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Mindfulness for migraines
Mindfulness is the number one, overarching tool that has helped me reduce my migraine triggers (stress, fatigue, posture) and increase my resilience to the triggers I can not avoid (genes, hormones, climate etc.). As a result, I have managed to reduce my migraines from 3 days a week to one day…
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My migraine story
I have experienced migraines since I was 11 years old. In the early years they only appeared occasionally and did not have a major impact on my life. In my thirties however, they became more regular, and I began to experience hemiplegia (stroke-like symptoms). In my forties I was occasionally hospitalized for treatment and…
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Brain-strain (not pain): Part TWO (answers)
SPOILER ALERT: Today’s post includes the answers to the three matchstick riddles I offered on Tuesday. If you would like to go back and try the puzzles before you see the answers, go to the link here: * * * * * Ok then, for everyone else, how’d you go?…
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Pain rescue: sometimes you have to save yourself
Today is May the first – May Day. It’s traditionally a European day of ribbon twirling and dancing. But, me being me, it also reminds me of the distress call “Mayday – Mayday!!” I looked up the origins of the phrase, and it apparently comes from the 1920s and is…
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Brain-strain (not pain): Part ONE (questions)
I’ve been talking a lot about how to improve brain health from the point of view of minimizing pain. But I also realized that brain health in general is important; “use it or lose it”, as they say. So, I thought that for something completely different, I’d find three ‘matchstick…
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Creating a (mental) happy place
When I was a child, I used to suffer from insomnia. I would lie in bed and overanalyze what had happened that day… agonize over whether I could have handled things differently… imagine alternative tomorrows… catastrophize a bit. I’m not a huge fan of the concept of a ‘migraine personality’…
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The Boston Marathon and Mount Everest
What do the Boston Marathon and Mount Everest have in common? They seem to be the two most common stories I hear referred to as an (im)possible dream. A dream so big, the dreamer knows it could take them years to achieve, but one which they believe the sacrifice will…
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Sacrifice
Today (the 25th of April) in Australia and New Zealand, is ANZAC Day (the acronym stands for “Australian and New Zealand Army Corps”). Since 1916, it’s been a National Day of Remembrance which pays respect to all those who served and died in all the wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping missions our…
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Chair Yoga for migraines
One of the first posts I ever made on The Mindful Migraine Blog was about Yin Yoga. My neurologist recommended I do a few lessons as a form of mindful movement to help reverse my chronic pain. I mentioned at the time that I felt “no victory” getting out of…
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Being cruisy in carparks
Yesterday’s post “can drafts can cause migraines?” got mixed responses here, and on Instagram and LinkedIn (where I sometimes post links). Some people were ‘heck yeah’, some were ‘I guess so’ and some were ‘meh…’ – which pretty much sums up all my feelings over the last few weeks I’ve…
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Can drafts cause migraines?
A month ago, while I was walking my two dogs, a lady who was visiting a neighbor up the road stopped me. She wanted to chat to my dogs. After her dog-whispering was complete, she started up a conversation with me. She mentioned she wasn’t feeling that well and began…
The Mindful Migraine 