That sucks, and I’m sorry that you’re struggling to get to a baseline, but also don’t be under any misconceptions that I have figured it out yet either. I literally just about a week ago got the Visible Plus subscription and the Polar 360 arm band to help me pace better (because I hadn’t been able to do it in any meaningful way at all ever). It’s been a year of push/crash for me, and I finally realized that I literally cannot pace effectively on my own without some better and clearer guidance. As I am only a week into using it, it still remains to be seen whether where I am at _is_ my baseline, or if I can pace effectively for a while and actually get to a point where I can do a little more every day than I can now.

If you can afford it, I do recommend looking into Visible Plus with the arm band. It’s designed by people with Long Covid for people with Long Covid. It continuously tracks your heart rate to provide immediate feedback when you are overdoing it physically. What it has shown me is that I really can’t do much at all, and that I really need to rest more and do way less than I have been. Of course, heart rate isn’t everything, and emotional and cognitive exertion also contribute equally to our energy expenditure, but even getting one aspect under control should help.

Hang in there. We really are dealing with something that no one fully understands, and we need kindness and compassion for ourselves as we attempt to navigate our “new normal”.