The Hidden Aftermath of COVID-19 on Chronically-Ill Women: Why Stress Still Shows Up Years Later

The Hidden Aftermath of COVID-19 on Chronically-Ill Women: Why Stress Still Shows Up Years Later

By: Dr. Brianna Henning, DSW, LCSW | PILLARS OF WELLNESS

In the years after the pandemic’s peak, a woman may look like she is “doing fine.” She may be back at work, caring for her family, and trying to move forward. Yet she may still feel exhausted, on edge, or emotionally numb when no one is looking. That quiet, lingering distress is real, and for many women, it is a sign that the stress of COVID-19 never fully left.

Why the Pandemic Affected Women So Deeply

COVID-19 did more than disrupt routines. It intensified the pressures many women were already carrying, including caregiving, employment stress, household responsibilities, and fear for loved ones’ safety. Women experienced heightened rates of anxiety, depression, PTSD, domestic violence, and other forms of violence during the pandemic, and these effects were often layered on top of existing inequities and social expectations (Henning, 2025).

The World Health Organization (2022) reported that the pandemic not only had a severe impact on mental health worldwide but also made access to mental health services harder at the same time. Lockdown orders and heightened caretaking responsibilities limited women’s ability to seek care. Women living in rural areas or without internet access were unable to utilize telehealth services, further narrowing their options.

For women, that combination meant more stress, fewer supports, and less room to recover. While the height of the pandemic may feel like it is behind us, the emotional effects can linger long after the crisis has passed.

How Stress Shows Up in a Chronically-Ill Body

Stress does not stay neatly in the mind. It can show up as sleep problems, headaches, stomach issues, irritability, trouble concentrating, flare-ups in chronic conditions, and a constant sense of being stuck in survival mode. Learning healthy stress relief techniques can be an important first step toward breaking that cycle. Pandemic-related burdens were especially heavy for women who were balancing work, parenting, frontline labor, and unsafe home environments.

When chronic illness is part of the picture, those stressors can feel even bigger because the body is already working harder. For many women, the pandemic did not create new stress from scratch. It magnified existing challenges and made everyday functioning much harder. That is one reason chronic illness counseling can be such an important part of recovery.

Chronic Illness and Long-Term Stress in the Aftermath of COVID-19

For women living with chronic illness, the pandemic often intensified a cycle that was already difficult: physical symptoms created stress, stress worsened symptoms, and the effort to manage both became overwhelming. The long-term psychosocial impact of COVID-19 is especially relevant because it shows the effects of the pandemic were not just immediate. They were lasting.

This matters for any woman who still feels guilty for “not bouncing back” after COVID. Recovery is not always linear, and for some women, the emotional fallout is only becoming more visible now. Women with chronic illness may also be carrying grief about lost routines, reduced energy, changes in relationships, or the feeling that life has not returned to what it was before.

Why Safety and Support Matter

Another reason these stress reactions persist is that the pandemic changed women’s sense of safety and predictability. Many women spent years juggling caregiving, fear of infection, financial strain, and the emotional burden of trying to hold everything together for everyone else.

Pregnant women, postpartum women, women experiencing miscarriage, and women facing intimate partner violence were at especially high risk for mental health problems during the pandemic (Sharma & Vaish, 2020). Social support is a key protective factor for women, which makes the loss of that support during the pandemic especially significant.

This is one reason so many women still feel emotionally stuck. When support disappears, stress often gets louder.

Considering Feminist Theory in Chronic Illness Counseling

This is where therapy can make a major difference. For women who lived through these experiences, it is important to find clinicians who understand the full context of what they have been carrying. In everyday language, feminist theory means looking at how gender roles, power, and life circumstances shape a woman’s stress, rather than treating her distress as if it exists in a vacuum.

Intersectionality means recognizing that women’s experiences differ depending on race, income, disability, chronic illness, parenting status, and safety at home. In practice, that means one woman’s “stress” may actually be grief, trauma, exhaustion, or the emotional cost of being expected to keep going no matter what. This approach is especially important in chronic illness counseling because it allows women to feel seen, not minimized.

How Counseling Can Help

If you or someone you love is still carrying the emotional weight of COVID-19, chronic illness, or long-term caregiving stress, support is available. Whether you are navigating a new mental health diagnosis or managing something you have lived with for years, you do not have to do it alone. The Pillars of Wellness Chronic Illness Counseling Program offers therapy and support that helps chronically ill women understand what they have been through, reconnect with their strengths, and build a healthier path forward.

You do not have to prove that your stress is “serious enough” to deserve help. If the pandemic changed the way you feel, function, or cope, therapy can help you make sense of those changes and begin healing in a way that fits your life.

Take the Next Step

If you are still feeling the effects of pandemic stress, chronic illness burden, or caregiver burnout, reach out to Pillars of Wellness. Our Chronic Illness Counseling Program is here to support women with compassionate care that recognizes the real impact of COVID-19 and the long-term emotional toll it can leave behind. Call us at (219) 733-3120 or contact us online to learn how therapy can help you move forward. Most insurances are accepted.

References

Henning, B. (2025). More than just a physical illness: How the COVID-19 pandemic has psychosocially impacted women from the feminist perspective [Doctoral capstone, University of Kentucky].

Sharma, N., & Vaish, H. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s mental health. PubMed. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih

World Health Organization. (2022). Mental health and COVID-19: Early evidence of the pandemic’s impact. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Sci_Brief-Mental_health-2022.1