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 (every week for over a year) to one day every 3 weeks (with a few setbacks).
Mindfulness is a technique in which you try to set aside your concerns for awhile and concentrate instead on your body in this moment, here and now. It often involves sitting still, breathing deeply, and perhaps meditating, doing yoga or a craft project such as coloring-in. The hope is that in calming your body and mind, your brain will have a chance to rest and reset. From there, your anxiety might lessen, energy increase, your mood could be boosted and you might get a better night’s sleep. There is also a chance that you will reduce your migraine pain (in terms of frequency, severity and/or duration) as I did.
Mindfulness, for me, includes the daily activities of walking, Tai Chi and meditation, but more generally it involves ‘checking in’ with myself as often as possible throughout the day. Am I ‘hunchy & scrunchy’ instead of sitting straight with a tension-free face? Am I hungry, thirsty or overheating? Has my pain shifted in intensity or location (for better or worse)? I want to be self-aware enough that I begin to recognize triggers as early as possible, and before they have the opportunity to develop into a full-blown migraine where I am in bed for 3 days.
If I do get sick with a full-blown migraine, mindfulness helps then too. Instead of curling into a ball and weeping for 72 hours, I remember to be calm and collected, disappointed of course, but not angry, frustrated or depressed. Mindfulness has taught me to read my body’s signals – I can now feel my blood pressure rise when I’m angry and my head tighten when I cry – neither of which helps my migraine. If the migraine does arrive, the hope is that by relaxing into the situation – it is what it is – I can shorten the duration down to several hours instead of several days.
I have created a Spotify account of music, meditations and podcasts all designed to help myself and others ‘shortcut’ the mindful migraine journey: Spotify
‘True’ mindfulness, however, relies on deeper connections to self-awareness, which come (in part) from Buddhist practices. Some recurring themes regarding this form of mindfulness include:
- focusing on the positives in your life and setting the negatives aside,
- focusing on the here-and-now, rather than the past or future,
- doing things with purpose and being fully aware of the experience,
- being grateful for the good in your life and accepting of what is not so good,
- remembering the wider world through compassion and trust,
- not taking things too seriously and maintaining a sense of humor as best you can,
- not being judgmental towards yourself; wherever your mind wonders, whatever emotions you’re feeling, they’re normal, you’re normal, and you’re always more than your thoughts and feelings.
If you click on the ‘mindfulness’ tab at the top of this post, you’ll see lots of other resources and links to help you develop a more mindful approach to your migraine.
Remember to liaise with your health care team before making any radical changes to your treatment, and for those who want more information on the benefits of mindfulness, here a few links that I have found helpful:
(1 min) What is mindfulness? – YouTube
Mindfulness – Mental health and wellbeing | healthdirect
Mindfulness and Pain – Pain Management – painHEALTH (uwa.edu.au)
How Mindfulness Impacts Well-being – Mindful
napadow-2020-the-mindful-migraine.pdf (harvard.edu)
Take care mindfully, Linda x
(DISCLAIMER: Please be sure to speak to your health care provider before making any lifestyle changes – I am not a medical doctor – I am only writing about what has and hasn’t worked for me as an individual migraineur with 40 years lived experience.)
The Mindful Migraine 
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