PHASE THREE
LIFE AFTER COVID
At this point, you’re stringing together more good days than bad. There may still be moments when your old, nasty symptoms return, but your overall trajectory is on the up and up. Please remember that Phase 1 and Phase 2 are always there for you to return to because recovering from long COVID isn’t necessarily a straight line, but sticking the course and celebrating the small and big wins alike is what makes you a Strong Hauler, and that tenacity is the base for your healing. In this section, you’ll fine-tune your positivity program and be on your way to coming back better than ever.
MINDSET
You're recovering! Yes! Now is the time to maintain your positive mindset and reach for the stars. During one of the hardest times of your life, you learned how to reinvent yourself and convert difficulty into wisdom.
You're emerging from longhauling into a very potent remake of yourself, so continue exploring your new life in healthy, dynamic ways. You've established new ways to face your stress through intentional nourishment and sustainable support, so don't stop now!
After a forest fire, fireweed comes back to reclaim the land in a hot pink, extravagant statement of transformation and transition. Be like the fireweed!
What We Know
This is a beautiful time in your recovery.
Set the tone and establish your new pattern of life.
There are no limits to your potential.
Old habits may creep in, but you have the tools and the power to interrupt them and remind them you've found a new way. Don't worry if you have to do this many times—old habits are hard to break.
to grow.
What Works
What are you doing? Are you cooking, gardening, working, volunteering?
How are you moving through the day? Are you dancing, walking, swimming?
How do you feel? Do you feel joyful, strong, calm, optimistic?
Who are you with? Are you with family, neighbors, colleagues?
Paint the picture of your ideal day:
- What are you doing? Are you cooking, gardening, working, volunteering?
- How are you moving through the day? Are you dancing, walking, swimming?
- How do you feel? Do you feel joyful, strong, calm, optimistic?
- Who are you with? Are you with family, neighbors, colleagues?
What Gets In The Way
Doubting yourself and your potential to heal. This entire site is dedicated to positivity and showing you that maintaining a positive mindset from Phase 1 through Phase 3 as well as for the rest of your life is how you Strong Haul your way not only through Covid but also for the rest of your life. You can and you will heal!
Listening to doubters. It can’t be said enough: surround yourself with people, places, and activities that believe you will heal from Covid. Only those who believe in you and your healing have a place in your life, and that includes you.
Engaging in negativity. Similar to the above, but this one is on you. You’re in control of your life, your healing, your commitment to positivity.
Clinging to old habits when there’s a world of new opportunities and potential ahead of you.
Shedding old COVID habits:
- Are there habits that no longer serve you? For example, have you been compulsively taking your temperature and checking blood oxygen?
- How might these habits be holding you back? Can you trust your body?
- Are you ready to let go and move on?
TAKEAWAY: Nothing in life is easy, and it’s possible that having and recovering from Covid is the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but maintaining a positive mindset throughout the process - and it is a process - is the best medicine.
REST
Now is an excellent time to go back to the basics! Look back through your journal and see how you felt after trying new techniques as well as how you felt when you gave up certain things. See what has helped further your recovery, and commit to continue doing those things if you feel called to keep those practices in your life. Relish in this new pace of your life and continue recognizing what is and is not working.
What We Know
You are your best barometer.
Pacing is critical to your healing.
Stress contributes to illness, and is individual.
Dance to the beat of your own drum whenever possible.
What Works
Identifying your individual stressors. Body scans provide a mental respite, but they also provide physical benefits such as reducing inflammation, fatigue, and insomnia. Jon Kabat-Zinn developed the mindfulness-based stress-reduction program (MBSR) and founded the Stress Reduction Clinic and The Center For Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society in Massachusetts. He has numerous body scans available for free, but I like this 30-minute body scan meditation.
Constant awareness of yourself. This may sound tedious, but once you get in the practice of regularly checking in and assessing your physical and mental stamina, you will realize that you are your own best teacher.
Paying close attention throughout your day. You can do an inventory for almost anything.
How did you feel?
- After a full day of activity?
- After certain activities?
- After a party were you invigorated or depleted?
- After a phone call were you inspired or exhausted?
- After a meditation?
