Astrid Spruit shared her experiences with COVID and later Long COVID via a blog. These blogs formed the basis for the book 'De Coronamuur' in which Astrid shows how a positive attitude can be helpful in dealing with illness and contributes to recovery. This is not very surprising, because that is what Astrid also teaches others as a coach; keeping a positive outlook.
Astrid falls ill in December 2020. A positive test result follows on Christmas Day. A bad time for isolation to spend the Christmas holidays in isolation from your family. 'That was tough for everyone', says Astrid. 'I also became very ill. I went to the emergency room twice, but both times I was sent away. The second time by mistake. My blood oxygen level (saturation) was only 75%. I was called about that in the evening. I have sometimes wondered whether things would have been different if I had been given oxygen then.'
Trust
Because Astrid keeps complaining. She remains tired and short of breath. 'I started looking for help quite quickly. Fortunately, I found understanding doctors. In January, I already started COVID physiotherapy.' It's now almost a year and a half after her infection and Astrid now dares to cautiously say that she is doing reasonably well. 'I'm not done yet, but it's already a lot better. I trust that it will be fine.'
No guilt
'A different way of thinking has helped me a lot in the past period', Astrid continues. 'I have given up the resistance to being ill. That resistance costs a lot of energy. You no longer have that for your recovery. Everything was allowed to be there. Sadness, fear. But no resistance. I went for complete acceptance. That also made me throw my guilt overboard. That doesn't give you anything except that you feel really bad about something you can't do anything about. COVID has thrown me back on myself and I have actually become my own coach. I have had a lot of time for self-reflection and I have benefited from the tools that I otherwise offer to others. The focus on what I can do and a positive attitude.'
Self-conscious
Astrid has become a more self-aware person because of this. 'That has also helped me in my contact with doctors. I have had serious menstrual complaints for years in combination with severe mood swings and back pain. I have been going to doctors for years, but was never really taken seriously. I kept muddling through. But the self-reflection during corona has made me a different conversation partner. And only now, after years, a chronic inflammatory disease has come to light with growths in the uterus and other organs. I have recently had surgery for that and fortunately I have much less pain because of it.'
In her book, Astrid reports on the process she goes through during corona. Astrid: 'How do you go from fear to trust? I get very positive reactions to it.'
