December 2020: Sibylle Imobersteg* and her colleagues are wondering whether or not they should hold their meeting in person. After some back and forth, they decide to go ahead with it but do so in a large room, which they air out regularly, every half hour.
Unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of the holidays
Despite taking precautionary measures, Sibylle and two other participants tested positive shortly afterward. Although she had only mild symptoms, such as dizziness and a higher temperature, she knew that something was wrong. “My body was fighting something totally new,” she recalls. Owing to the stress of the holidays, Sibylle hadn’t noticed just how exhausted she was at the time. It wasn’t until she returned to work that she noticed she was having trouble concentrating and “couldn’t focus on multiple trains of thought at once”.
“My body was fighting something totally new.”
A difficult farewell from her practice
As a systemic organizational consultant and coach, this kind of thinking is a key skill. She explains: “In a consultation, you need to be attentive and present while keeping several things in mind at once. For example, you have to observe the client’s various verbal and non-verbal cues, and be mindful of your own reactions while, at the same time, starting to think about a suitable method for finding a solution.” In light of this, it wasn’t long before she decided to hand over many of her clients to fellow consultants at her joint practice, saying her calendar was full. “Which was also true, in a sense,” adds Sibylle. She then tried to increase her workload a little again, but this resulted in several breakdowns and depression. Although Sibylle has now managed to get back on her feet, she ended up surrendering her practice rooms a week ago. “It’s a big farewell. I actually wanted to gradually reduce my workload until I turn 70,” says the 62-year-old. “Now I’m working 20%.”
Whenever Sibylle has an appointment with a client nowadays, she makes sure to keep one day free beforehand and two days free afterward. She takes the day before to spend some time in the great outdoors and focus on the job at hand, while the days after the appointment are reserved for recovery. Sometimes she needs them, sometimes she doesn’t. Planning them in is part of her energy management.
“If I know I’m seeing a client, I keep days free before and after the appointment.”
Consistent energy management
Energy management was prescribed for her in a Long-COVID consultation at the University Hospital Zurich. In the four individual sessions, she addressed questions such as: “How do I approach the week ahead of me? The day ahead of me? My energy levels? How do I decide? How do I pluck up the courage to cancel?” Although Sibylle already knew a lot about self-management and self-leadership because of her job, she says: “I got to know myself better through energy management. Now I know that I have to include buffers if I want to do something. This prevents me from becoming overexerted.” Sometimes, it’s the little things that make life easier. For example, she leaves her heavy skillet on the stove instead of putting it back in the cupboard after each use.
As long as Sibylle can plan her days, she can cope quite well now. “I’ve lost about 80% of my fitness since having Covid,” she estimates. A neurological examination shows that her brain is mostly functioning normally – apart from a slowed reaction time. She’s not surprised by this: “If something doesn’t go as expected and I’m rattled, I get short of breath or I get angry and start yelling. In such situations, Sibylle finds cardiovascular breath training helpful, which she discovered through her Pilates teacher.
“I’m easily rattled when something doesn’t go as expected.”
Diagnosis: severe fatigue
What the neurological examination also confirmed was severe fatigue. “Even though it seemed ‘logical’, it’s hard to see this diagnosis in black and white,” she says, deflated. But because her cognitive abilities are good and she consistently uses energy management strategies, the doctors have given Sibylle a good prognosis. She will discuss the results with her doctor and now has to “get her bearings again”.
Somewhat wistfully, she adds: “It’s sad to realize that I just can’t do certain things anymore. I feel defeated.” Recently, she let her niece talk her into going horseback riding – and it’s moments like these that are all the more encouraging. “After spending that hour on the horse, I felt lucid for six hours.” Sibylle feels this leap to being “lucid” very clearly in each case. And because this feeling is so liberating, she would love to go riding again more often; but she doesn’t dare to. Going on vacation also seems impossible at the moment. “I would need someone to take me by the hand, organize everything and be able to deal with it when I don’t feel like doing anything.”
“The conservation group offers me an incredible amount of support.”
Nature is her medicine
Sibylle has found that “someone”, at least to a certain extent, in the local conservation group, where she has been helping since lockdown. “As a result, I’ve become very socially integrated. The group offers me an incredible amount of support.” When her physical condition permits, she can engage in physical activity, such as tending hedges. And if she can’t do this, she helps out with something else. “The situation is ideal,” says Sibylle.
“It does me so good to be outside,” she adds. Which is why she’s been doing wildlife watching for a while now and has a wildlife camera set up in her backyard. She is also taking an online course about bird call. “It’s wonderful at this time of year, in the spring,” she says enthusiastically. “I sometimes even sleep outside under the open sky in the summer.”
*Name changed by the editing team. Real name known.
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