A former Team GB rower says she was told she could “think my way out” of the debilitating physical symptoms caused by Long Covid on a course that aims to help people with the disease.
Speaking on a BBC archive in episode 4 of the podcast, Long Covid: mind over matterOonagh Cousins, who once had hopes of a place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, says she felt “exploited” by a company called Lightning Process, after being approached and offered a £1,000 long Covid course for free.
The former athlete had been shortlisted to row for Team GB when she tested positive for Covid in March 2020.
After developing Long Covid, including symptoms such as extreme fatigue, Cousins was forced to retire from the sport (too ill to participate in the rescheduled 2021 Games) and “mourn” her dream of competing at the highest level.
Former Team GB rower Oonagh Cousins has been shortlisted to row at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020; She tested positive for Covid in March 2020 and her lingering symptoms were so debilitating that she was not well enough to compete in the rescheduled 2021 Games.
Cousins says Lightning Process, a company founded by Dr. Phil Parker, contacted her and offered her a free course to try to alleviate her persistent symptoms, including extreme fatigue. However, she told the BBC’s Long Covid: Mind over Matter program that the company was “exploiting” people with the disease.
Speaking to BBC health and misinformation correspondent Rachel Schraer in the podcast published this week, Cousins says she felt the trainers at Lightning Process, which runs three-day Long Covid courses conducted via Zoom, They made her feel like it was her fault that she was sick. .
The former rower, who is currently a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford and researching Long Covid, says the company claimed that her physical symptoms, which left her so tired that she struggled to perform basic daily tasks, were caused by mental health issues.
Techniques used by Lightning Process, founded by Dr. Phil Parker, include saying the word “stop” when a physical symptom appears and circling a sheet of paper with symbols several times a day to help banish negative thoughts.
Cousins told Schraer, “They were trying to suggest that I could basically think my way out of the symptoms.” And I completely questioned it.
Dr Phil Parker, who has a PhD in Health Psychology, told MailOnline: “There are promising studies on the Lightning Process showing recovery for those suffering from this illness and other chronic fatigue syndromes.”
While a three-day Zoom course costs around £1,000, an audio program is advertised, at £15.99 (pictured), which can “help you prepare to take the seminar itself”.
One of the techniques used by the Lightning Process, and experimented with by BBC journalist Rachel Schraer, involved walking around a sheet of paper with various symbols on it (pictured: Oonagh Cousins).
She continued: ‘He had a very clearly physical illness. And I felt like they were blaming my negative thought processes for the reason for my illness.
‘They tried to point out that I had depression or anxiety. And I said, “I’m not, I’m just really sick.”
Cousins told MailOnline that while he is now able to work full time, his symptoms return with both stress and exercise.
On its website, Lightning Process states that people can ‘Learn how to restore your body’s health systems to normal using the well-researched connection between the brain and body.
The founder, Dr Phil Parker, is not a qualified doctor, but he has a PhD in Health Psychology and in one of his videos says he is also a trained osteopath.
During the podcast, BBC journalist Schraer enrolls herself in the online course and discovers that she has received similar information to Cousins about the connection between the mind and physical symptoms.
The former rower says she was told on the course that her thoughts were “maintaining” her physical symptoms, and said she felt like she was “blamed” for her illness.
The trainer leading the session, who did not have access to any of the journalist’s medical records, is heard saying: “Your thoughts about your symptoms, your worry about whether they will ever go away, that’s what keeps neurology alive and going.’
And he continues: “Having those kinds of thoughts is what maintains the symptoms.”
The trainer also says there is nothing wrong with him physically, saying: “They are real symptoms, but they are no longer caused by physical things, it is the brain that maintains them, not the virus.”
MailOnline has contacted Lightning Process for comment.
Dr Phil Parker said: “Oonagh’s claims of ‘feeling guilty’ are difficult to understand as they are completely at odds with the core concepts taught in the Lightning Process, which emphasize the importance of being kind during the recovery process.
“Many people around the world still suffer from long Covid and there are promising studies on the lightning process showing recovery for those suffering from this disease and other chronic fatigue syndromes.”
Long Covid: mind over matter? is available to listen to now on bbc sounds