Fatigue
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Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of long covid (up to 80% in some surveys) that can have a huge effect on physical and mental wellbeing. It’s can often comprise both physical and mental exhaustion, with a profound loss of energy that can be unrelenting and made worse by tasks that used to be trivial.
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It can have a really devastating effect on all aspects of a Client's life and limit their ability to do their usual everyday tasks or jobs, and then have a knock on effect on relationships, family and finances.
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We also know it can be really hard to get others to understand the experience of fatigue, and how it goes beyond just being 'tired' and how difficult it can be to describe.
Background
An understanding of the following key concepts is required ahead of coaching users through the Fatigue Theme. Please review the following resources:
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Leeds NHST: Intro to Pacing
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PHSA: Managing fatigue
Call Template
The following template outlines the structure of the Week 1 session and the key components to cover.
Outline of the Session
Fatigue
The session should cover three main sections:
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Give the Client some time at the start to share their experiences in managing their fatigue and identify what's most important to them
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Introduce the Prioritise, Plan, Pace approach - teach core concepts of energy management and conservation
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Discuss practical steps to utilise this approach in the day-to-day and present 1+ management techniques to take forward in the week ahead
Conclude with a tangible goal for the upcoming week (see template for examples)
Note that sometimes giving Client's 'permission' to pace and prioritise can be an important part of support. Throughout the session, emphasise that it is okay to prioritise how they spend their energy and it's okay to ask for help, it's okay to take some things off their todo list and encourage them to be forgiving to themselves.
Resources to Activate
Following the video call session, the following resources should be activated for the Client to review. Select the content that you think will be most relevant to the Client based on the session.
You can click on each of the tiles to view the full article or video.
Note for this theme, the videos are split into 'to watch' (educational videos) and 'exercises' (interactive exercise sessions, e.g. mindfulness and meditation)