Since making a full and joyous recovery from long Covid, I have heard from dozens and dozens (and dozens) of people who want to know how it happened, sick people who are as desperate for hope and solutions as I once was. I have spent many hours in conversations with these people, usually friends of friends, most of whom I don’t know but whose suffering is painfully familiar. It has truly been a joy and an honour to be able to offer some empathy, camaraderie and hope in the midst of their ongoing discomfort.
As my story of recovery has spread, in part due to this wonderful and important awareness campaign from Sinai Health Foundation, my ability to respond to the demand for details has hit a wall. I just don’t have enough hours in a day to call or email everyone who has asked. So I am publicly sharing all the information I have. (Check out the FAQ section below in case you still have questions.)
This is not a typical A Love Affair With the Unknown post.
But given all the uncertainty baked into chronic suffering, I figure it qualifies. And a public and shareable newsletter seemed like the easiest and most accessible way to share the details of my recovery story.
A great many of the people I have spoken with have followed up months later to tell me they too have made a full recovery. There are no words for how thrilled I am to have played a small part in helping someone get their life back. I wish the same for everyone who is struggling right now.
This is a copy of the email I have sent to people asking how I got my life back.
i'm so sorry for what you have been suffering through for so long.
been there! so few people get how debilitating and depressing long covid is. i truly understand.
the fast version of my story is that i had long covid for roughly 20 months (july 2022 until march 2024). i experienced a whole whack of different symptoms that had me off work and miserable. post-exertional malaise, dysautonomia, tachycardia, headaches, body aches, messed up sleep, gut issues and more... it was a long list.
i saw a long covid clinic specialist, worked with cornerstone physiotherapy's LC rehabilitation program for a year, did the RECLAIM trial with dr kieran quinn... nothing moved the needle. i had a lot of false starts, thinking i was improving, only to crash and relapse as soon as i did too much of anything resembling normal life.
in february a friend in new york connected me with someone she knew there who had a similar experience with LC and who had experienced a remarkable recovery through something called the lightning process. i was skeptical but in no position not to learn more...
i did a little research and was immediately turned off by the marketing materials. the website looks like new-age garbledygook and i imagined it was nothing but expensive snake oil marketed to the desperate.
but i did a little more research and eventually spoke with this woman (sally) and was most intrigued by her experience.
and also the price: $1900 USD*. it’s not nothing, to be sure, but i’d call it a bargain for getting my life back.
so i signed up late february, did the workshop march 22-24 and i am 100% recovered. i've been feeling amazing for months now. i exercise, dance, host dinner parties, see friends... i'm living a full and vibrant life. better than ever, to be honest.
i've since learned a lot more about the science of why this program works. the lightning process is one, patented, version of a neuroplastic approach to treatment. there are doctors around the world doing a similar version of this to treat long covid, including this group in norway.
there is a lot of work coming out of scandinavia actually, good article here.
mcmaster university just released a study (BMJ november 2024) about this, and the harvard mind-body institute is researching it too.
i'm still researching and learning more as i figure out how to write an article about this, but in the meantime i can tell you about the lightning process specifically.
the lightning process is not a miracle pill. it's a training workshop. it educated me about certain neurological processes that i wasn't even aware of, and how to do the work to influence my body's healing by changing those processes.
as sally said to me all those months ago, there is HOPE.
here's the info.
the topline:
The LP program is a form of cognitive behavioural therapy based on the science of neuroplasticity.
Learning the technique teaches you to recognize the unconscious neural patterns being activated every time you have symptoms, and to consciously create new and more helpful ones. It gives you the tools to re-boot your nervous system. When stuck in a chronic health challenge (or stuck with anything in life) you are over-activating the sympathetic nervous system—fight/flight, physical emergency response— which promotes illness, pain and despair. LP gives you the tools to trip that cycle and reignite your parasympathetic nervous system— rest, digest and repair mode— and STAY in that cycle which promotes healing and health.
