feeling well.. The Mind Body connection is definitely something to consider to heal.. ❤

This is a really great video… Very informative and sensitive to the struggles of going through long Covid or any chronic illness where you feel totally alone and need some guidance and help for hope to get through it… Ellen Alden is such an inspiration… Her kindness and patience, and her encouragement have been a huge help to so many people… Her sense of humor helps keep things light, even when the struggles are real… God bless the both of you for doing this video to raise awareness and give people hope that things can get better… It’s so important to listen and it’s so important to be heard… Acknowledged… And understood .. that what is happening is really real… Thank you Lucy I will subscribe to Your channel as well. You have a very kind, comforting way also… Bless you both. ❤❤ Thank you 🙏

Very useful advice and good food for self-reflection. We need to establish the red flags or we loose ourselves and our dignity in relationships. I would add that setting boundaries will maintain a healthy balance between us and others, so we don't give our own power over to someone else.

Thanks for the video. I completely agree with what you said about tracking these things being a form of hypervigilance and that was certainly true for me (I'm recovering from long covid). I've mostly stopped checking my smart watch since i started using a mind body approach about 6 months ago and have been progressing very well in my activities. I only check very occasionally now but surprisingly my HRV has actually gone down over that time even though I'm able to do so much more and feel better. Just wondering if you did ultimately see yours go up as you recovered and at what point? I probably should just stop looking at it at all as its clearly not correlated with recovery for me but i admit it still causes me a little anxiety to see it decrease over time. Thanks!

I had difficulty with guilt and shame when setting boundaries at first. It takes practice to set them, to say no. I remember the meditation book called 30 Days to Overcome Guilt by Harper Daniels helping.

Microphone is a bit 'hot'. Try setting it between -12 and -6 with a touch of compression. Thx for the videos. 😁

This is something that is really tricky for me. The example with the cold symptoms is great bc I do often get cold symptoms as mind body symptoms. I would not push for sporty things in this case but I often have it before travel or holidays and then when I‘m there it’s gone and I‘m fine and having a good time. Soo hard to make good decisions if the signs your body is sending are not clear…

Hello , can I ask, why do vaccines trigger long COVID or cfs?

So helpful thank you!

Very well done! Great video. I can clearly see that you are not overstating things and or being in a victim mode. I know we what you go threw. Stay strong 💪

This video sounds like me. Getting long covid was truly a test of what it took for me to be honest about my capabilities and how I am feeling. I failed at that for months but have definitely improved. Another factor for me has been wanting to do so many different things, but only having the energy for one or two, and accepting that I can’t do it all at once. It is hard to change and live so differently than you once did. Pacing in a world that’s always rushing is a challenge but I know it is necessary for my health and wellbeing. Another great video!

(not parts but needs) i used this method to give names to my needs, eg my inner social butterfly, i called it "broadcaster"; i had 6 of them including the 'zen monc' for relaxation and the "enjoyer", who likes outdoors and cooking. specifically for longcovid i added "the wild horse" to represent the nervous system and a parenting horsewhisperer i call "cuddle". so i go through them and ask them what they need/want.

a German equivalent is "das innere Team", by Schulz von Thun (Miteinander reden, part2of3), comes with illustrations, brainfog-friendly read; there is also a webpage explaining the inner team

Thanks for the insights. Great video.