As a new year begins, we are often encouraged to think about fresh starts and big plans. But what if hope looks different now?

In this episode, I reflect on reaching five years of living with long Covid and the quiet mental shift that has come with it. I’m no longer waiting to be better before allowing myself to live. Instead, I’m learning how to live honestly within the limits of my energy, health, and circumstances.

I talk about a brutal Christmas period, ongoing exhaustion, the dread of benefit renewals, and the reality of not being able to work. I also reflect on the small but meaningful role that writing and recording play in sustaining both purpose and connection.

This episode isn’t about giving up on hope, and it recognises that listeners will be in different places. It’s an invitation to consider a gentler, more realistic question as we enter 2026:

What are you hoping for now?

Join the community: www.lifewithlongcovid.co.uk

Buy the book here

Thank you to everyone who listens and subscribes — your support truly matters.

In this episode, I am joined by Rachel to talk about the fear of getting the flu and managing energy levels over Christmas.

To join the community, visit our website at www.lifewithlongcovid.co.uk

Christmas can be magical… but navigating chronic illness makes that harder. This episode explores the hidden labour, the energy budgeting, and the emotional weight of big occasions when your body doesn’t cooperate.

Visit www.lifewithlongcovid.co.uk to become part of the community.

I recorded something a bit personal this week. Some friends visited recently and reminded me that I’ve made progress this year. I have a little bit more energy, capacity, and can do things I genuinely couldn’t have done twelve months ago.

But there’s a tension there, isn’t there? As soon as we say “I’ve improved,” people hear “I’m getting better and it’s never that simple.

If you’re living with Long Covid or any chronic condition, you’ll get this one. ”

Hope it helps someone feel a little less alone today.

Life With Long Covid is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

It’s the 50th episode of Life with Long Covid — and what better way to celebrate than by talking about the most baffling, bizarre, and frankly ridiculous symptoms long Covid throws at us?

In this episode, I explore the strange side of chronic illness: the jelly legs, the electric zaps, the temperature chaos, the sensory weirdness, and that moment when you forget why you opened the fridge in the first place. If it’s odd, unpredictable, or impossible to describe… I will probably cover it.

Episode 50 is all about validation —Life can be exhausting and sometimes the only way to cope with these ridiculous symptoms is to talk and laugh about them together.

www.lifewithlongcovid.co.uk

Living with long Covid means explaining the same things again and again — what fatigue really is, why brain fog isn’t just forgetfulness, and why rest isn’t laziness. In this episode, Paul shares the things people with long Covid wish others understood, without having to repeat them every week.

I talk about unpredictable symptoms, cancelled plans, the emotional labour of keeping up appearances, and why recovery isn’t a neat, upward line. If you’re living with long Covid or supporting someone who is, this honest conversation is for you.

How do you rebuild a future when so much is uncertain? In this episode, I try and explain how I am coming to terms with chronic illness and what things might look like in the future. It is raw and unfiltered (even my dog Maisie makes a background appearance!).

To subscribe to receive an update and for all my previous work, including details of my book, visit:

www.lifewithlongcovid.co.uk

In this episode, I discuss how Covid has caused secondary conditions and go on a rant about what it is like to live with them! I also reflect on the difficulty of making and keeping hospital appointments. Subscribe and become part of the community at www.lifewithlongcovid.co.uk.