By Brittany - For four and a half years, chronic migraine has run my life. It’s been at the forefront of most discussions and the primary focus when someone asks “How are you?” It’s hard to talk about sometimes, for fear of feeling like a broken record. Pain levels and symptoms fluctuate so frequently that … Continue reading How My Response to “How Are You?” Has Changed
By Sarah - Some men and women with chronic pain and illness are blessed enough to have partners who have been with them from the onset and who are both strong and loyal enough to be with them every step of the way. Some have found someone while in the midst of their illness who … Continue reading Chronic Illness & Toxic Relationships
By Maria - We all have been there: having a horrible migraine, feeling like crap, maybe even nauseous. On top of that, anxiety kicks in to make a bad situation worse. When something similar to the cited scenario happens, we usually start hating ourselves and our bodies. We question things like, why does this happen … Continue reading How to Manifest Self Love when Migraine Gets You Down
By Wanda - "When we can begin to take our failures non-seriously, it means we are ceasing to be afraid of them. It is of immense importance to learn to laugh at ourselves." ~ Katherine Mansfield. Being a migraineur, a spoonie, or even a parent, we face fear and failure on a regular basis. With … Continue reading Laughing at Migraines
By Jorie - Dear Sweet Kenzi Doodle, As I begin writing this it is the night before one of the biggest and most heart-wrenching decisions of my entire life—tomorrow I must help you cross the Rainbow Bridge after 12 years of your precious, vivacious, spunky life. A life that has been full, yet far too … Continue reading Dear Kenzi, More Than Just a Dog
By Robert (Guest Writer) - Dear Dr ______, I owe you a short note. I’m about to call a spade, a spade. I’ve been left in an anxiety dither for these months since I saw you in October. That’s why I haven’t followed up with anything. I was VA-stunned by deja vu when you asked … Continue reading A Veteran’s Story of PTSD & Headache
By Jeannette - Within the chronic illness community we speak a lot about the importance of visibility. We discuss the need to self-advocate, to have our rights heard, and the importance of speaking out against stigma, especially when you have an illness that has debilitating symptoms that impact our interactions with the world, but aren’t always … Continue reading The Vulnerability of Visibility
By Lisa (Guest Writer) - According to the Center for Disease and Control (CDC), one-third of Americans are not receiving the recommended seven-plus hours of sleep every night and over seventy different sleep disorders have been diagnosed by doctors. A lack of sleep can lead to serious health concerns like high blood pressure, diabetes, and … Continue reading Can Mindfulness Impact Sleep Quality?
By Pamela (Guest Writer) - Laying in bed, room as dark as you can get it in the middle the day, wishing every little sound would just stop... Loneliness creeps in and almost consumes you at times. It is not surprising that migraine and depression have been linked. Living a life where you need to shut yourself … Continue reading Lonely Alone Time
By Wanda - Do you make lists? I do. Tons of them. So many lists! Contacts, recipes, shopping lists, allergies, to do lists, appointments, doctors, medications, surgeries, conditions, test results, books to read, health studies... I make SO many lists! So, medications -- 27 at the moment. Some daily, some as needed, some I’d rather … Continue reading Chronically Fabulous at Fifty
