Volker Stahl’s Story
“Recovery came when I stopped treating my body as broken and started trusting it again.”
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Background
Mild Covid infection in Oct 2023
Fitness never returned, even after recovery from acute illness
Normally active and sporty, but post-exercise crashes and racing heart began
Decline (2024)
Had to stop most exercise, stuck with light activity
Symptoms: fatigue, brain fog, blurred vision, palpitations
All medical tests normal
Returned to full-time work in autumn 2024, symptoms worsened severely
Tried pacing, supplements, vaccination – no improvement
Turning Point (March 2025)
Read Paul Garner’s recovery account: symptoms real but brain-driven
Made radical choice: act as if healthy, ignore symptoms, live life fully
Early days were hard (panic attacks, doubt) but no crash occurred
Recovery Experiment (April 2025 onwards)
Week 1: shopping, cycling, socialising despite fear – survived panic attacks
Week 2–5: daily exercise, hikes, cycling tour, regained physical resilience
By June: back at full-time work, occasional minor symptoms but functional
By July: considered himself recovered, fitness steadily returning
Where I am now
Symptoms minimal and no longer feared
Back to full-time work and exercise
Recovery came from trusting the body again, not supplements or pacing
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Long Covid
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Long Covid
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Treating Long COVID as a psychosomatic illness
Think of myself as physically healthy
Ignore symptoms as best I could
Live life as if Long Covid were no longer in charge
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1.5 years
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The beginning
I know the suffering and helplessness of Long Covid, and I’m deeply grateful to those whose recovery stories showed me there could be a way out. This is mine.
I caught a mild Covid infection in October 2023. At first, I thought I was fine - but my fitness never returned. Normally, I exercised two or three times a week, but now even gentle activity left me exhausted for days, with my heart racing faster than normal.
Over the following months, I tried to push through, but by early 2024 I had to give up most exercise and stuck to yoga or light cycling. My days were marked by brain fog, blurred vision, fatigue, and the feeling that I was dragging myself through life. I managed because I only worked part-time, but I had little energy for anything else.
Doctors ran every test imaginable - ECGs, eye checks, bloodwork - but everything came back normal. My symptoms persisted, and although I could function, I missed sports and physical activity deeply. I distracted myself with quieter hobbies like chess and guitar.
In autumn 2024, I returned to full-time work. That pushed me over the edge. I barely made it through the weeks, called in sick more often, and grew increasingly exhausted. I tried pacing, bought a heart rate monitor, experimented with supplements, and even had another Covid vaccination - but nothing changed.
By early 2025, new problems appeared: poor sleep, rising anxiety, and deeper exhaustion. At one point, I had to take four weeks off work, barely able to walk around the block. I felt hopeless, like Long Covid had stolen my future.
“For the first time, I considered that Long Covid might not just be a hardware problem, but also a software one.”
A turning point
On Sunday, March 30, 2025, I came across an article in the Ärzteblatt (medical journal) about possible psychological components of Long Covid. This led me to the personal account by Paul Garner. A professor who himself contracted Long Covid and, after abandoning a purely biomedical explanation and focusing more on the psychological components, recovered. To put it more simply, but less diplomatically: The symptoms are real, but they come from the brain, not the body.
I spent the whole of Sunday delving into the "body-mind" thing and listening to stories from other recoveries.
As an engineer and evidence lover, I can't quite believe it, but I thought it was worth a try. For the first time, I considered that Long Covid might not just be a hardware problem, but also a software one.
So, I made the following plan. Starting tomorrow, I will:
– Think I'm physically healthy
– Ignore all symptoms
– Live my life as I did before Long Covid
And if it goes wrong, I'll find myself in the emergency room with a terrible crash.
Feels a bit like being "all in" at poker
“It felt a bit like quitting smoking. One part of my brain said it couldn’t be done. The other part said it could.”
The experiment
The first days were rough. I pushed myself to shop, cycle, and see friends - often ending in panic attacks. But nothing catastrophic happened. Slowly, I realised I could keep going.
