Woo hoo – pinch me (gently) – I can hardly believe it – The Mindful Migraine Blog turned one year old today…!!
As I’ve mentioned before, I started this blog because I was sad and lonely and couldn’t find anything like it online. I was looking for real-life information about migraines, written by someone with lived-experience of chronic pain who was prepared to be vulnerable enough to share the highs and lows of their healing journey. Somewhere I could get information I could relate to from someone who was in a similar position to me… hurting… confused… but motivated to heal and have a better life… someone on the same path to self-improvement as me, but just a few steps ahead so they could pull me onwards and upwards…
When I began to “fill the void” a year ago, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to come up with enough ideas to complete a whole year’s worth of blogging (my 2024 New Year’s Resolution). As the year progressed, the reverse became true – I realized there is SO much I want to say about living the most rewarding life possible when you also live with pain. It’s not easy, and the journey from illness to wellness is slow and steep – but it IS possible to get better and live more happily ever after.
This year, my resolution is more of a vibe than an action – I’m aiming to be “lighter and brighter” – to expand my thinking while reducing my footprint – to complete my PhD whilst losing some weight – to be more positive and more generous – to clear space in my life for healing and collaborate with the people that inspire and motivate me – and to find ways to make this blog more inclusive (perhaps I’ll experiment with reading the posts out loud in case reading the text is too hard for you on pain days).
But for now – I’m going to take a quick backwards glance and celebrate the year that was. I’m NOT going to rave on and on about what a big deal it is to me that you’re all here, all reading and replying – I say it all the time, and it remains as true today as always; I humbly thank you for being here with me – YOU ARE THE BEST.
What I AM going to do today, is a quick round-up of past posts and other people’s blogs.
In terms of previous posts I’ve written over the year, here’s the “most popular” ones (based on different metrics):
Most viewed:
Most liked:
Most comments:
In terms of blog shout-outs, I want to mention a few AMAZING bloggers – if you’re on one of the lists – THANK YOU for being incredible! If you’re not mentioned, you still rock, there’s just too many of you to mention! If you can, please be sure to pop over and visit one (or more) of the blogs listed below to share the blog-love that makes up beautiful-blog-land.
Here’s 7 of my earliest supporters who STILL drop in and say hi from time to time (wow – grateful much?!):
- Amy – It’s Amy I said
- Candy – GeekMamas
- Edward – Thoughts about leadership, history and more
- Kevin – The Beginning at Last
- Mike – Silent Pariah
- Sheila – Offshoots Photography
- Stella – Stella Reddy’s Story of Hope
Here’s the 6 bloggers who comment the most often (according to the system’s statistics – I don’t keep tab!) – thank you to all of you for being so engaged with the material, it is SO validating to know that people are reading what I write and that it resonates:
I’m going to shout-out another dozen blogs (ok more – I can’t help myself!) – these people are always commenting with positivity and enthusiasm and making me smile, even if the algorithms don’t (yet) recognize them:
- A graceful life
- Beyond Sirius Sea
- Black Learners, Bright Futures
- Black Moon Lilith
- Confessions of a survivor by Kay
- Curating Quietude
- Curiosities, Castles and Coffee Shops
- Destiny’s Designz – this & that
- Lifesfinewhine – The Life & Ramblings Of A Zillennial
- Life target – exploring the right target of life
- Life with Charli
- Love life with Dawna
- My Mindfulness Journey Blog
- Noir – the darker side to sedge808
- Nutsrok
- RA – LIFE WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
- Raffaello Palandri’s Blog
- Rise&Inspire
- Silver Apple Queen
- Soul & Suitcase
- Sue Dreamwalker
- This happened
I also want to heap praise where praise is due – here’s a shout-out to TWO incredible people who both published their ebooks on migraines in 2024 – CONGRATULATIONS to both of you on such a great achievement – and thank you for sharing your experiences and expertise with the world:
- Jennifer Barraclough: Migraine and Me
- Amber Horrox: Unleashing My Inner Power
And last, but in no way least, here’s the 10 most recent bloggers who joined The Mindful Migraine Team in the last few days – welcome people, I hope that you find lots to help and inspire you in 2025 (and I hope you don’t mind the shout-out… it’s what I love to do!):
- Angelswhisper2011 | Me and my Granny
- Flightless bird, open skies
- Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie
- heard + felt
- HEALINE
- Dice Goblin Gaming
- Fightmsdaily
- The Astro Nerds Diary
- Sprinkling of Creativity
- The Musings of a Pacific Northwest Scribbler
WOW – the last 12 months has been such an amazing ride – the benefits of blogging have far outweighed the effort of having to use the American spellchecker (as an Australian) and get my brain-fog-thoughts in order!
I seriously can’t wait to spend another year with you all – and if you want to put together a guest blog post about “living the good(ish) life” as a person with chronic pain – or if you’re the loved one or carer of a person who lives with pain – send me an email via the CONTACT page – I would love, love, love to publish your post here – there’s room enough for all of us and I’m so invested in the notion of a rising tide of advocacy – the more voices the better! So don’t be shy, let me share your story in your words.
Take care taking care everyone, and know that I’m sending you lots of love for the year ahead!
Linda xx
The Mindful Migraine 
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