Marking International Women’s Day & Covid-19 Day of Reflection 06 March 2026 On Sunday (8th March), we’re marking International Women’s Day and Covid-19 Day of Reflection – an important moment to recognise both the lasting impact of the pandemic and the inequalities women continue to face. Six years on, many people are still living with Long Covid – and women remain disproportionately affected in Scotland. We support people across Scotland to live well with Long Covid, including women like Sol, who has lived with the condition since 2020. Sol has been living with symptoms including fatigue, joint pain and brain fog, since late 2020. After being part of our Long Covid support groups, Sol has now joined our Voice of Experience Panel. Sol shared, “I first got Covid-19 in February 2020 when my brother came back from a school trip to Italy. When the second strain hit later in 2020, I just never got better. It’s very easy to become depressed and cut off from the world when you are dealing with a long-term health condition. My life got smaller and smaller. “I was in 5th year at school then and was only able to get through my Highers because I had tremendous support from my teachers. I was planning to go to university, and I went ahead with my applications. I even went up to Aberdeen to check out the campus, but I realised I wouldn’t be able to go to uni then. “It completely upended my life. I’m from an academic family. There had been an expectation all through school that I’d be going to university. Not being able to do that threw everything else out of the window. “For a couple of years after I left school, I was just drifting. I did bits of work here and there, but I couldn’t commit to anything because I wasn’t well enough. “It’s very easy to become depressed and cut off from the world when you are dealing with a long-term health condition. My life got smaller and smaller. Everything turned inwards until the point I eventually stopped talking. This is something that’s so common to many life-changing conditions. “Being able to express yourself is not something I take for granted anymore. “It took an intervention from a friend’s mum to make me realise I needed to do something. I went back to my school to talk to guidance teachers about what I could do. I was directed to Skills Development Scotland, and the Open University came up. I’d heard of it but didn’t realise how much they could accommodate someone like me. “By this time I’d started to build myself a support network, and it was only when I had those groups of people to call on – parents, neighbours, friends, even people in local charity shops – that I realised how much I needed this support. “Communication is so important, but it’s very hard to start talking again once you turn in on yourself. I do still have those periods where I find it hard to speak, and I always associate it with times when I am physically and mentally wiped out. “For me, it’s like trying to dig yourself our of a well with a tiny speck of light at the top. It’s hard to do, but it’s always worth it. I have fatigue, joint pain, muscle aches and brain fog. The symptoms come and go, but I can’t do anything strenuous for more than 40 minutes at a time. “I’ve now done the first year of an open STEM degree online with the Open University, but that took a lot out of me, so I’m having a break from studying now. I have fatigue, joint pain, muscle aches and brain fog. The symptoms come and go, but I can’t do anything strenuous for more than 40 minutes at a time. “I love music. I’ve been playing violin and viola for a long time, but playing is harder for me now. It’s not just that my hands get sore quickly because of muscle ache. But playing music is tough on the brain because you are interpreting something. “I was put in touch with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland in 2022 because I was on a very long waiting list for the Long Covid support service. They suggested I call CHSS, and I’m so glad I did. I was welcomed into the Long Covid support group, and I’ve been with them ever since. The pandemic was a long time ago now, but Long Covid is still here. People like me are still living with its effects. That’s why I was happy to join the Voice of Experience Panel with CHSS. It’s important that voices like mine are heard. “I’m always one of the youngest people in any support group. I do get a lot of pity because most people are older, and they feel bad that I haven’t had the chance to experience much of life yet. They are just trying to regain some kind of normality because Long Covid has changed their lives. I still have hope I can recover and get those life chances. “Through the CHSS group, I found out about an art group for people with Long Covid, and I joined that, too. I’ve always been quite arty, so it was a great fit. They send the materials and we meet up for online tutoring. “Recently I’ve taken up jewellery-making. I got in touch with a studio in Glasgow called Vanilla Ink. They are a social enterprise and run jewellery-making classes. They have been amazing with me. I got the opportunity to go in and do one of their workshops. “For Christmas, I got a blowtorch and a set of files – not the usual Santa list, but I love it! “Jewellery making is something my illness has given, something I’ve made my own. I probably would never have even tried to do something like this because I’d have been busy at university, then planning a career. “My illness has stolen a lot from me, but there are still things I can try to do. I’ve realised that if I stop doing something, then it becomes harder to start doing it again. I fight hard to keep what independence I have. “I never know if I’m going to feel strong enough to do something. I move day to day, not month to month because every day is different. I can’t rely on anything being there from yesterday today. “I want a safe community for people in my situation to fall back on so people just coming into this illness will have the answers we didn’t have in the beginning. And I’d like to be able to reach out to other people of my age who are dealing with this, too. “The pandemic was a long time ago now, but Long Covid is still here. People like me are still living with its effects. That’s why I was happy to join the Voice of Experience Panel with CHSS. It’s important that voices like mine are heard.” We want to hear your voice! Would you like to be part of our Voices of Experience Panel of people with lived experience helping to lead the way in the design of our services? We need people who care about our services to get involved. Join our Voices of Experience Panel If you’re living with Long Covid or worried about your health, our Advice Line is here for you: Call: 0808 801 0899 Text: ADVICE to 66777 Email: adviceline@chss.org.uk