Day 1 – Monday, 31 March 2025
I was still just as weak as the day before, but I went shopping and stopped for a coffee. I felt like I was about to faint. I took a deep breath: “You’re healthy, keep going, nothing can happen.” My brain didn’t get the message, and I had a panic attack in the café. Then… nothing. After a few minutes I was back to normal.
The same thing happened again while cycling and later when meeting a friend. By the evening I was exhausted, restless, and doubting whether this was the right path. Watching a recovery story on YouTube calmed me down. My conclusion: I was still alive, but it was a rough day with three panic attacks. It felt a bit like quitting smoking — one part of my brain saying it couldn’t be done, the other part saying it could.
Day 2 – Tuesday, 1 April 2025
Like the day before, I struggled through and ignored the symptoms. I had “only” two panic attacks this time. It felt slightly better than day one, but the uncertainty of whether this approach was right weighed heavily.
Day 3 – Wednesday, 2 April 2025
I dared to go on a short bike ride. I often felt weak and thought, “I’m going to collapse.” But I managed. A panic attack came, as if my body was divided about whether I was really healthy. Still, I kept repeating to myself, “You’re healthy.”
That evening I picked up my girlfriend from the train and we drank a bottle of wine in the park — something I hadn’t done for a long time. In the night I woke with palpitations, shortness of breath, and a headache. “Is this the crash?” I thought. But I told myself, “It could all be psychological, your body is fine.” I couldn’t sleep again, but the thought calmed me.
Day 4 – Thursday, 3 April 2025
This was the first day I felt I was on the right track. I went on my longest bike ride since Long Covid and it worked. No panic attack. I felt good — really good.
Day 5 – Friday, 4 April 2025
I did everything like I used to before Long Covid. I felt strong, with only a few symptoms. In the evening I even managed pull-ups — something I hadn’t dared for months because it always ended in a crash. I couldn’t quite believe it, though I was still afraid of relapse.
Day 6 – Saturday, 5 April 2025
I worked in the garden all day and in the evening went to a friend’s party. I felt like I used to, and I still couldn’t quite believe it.
Day 7 – Sunday, 6 April 2025
After spending the night in Brandenburg, I took the train back to Berlin. Looking out the window, I thought about the last 18 months of Long Covid: exhaustion, endless research, pacing, fear of crashes, the constant struggle just to get through the day — and above all, hopelessness. Now, for the first time, it felt like I had found the solution. I could hardly believe it. I started to cry. Luckily, in Berlin, no one looks at you strangely, no matter what you do.
Week 2
I exercised every day — light to moderate intensity. I jogged for the first time and began some light weights. Occasionally I still felt tired, woke early, or was sensitive to noise. My heart palpitations had gone. The euphoria of week one settled into a calm, steady feeling.
Week 3
Physically I was at about 95%. I had no real limitations, though I feared a setback. Spending Easter with my family left little time to worry.
Week 4
I went on two long hikes — 20 km and 27 km — with no ill effects apart from a blister. At the end of the week I felt 100% healthy. My rehab approval letter even arrived, a strange reminder of how bad things had been just weeks before.
Week 5
I went on a week-long cycling tour, riding 60–80 km every day. Apart from knee pain, I felt completely recovered. My muscles weren’t back to pre-Covid levels yet, but my symptoms were gone.
Week 6 onwards
Everything kept improving. Occasionally I’d feel dizzy, notice blurred vision or palpitations, but the symptoms always passed quickly.
By June 2025 I was back to full-time work. It wasn’t easy — stress brought tension and some palpitations — but physically I was strong. Even a heavy cold in July didn’t undo my recovery.
“Recovery wasn’t about supplements, pacing, or waiting for the perfect medical solution.”
Where I am now
As I write this, I consider myself recovered. My fitness isn’t quite what it was before Covid, but it’s returning steadily. My symptoms are minimal, and I’ve learned not to fear them.
Recovery wasn’t about supplements, pacing, or waiting for the perfect medical solution. For me, it came when I stopped treating my body as broken and started trusting it again.
I know everyone’s path is different, but I share my story in the hope that it might help someone else, just as others once helped me.
