A study recently published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences found that major life stressors can make symptoms of Long COVID worse. Long COVID-related stress is extremely common, but therapy may help long-haulers learn to manage it.*

Stress and Long COVID

The study, conducted by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, initially included nearly 800 people who were hospitalized with COVID-19 at NYU Langone Health between March 10, 2020, and May 20, 2020. Of those, 450 participants completed a series of surveys and other assessments at their six-month and one-year follow-up visits.

These assessment findings showed that participants who experienced major life stressors, including financial stress, death of a loved one, food insecurity, or a new disability, were twice as likely to experience:

• Sleep difficulties, 
• Brain fog,  
• Exhaustion,  
• Depression, and 
• Functional challenges with daily activities such as dressing and bathing.

Other factors, including older age, severe initial COVID infection, and the presence of an existing disability were also linked to an increased risk of developing Long COVID.

“Our study is unique in that it explores the impact of life stressors—along with demographic trends and neurologic events—as predictors of long-term cognitive and functional disabilities that affect the quality of life in a large population,” says Jennifer A. Frontera, M.D., lead author of the study and professor at NYU Langone Health.

“Therapies that lessen the trauma of the most stress-inducing life events need to be a central part of treatment for Long COVID, with more research needed to validate the best approaches.”

Therapy may be able to help

A study published in 2021 estimated that one-third of COVID-19 patients have been diagnosed with anxiety, PTSD, psychosis, or depression six months after their initial infection, and evidence from a separate study showed that psychiatric therapy could be beneficial for those experiencing neurological symptoms of Long COVID, such as:

• Anxiety,   
• Depression,  
• Fatigue, and 
• Difficulty sleeping.

Megan Hosey, Ph.D., assistant professor of rehabilitation psychology and neuropsychology at John Hopkins, frequently sees Long COVID patients in the ICU struggling with mental health after being dismissed by other physicians. 

She recommends a broader, more inclusive approach that takes all aspects of health into consideration.

“If we only focus on recovery from the virus,” she warns, “and not recovery from a holistic, whole-person perspective, people’s recovery is going to be incomplete.”

*Severely Stressful Events Worsen Symptoms of Long COVID. (2022, November 9). NYU Langone Health. https://nyulangone.org/news/severely-stressful-events-worsen-symptoms-long-covid