Julia Kreikamp: "The neurotraining has helped me tremendously, and thanks to it, I can now live a normal life again! I currently work 32 hours a week at a fantastic 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 process followed. I was supported by a multidisciplinary team of an occupational therapist, physiotherapist and psychologist. In addition, I received breathing therapy and I 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 UWV. Cognitively, however, it didn’t want to get any better. This meant that after a short cognitive effort, I was still exhausted in bed. I was looking for guidance to return to the labor 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, I thought about which direction I wanted to go.
In addition, I followed the 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 that does not require much
about is known, you often fall between two stools. 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 I might forget about a job with the use of cognitive skills. The neurotraining has helped me tremendously and partly because of this I can finally lead a normal life again! At the moment I work 32 hours at a super nice company. In May I will even start working full-time again, something I didn’t think possible for a very long time!
My perseverance contributed tremendously in the whole process. I never gave up, I wanted to get better no matter what. If you’re a 24-year-old and can’t do anything except sleep and feel miserable, this is nothing. Of course, there have been moments when I didn’t feel like it anymore, when I didn’t have any hope anymore. But by putting my shoulders to the wheel 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 never thought I could be again.
So keep your hopes up! 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 a rest. Everything in good 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 when you’re in the middle of it, every day is extremely hard and also lonely, but hang in there! 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 just going badly. It’s okay to sometimes not leave the house for a day because it really doesn’t work out that day. Be kind to yourself, you’re really doing your best!
I see my future completely bright again! I’m going back to work full-time, just bought a house and my weekends are full of fun things again. I had really resigned myself to the fact that I might never be able to work full-time again, let alone be able to do sports and social activities. So no need, because this is all possible again! And in addition, I also know much better where my limits are and when I have to press the brakes. My personal message to everyone who is sick right now: stay tough, find like-minded people, keep talking about it and above all be kind to yourself! I can wholeheartedly recommend Dynamisch Bureau throughout this process!”