- When you spent time with people who nurture your spirit?
- When you stopped spending time with people or doing activities that drain you?
What Gets In The Way
Overscheduling. The feeling of urgency to heal often leads to chronic overscheduling, and not allowing yourself the rest you require will lead to setbacks.
People pleasing and not honoring your own needs.
Comparing yourself to who, what, and how you were before Covid is detrimental to the pace you need now. Most Long Haulers crave a return to “regular life,” but I invite you to redefine what “regular” is and what you need now.
FOMO. The fear of missing out, or FOMO, is not only exhausting, but it can be dangerous to our health. Instead of FOMO, I invite you to embrace JOMO, or the joy of missing out.
Amy
TAKEAWAY: I choose to set the pace that works for me and I no longer move at the pace that society imposes.
NOURISH
I know that you're thrilled to be feeling better. Just imagine how dynamic your life will be if you continue nourishing your body in these ways. There is no limit to just how amazing you can feel! At this stage, you may be up for a more advanced nutritional plan, and in this section we guide you into further exploration, experimentation, and implementation of food as the path to better living both as a Strong Hauler and beyond.
What We Know
Experimenting and keeping a food journal helps to identify what works for you as a unique individual and what doesn’t.
Sticking to your program is critical, even if it’s not always easy.
Everything you ingest impacts your health and well-being.
Supporting our health now for whatever comes our way is an investment in ourselves.
What Works
Elimination diets. Testing for food sensitivities and inflammatory markers is one way to find out what works for you or not, and tests like the Mediator Release Test (MRT) are well documented, but they can also be costly. The Elimination Diet is an effective tool that you can use to help you identify which foods might trigger symptoms or health problems. It is considered THE GOLD STANDARD for identifying food sensitivities, and it costs no more than your regular groceries.
Journal entries. As mentioned before, journal entries are your friend for all things recovery from mindset to movement to nourishing your body in the best way possible. But let’s be real: we all slip. And I say, go ahead and slip, but monitor how you feel when you do and if the possible downsides are worth it as you strong haul your way to healing from Covid.
What Gets In The Way
Not acknowledging your progress and your pitfalls. While we’re moving forward, we also need to acknowledge the past and where we’ve been. You may or may not have started your Strong Hauling journey with a great diet or your diet may have been a work in progress.
TAKEAWAY: Continue to learn how your body thrives with what you eat and drink.
MOVE
Explore new ways to move your body.
Pick up the pace, but test the waters and as always listen to yourself.
What We Know
In the beginning, it was important just to move, but now you can push yourself by tracking your steps, progressing your workouts, or even signing up for an organized race or another event.
Try a new activity. Have you always wanted to hike a mountain? Start now by hiking small hills near where you live. If you don't have hills nearby, can you run stairs and plan a hiking trip? Just planning a trip is motivating in itself!
Play. I mean this literally: play. Get out and kick a ball around with a friend or your kids, take the old Twister mat out for a spin, shoot baskets, throw some horseshoes, play Marco Polo in the pool. Journal about the activities you loved ten, twenty, or thirty years ago and see if you can reignite your interests. This book will get you moving in this way.
What Works
Do what feels good.
Do what brings you joy.
Figure out what physical activity gives you energy and what takes it away. Make ease your target, and hit it!
I’m fortunate in that my husband is a personal trainer and my garage has been converted into a gym. I’d like to share some of his wisdom with you in this short video:
Inspired movement may look like:
- Picking up trash on the riverfront in your community.
- Going to a food bank and boxing up groceries to give away.
- Going apple picking.
- Grabbing a tea going for a stroll in nature with a friend, an inspiring podcast, music that lifts your spirits, or even walking in silence.
What Gets In The Way
Overdoing it.
Falling into stagnant patterns of sitting. It can be easy to default to our list of movies and shows with a positive, uplifting message, but too much of a good thing can sometimes be a hindrance to progress. Definitely watch a few episodes of Ted Lasso when that feels right, but maybe stretch or squat while doing it.
Thinking you have to do too much. Pacing is the name of the Phase 3 game, so don’t be daunted thinking about a three-mile jog, when a one-mile walk might be what you need to get the blood and endorphins flowing.