LP is a training program, not a treatment. Once you've learned the technique, you have to do the work on your own.
the LP website:
again, ignore how cheezy it is.
the marketing does not do justice to the legitimacy of the science behind why this training works.
better site:
this is the site of the woman who was my instructor, amanda. i cannot recommend her highly enough, she's incredible at what she does.
look for the "stories of recovery" section. i have a testimonial there as well as many others to watch.
more explanations:
this is amanda explaining the lightning process wrt long covid
this is an article from the British Medical Journal by a fellow who applied the same principles and fully recovered
https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/01/25/paul-garner-on-his-recovery-from-long-covid/
this is a first-person essay from a british newspaper
this is a (long!) article outlining the influence of general pandemic stressors on our nervous systems
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10467233/#section17-20503121231194400
more info:
this is a bit of what sally, the person i heard about it from, first sent me
"LP is a training program so it takes work but as I said, I have been floored with results on day one and every day keeps getting better...I have my work to do but I have so much hope. I now say it is not if, but when I will heal. I WILL HEAL.
On the site you will find the 101 plus book and podcast recommendations, testimonials and much more.
To participate in the LP workshop you must first listen to the 4 hour audio below, following that you reach out to a coach (contact info below), fill out an application, have an interview (they want to make sure you have the right mindset to maximize the benefit of the process) and then lock into a LP workshop which is a three day workshop done through zoom.
Audio Download: https://lightningprocess.com/part-1-of-the-lightning-process/ (you have to listen to this 4 hour audio before you reach out to a coach)
Recovery Video Channels: (this offers HUGE inspiration - these are heavy long covid but they have recovery videos on everything!)”
- Heal with Liz:
- Lightning Process YouTube:
- Raelan Agle:
last word:
if any of this mind-body stuff sounds woo-woo (which it's really not—you feel sad and water comes out of your eyes, you feel stress and you get a stomach ache...) check out harvard psychology professor dr ellen langer. her work on mind-body connection is fascinating and powerful. really helped me get a clearer understanding of the science on which the LP is based.
this is what worked for me. spectacularly well and remarkably quickly.
i wish the same for you.
all the best
gill deacon
Attachments area
Long covid recovery: Amanda Ashley, Lightning Process practitioner, shares key tools for recovery.
Preview YouTube video Mike's inspiring Full Recovery from Long Covid & chronic fatigue
Mike's inspiring Full Recovery from Long Covid & chronic fatigue
Preview YouTube video Andrew: CFS/ME Recovery with the Lightning Process
Andrew: CFS/ME Recovery with the Lightning Process
Preview YouTube video Long COVID & CFS Recovery with Jodie Goss
Long COVID & CFS Recovery with Jodie Goss
*FAQ
Do I need to travel to take part in the workshop?
No, these workshops are held online. Mine was 3 consecutive 6-hour days, held over a weekend.
What if I cannot afford $1900USD?
The price is certainly prohibitive for some people. I understand there is an LP facilitator named Suzanne Eisenhut in the (415) area code who offers the workshop exclusively for people who cannot afford the full price.
Will this definitely work?
I can only speak for my own experience, as well as several people I know who did the same workshop on my recommendation. We have all had remarkable success and feel back to our old selves.
If it’s such a miracle cure, why isn’t it more widely discussed? Or on the front page of the New York Times?
Probably because it’s not a simple, take-a-pill solution. It’s a training technique that requires dedicated effort in order to be effective. And, perhaps, because of how uncomfortable many of us are with things we don’t really understand. The science on why this technique works is growing, but it’s certainly not yet mainstream.
I saw your interview posted on CBS and I think it is so great to see Long COVID recognized on a national level. I don't think people understand how truly all encompassing and debilitating LC is. I was referred to LinHealth for their CBT coaching from the Mayo Clinic and so far I'm feeling really positive with the results. I started about 2 months ago but already see the effects working in real time. LinHealth is a telehealth platform that takes insurance so may be a more affordable option for others.
just now realizing I posted earlier but keeping this post too!
I was just listening this morning to an interview with Dr Ellen Langer on the Huberman podcast, very interesting. Utilizing the brain's plasticity is the key to chronic conditions.