As someone who suffered long haul, I don’t know anyone in my social circle who came down with long symptoms besides me. So maybe it’s not as common as the medical journals describe?
Almost all "research" I've seen of so-called "long COVID" has been self-reported surveys from self-select internet populations; hopefully it's obvious why such "research" will end up dramatically overstating the prevalence. (Edit: Re-reading this the tone doesn't come across quite how I want it so to be clear I'm criticizing the research itself not denying that anyone experiences these symptoms)
Lastly, I do very much worry that the widespread culture of fear and stress - which has been actively encouraged rather than calmed down by health "experts" around the globe - is contributing to a type of psychogenic / psychosomatic illness. To be explicit, psychosomatic illness is a real illness, but it does mean that the underlying mechanism is not of physiological origin but rather psychoemotional stress/belief systems that ultimately culminate in physical symptoms.
Very sorry to hear that you're actively suffering from long COVID. I hope things get better for you. I struggle with a sort of chronic fatigue myself (not anywhere as severe as the ME/CFS type horror stories I hear about, but still) so I know how shitty it can be. I've always got a bunch of ideas bouncing around my head of new research directions, articles I want to write, etc, and it many times feels out of my control whether I'm going to have the energy to pursue those goals or not.
Not that "self reported", i suppose...
Which claims that 1/3rd who got it has covid-19 long term problems ( WHO ), my circle doesn't seem to be needing an differentiator for age. Since I don't know any elderly who got it.
So my perception is more pessimistic about the research, but I could have a more pessimistic circle, while you had a more optimistic one.
( Except for you ofc, that sucks. I wish you a speedy recovery)