Back at work after long Covid: Mindfulness exercises help with stress

Created: 08/14/2022, 3:00 p.m

By: Judith Brown

When long-Covid patients return to work after a long absence, they should not overstrain themselves.

A few exercises can help.

For some people, the suffering continues after surviving the corona infection.

This is the case if you are still suffering from long-term consequences such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating, persistent shortness of breath or hair loss weeks or even months after the Covid 19 disease.

Long-Covid or post-Covid patients can then often no longer pursue their profession for a long time and feel massively restricted in their quality of life.

When things start to pick up again after a certain amount of time, it is usually time to return to work.

So that patients do not overstrain themselves, they should take care of themselves at the beginning.

Back at work after long Covid: Mindfulness exercises help with stress

Long-Covid patients should take care of themselves and avoid stress when returning to work.

© Rainer Berg/IMAGO

The difference between Long Covid and Post Covid lies in the duration of the long-term consequences.

If there are symptoms at least four weeks after a corona infection, then one speaks of Long Covid.

However, if these last longer, at least twelve weeks after infection, those affected suffer from Post Covid.

Researchers have already discovered several potential risk factors for the condition, including poor mental resilience.

Those returning to work with either syndrome may need to approach some tasks more slowly than they did before the illness.

Another way to not overwhelm yourself at the beginning would be to shift the focus of your activities.

The Tüv Rheinland also advises not to challenge yourself too much.

Even if that could be difficult, especially for performance-oriented people.

Strategies for coping with stress could help here in order to be able to deal with the stresses better.

With the help of breathing training, mindfulness and concentration exercises, you can always relax and create small oases of calm in everyday life.

Sometimes those affected can resort to meditation and alleviate their symptoms through sport or physiotherapy.

However, they can or should also work on their inner attitude and reflect on their own attitude towards performance.

This is the only way to recognize your own limits and accept them.

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Back on the job after long Covid: Managers can support employees in getting back to work

In order to make it easier for employees to return to work, managers should have an open and constructive conversation with the person concerned when they return.

During this exchange, it can be clarified which tasks the employee can initially take on.

According to the Tüv Rheinland, employers are also obliged to reintegrate the person concerned as part of an integration management (BEM) - insofar as he was unable to work for more than six weeks within twelve months due to the post-Covid syndrome.

This should help employees find their jobs again and prevent further absences.

Meanwhile, experts have already found an effective therapy against Long Covid.

This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication.

In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor.

Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.