Long Covid Tips

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) People who have not experienced a significant post-viral crash such as long-COVID may be surprised to learn that it is sometimes treated as if it were traumatic brain injury (TBI).   But anyone who has lived with long-COVID, or other causes of chronic brain fog, memory issues and fatigue will understand it.   Even though after COVID most people do not show physical damage to their brains, the symptoms are can be remarkably similar to those of traumatic brain injury, such as after a stroke or a blow to the head.   Where it gets weird, is that when many such people get lots of rest, avoid stress, and do not overwork their brains, they can function quite well at times, and someone who did not know them before their symptoms started would think they are “normal” if they meet them on a good day. It took me over a year of waiting before I was allowed into a great research hospital’s post COVID program.   But once I finally made it in, one o...

I recently shared an introductory article on the benefits of sound and music therapy for Long Covid.  It occurs to me that it would be helpful to share some specific examples of methods and music and tips for how to enjoy it. Spotify Playlists for Relaxation and Sleep Here are some Spotify playlists featuring hours of Singing Bowls and Binaural Beats.  If you are not a subscriber, Spotify offers free ad-supported accounts.  If you choose not to sign up for an account, the links below will still allow you to see the names of songs and performers so you can search for them elsewhere.   Tibetan Singing Bowls for Sleep https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4lTadCehORo1j4XtjO6nki  Tibetan Bowls https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX3JNwc30ddaO   Binaural Beats: Sleep https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX8h3zQNo57xG Binaural Beats: Deeper Sleep https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWYILo9WhOOw6 YouTube Videos for Relaxation and Sleep While videos...

Music and Sound Therapy Has Real Benefits For thousands of years music and sound have been used in traditional healing and meditation practices across many cultures.  In the past few decades, modern scientific studies are confirming that there are legitimate therapeutic benefits to such practices.  This is a huge boon to patients because: music and sound are drug-free, so there is little concern about negative interactions sound is almost free as content is widely available on the internet benefits require minimal effort, mostly just finding some quiet time to relax and listen it is proven helpful for just about everyone with hearing, possibly even for some without For me, trying it was an obvious choice as I had nothing to lose and any benefits I received, however small, would stack on top of my other methods. Pleasing music and sounds have been shown to: lower cortisol, a stress hormone associated with depression, anxiety, binge eating, nausea and more lower blood flow to th...