British RowingBy Rachel Schraer & Paul GrantBBC Trending and BBC File on 4A former Team GB rower claims a treatment she underwent for long Covid leaves participants feeling “blamed” for being ill.Oonagh Cousins was offered a free place on a course run by the Lightning Process, which teaches people they can rewire their brains to stop or improve long Covid symptoms quickly. Ms Cousins, who contracted Covid in March 2020, said it “exploits” people.However, the programme’s founder denied it blames patients for their illness, saying that was completely at odds with the concepts of the programmePhysical illnessMs Cousins had reached a career goal many athletes can only dream of – being selected for the Olympics – when she developed long Covid. By the time the cancelled 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were rescheduled for 2021, Ms Cousins was too ill to take part.When she went public with her struggles, she was approached by the Lightning Process. It offered her a free place on a three-day course, which usually costs around £1,000.”They were trying to suggest that I could think my way out of the symptoms, basically. And I disputed that entirely,” the former rower said.”I had a very clearly physical illness. And I felt that they were blaming my negative thought processes for why I was ill.” She added: “They tried to point out that I had depression or anxiety. And I said ‘I’m not, I’m just very sick’.”What are the symptoms of long Covid?Long Covid blood clues could prompt future trialsHealth staff start court fight over long CovidThere is no official test or approved treatment for long Covid – an umbrella term to describe a range of different problems in different people. For illnesses we cannot yet directly test for, there is a history of branding them as being driven by mindset. This is an ongoing challenge for ME patients, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome.Multiple sclerosis and extreme pregnancy sickness were both, at one time, considered to be psychological. But researchers now have growing evidence of what is causing long Covid – pockets of virus hiding in organs, signs in the blood of a disrupted immune system, and other measurable changes. In secret recordings by the BBC, coaches can be heard telling patients that almost anyone can recover from long Covid by changing their thoughts, language and actions.Over three days on Zoom, the course taught the ritual that forms the basis of the programme. Every time you experience a symptom or negative thought, you say the word “stop”, make a choice to avoid these symptoms and then do a positive visualisation of a time you felt well.You do this while walking around a piece of paper printed with symbols – a ritual the BBC was told to do as many as 50 times a day.Prof Danny Altmann, a leading long Covid researcher, says such behavioural approaches disregard the “mass” of underlying damage in patients that can be measured in tests. British RowingWe’ve spoken to several people who did not get better – and even felt worse – after taking the course. There were some who said it did help them a lot, including one who said it made her feel better almost immediately.In some cases the Lightning Process has encouraged participants to increase their activity levels without medical supervision, against official advice – which could make some more unwell, according to NHS guidelines. Lightning Process founder, Dr Phil Parker, who’s not a medical doctor but has a PhD in psychology of health, told us his course was “not a mindset or positive thinking approach,” but one that uses “the brain to influence physiological changes”, backed by peer-reviewed evidence. The coach on the course we attended said “thoughts about your symptoms, your worry about whether it’s ever going to go – that’s what keeps the neurology going.””Being in those kind of thoughts is what’s maintaining your symptoms,” the coach said. “They’re not caused by a physical thing any more.”Postcode lotteryDr Camilla Nord, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambri …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnBritish RowingBy Rachel Schraer & Paul GrantBBC Trending and BBC File on 4A former Team GB rower claims a treatment she underwent for long Covid leaves participants feeling “blamed” for being ill.Oonagh Cousins was offered a free place on a course run by the Lightning Process, which teaches people they can rewire their brains to stop or improve long Covid symptoms quickly. Ms Cousins, who contracted Covid in March 2020, said it “exploits” people.However, the programme’s founder denied it blames patients for their illness, saying that was completely at odds with the concepts of the programmePhysical illnessMs Cousins had reached a career goal many athletes can only dream of – being selected for the Olympics – when she developed long Covid. By the time the cancelled 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were rescheduled for 2021, Ms Cousins was too ill to take part.When she went public with her struggles, she was approached by the Lightning Process. It offered her a free place on a three-day course, which usually costs around £1,000.”They were trying to suggest that I could think my way out of the symptoms, basically. And I disputed that entirely,” the former rower said.”I had a very clearly physical illness. And I felt that they were blaming my negative thought processes for why I was ill.” She added: “They tried to point out that I had depression or anxiety. And I said ‘I’m not, I’m just very sick’.”What are the symptoms of long Covid?Long Covid blood clues could prompt future trialsHealth staff start court fight over long CovidThere is no official test or approved treatment for long Covid – an umbrella term to describe a range of different problems in different people. For illnesses we cannot yet directly test for, there is a history of branding them as being driven by mindset. This is an ongoing challenge for ME patients, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome.Multiple sclerosis and extreme pregnancy sickness were both, at one time, considered to be psychological. But researchers now have growing evidence of what is causing long Covid – pockets of virus hiding in organs, signs in the blood of a disrupted immune system, and other measurable changes. In secret recordings by the BBC, coaches can be heard telling patients that almost anyone can recover from long Covid by changing their thoughts, language and actions.Over three days on Zoom, the course taught the ritual that forms the basis of the programme. Every time you experience a symptom or negative thought, you say the word “stop”, make a choice to avoid these symptoms and then do a positive visualisation of a time you felt well.You do this while walking around a piece of paper printed with symbols – a ritual the BBC was told to do as many as 50 times a day.Prof Danny Altmann, a leading long Covid researcher, says such behavioural approaches disregard the “mass” of underlying damage in patients that can be measured in tests. British RowingWe’ve spoken to several people who did not get better – and even felt worse – after taking the course. There were some who said it did help them a lot, including one who said it made her feel better almost immediately.In some cases the Lightning Process has encouraged participants to increase their activity levels without medical supervision, against official advice – which could make some more unwell, according to NHS guidelines. Lightning Process founder, Dr Phil Parker, who’s not a medical doctor but has a PhD in psychology of health, told us his course was “not a mindset or positive thinking approach,” but one that uses “the brain to influence physiological changes”, backed by peer-reviewed evidence. The coach on the course we attended said “thoughts about your symptoms, your worry about whether it’s ever going to go – that’s what keeps the neurology going.””Being in those kind of thoughts is what’s maintaining your symptoms,” the coach said. “They’re not caused by a physical thing any more.”Postcode lotteryDr Camilla Nord, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambri …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
