The Micro-Olympics is a mindset to help me cope with long COVID.
I used to be very active. But if I’m too active now, I suffer from post exertional malaise. I get discouraged about how little I can do, even though I am pushing my body to its physical limit (while avoiding The Wall).
I now think of myself as a world-class athlete in the Long COVID Micro-Olympics. Example events are
- taking a shower
- getting dressed
- walking to the curb
- unloading the dishwasher
- moving wet clothes to the dryer
Example endurance events are
- the two-block stroll
- six-minute cycle
- sitting through dinner
- grocery shopping
Here’s how the competition works:
- I come up with an event that I’m pretty sure I can complete with no problem.
- Try the event.
- If I don’t crash or feel bad any time in the next two days, then I won!
If I just felt a little bad, then that could be anxiety or adjustment to the activity and I’ll try again. If I crashed, then I avoid that activity or make it dramatically easier.
Living with long COVID is incredibly demanding physically, mentally, and emotionally. I’ve never trained for the Olympics (or anything else), so I don’t know how it compares, but man this is hard.
Let’s make a game out of it.