Julia Kreikamp: “The neurotraining has helped me a lot and partly because of this I can now lead a normal life again! Right now, I work 32 hours at a super fun company.”
In January 2022, I contracted a corona infection. This led to me getting long covid. I was too sick to work for a very long time and unfortunately lost my job. An intensive rehabilitation programme followed. I was supported by a multidisciplinary team of an occupational therapist, physiotherapist and psychologist. In addition, I received respiratory therapy and was treated by an osteopath.
I had been ill for more than 1.5 years, but on the mend in terms of my energy, when I came into contact with Dynamisch Bureau through the Employee Insurance Implementing Agency (UWV). On a cognitive level, however, I still did not seem to get better. This meant that after short cognitive efforts, I was still exhausted and back in bed. I was looking for guidance to return to the labour market in a sustainable way. I could choose from different agencies and different supervisors, but at Dynamisch Bureau I got the best feeling.
So when I started the process at Dynamisch Bureau, I was still recovering. Together with my coach, we updated my CV and discussed the TMA Talent Analysis. Partly with the help of the outcome of this, I thought about which direction I wanted to go.
In addition, I followed neurotraining at Dynamisch Bureau to improve my cognition. That helped me a lot! If you are ill for a long time, and then also have a condition about which not much is known, you often fall through the cracks. Physically, I had improved and all my ongoing treatments were over. I was distraught about my cognitive situation.
I thought I had already tried everything and should maybe forget about a job with the need for cognitive skills. The neurotraining has helped me a lot and partly because of this I can finally lead a normal life again! Right now, I work 32 hours at a super fun company. In May, I will even start working full-time again, something I hadn’t thought possible for a very long time!
My perseverance has contributed tremendously throughout the process. I have never given up, I wanted to get better anyway. If, as a 24-year-old, you can no longer do anything except sleep and feel miserable, it is a no go. Of course, there have been times when I didn’t see a way out anymore, didn’t have any hope for a while. But by putting my shoulders under it every day and looking for a new form of help every time, after more than two years I am now at a point where I had never thought I could be again.
So keep hoping! Talk to people about what and how you’re feeling and keep looking for new ways to get better. It helps to talk to like-minded people because it’s just hard for outsiders to understand sick people, no matter how much they want to.
And also: give yourself peace of mind. Everything in its own time, it may not work out right now and that is really a bummer, but there will undoubtedly come a time when you will feel better again. This can take a very long time, and if you are in the middle of it, every day is extremely heavy and lonely, but hold on! If I could do it again, I would put less pressure on myself to always show the best version of myself, even when things were downright bad at the time. It is not bad to sometimes not get out of the house for a day because it really does not work that day. Be kind to yourself, you’re really doing your best!
I see my future all rosy again! I go back to work full-time, just bought a house, and my weekends are full of fun stuff again. I had really already accepted that I might never be able to work full-time again, let alone be able to play sports and undertake social activities. That is not necessary, because all this is now possible again! And besides, I also know much better where my limits are and when to press the brake. My personal message to everyone who is sick now: stay strong, find like-minded people, keep talking about it and above all be a little kind to yourself! In this very process, I can wholeheartedly recommend Dynamisch Bureau!