The Mindful Migraine

OK, so strange post today. It’s about my New Year’s Revelation. (Sort of.)

In Australia, December-to-February is our Summer, and therefore, it’s also our Fire Season. While downloading some data sheets on how best to prepare our property against the threat of a fire, I was pulled up short by a comment that noted “being prepared” is not just about having the right resources at the ready – it’s about YOU being physically and mentally prepared to handle a crisis.

The emergency service website was blunt – if you don’t think you can withstand the physical and emotional onslaught of fighting a fire at your property – then don’t – evacuate before the fire reaches your property and leave it to someone else who is more capable.

The reason it caught me off guard is that with a thud-clang, I realized that I have spent the last 3 years desperately trying to survive a life that was messed up by chronic pain and illness, and as such, I was NOT in any way, shape or form, physically or mentally ready for an emergency that existed outside of my own body.

I’ve spoken in the past about how, as a sick person, you need to “be prepared… but, like, really prepared” and place your medication in different locations at the ready, as well as having emergency contact details on a metal fob on my key chain (and another on my handbag) in case I can’t speak when I have a hemiplegic (stroke-like) migraine melt down. In this sense, I would get a tick from the ‘Preppers’ (those people who actively prepare for emergencies).

But, I was also writing at the end of last year about how I want to lose some weight so I can get more mobile (“7 minutes of movement over 7 days“). And whilst my mind is willing, my motivation is often low; I get lazy because the idea of exercise doesn’t interest me, so there’s no hurry-up-fire in my belly. I’m guessing that earns me a preppers-cross (there’s no time like the present to get fit).

So, for 2026, I’m going to shift my focus from surviving migraines, to preparing for a Mini Zombie Apocalypse.

Stay with me.

I don’t see myself going full-prepper mode. I think it’s wasteful to start stockpiling food that might go off before it’s eaten, or thinking of everything and everyone as a potential threat in a doom and gloom world, and I have absolutely no interest in moving into a subterranean bunker. What’s more, I can’t imagine myself learning how to pickle homegrown fruit or sew my own wound shut, let alone how to shoot a gun or gut a rabbit…

But… I do want to imagine a newer version of me that is relatively self-sufficient, able to stay calm under pressure and capable of walking a decent distance if my car breaks down in the bush on the way to the family farm (I’m looking at you flat tire!).

I guess I’m tired of thinking of myself with an ever-present vague cloud of victim-mentality hovering nearby.

I also really don’t like the idea that I would have to evacuate my home in an emergency because I am not able to withstand the pressure. (I’m mature enough to recognize that life is more important than possessions, and that if I don’t have the right safety equipment, water volume, or brute strength, I gotta get outta there, but it makes me sad to think I might be labelled “too fragile” to cope with the event.)

Visualizing the sorts of characters, such as Katniss Everdeen or Tris Prior, that would have the ability to survive a dystopian event, they’re all pretty kick@$$ cool. The reality is, even migraines aside, I have a dodgy hip and a frozen shoulder, so I am ridiculously removed from the likes of Lara Croft the Tomb Raider and her back-flipping, somersaulting energy.

But I don’t have to be HER. I just have to be a slightly stronger version of ME.

So, after a quick tour of several websites about how to prepare for an end of world event, it became obvious that we all already do it, in greater or lesser degrees. We have emergency contact numbers on our fridge, take out car insurance, keep a First Aid Kit stocked up, and before we leave the house, we check the weather forecast and that we have $50 in cash tucked into the back of our mobile phone. Every day, hustling, hustling, we recognize that managing risks is a standard, and reasonable, part of our lives.

Being alert, but not alarmed, makes sense.

Now, as natural disasters are becoming more frequent and intense, it also makes sense to have bigger plans in place.

Red Cross Australia has a great website page with helpful hints on how to make an emergency plan, ‘are you prepared’ quizzes, and a survival checklist: Emergency preparedness guide | Australian Red Cross

But this blog is a site that loves mindfulness – so it’s to that component of being prepared that I’m now turning.

By practicing being calm on a day-to-day basis, there is a higher chance that you can remain calm in an emergency.

Moreover, for me, the Tai Chi exercises that I do most days to relax my mind and body are actually rooted in ancient martial arts movements. While “touching the clouds” I’m also improving my balance, slowly increasing my muscle strength, and helping sharpen my attention and memory.

What I like about prepper-thinking (even if it is only briefly) is that you can muster up a feeling of being more in control. You can imagine a crisis unfolding, and rather than slip into panic mode or start woe-is-me-ing, you can use mindfulness in a proactive way. For example, you might:

+ take a moment to ground yourself in the present (remind yourself; you are capable – your prior mindfulness practice has improved your mental fortitude and made you resilient),

+ breathe slowly and deeply (moving forward you want to be proactive not reactive, so calm your nervous system right down in readiness),

+ scan your surroundings for risks (but in a realistic rather than catastrophic way – think clearly and stay focused),

+ do a quick body scan to determine what (if anything) is injured of affected by what is unfolding,

+ stay in the present moment (don’t start thinking about what you coulda-woulda-shoulda done; you are where you are, so, what can you do in the here and now?)

+ remember you are part of a wider world (so check if those around you are ok and lend assistance as required),

+ when the event is over, use mindfulness to help you manage the aftermath of the stress and trauma.

Circling back to Red Cross, they have a “Prepare Your Mind” page to help, and they use 3 steps (it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity they didn’t use the anacronym AIM (I do love an anacronym (see more of mine here))):

[Image source: Prepare your mind | Australian Red Cross]

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For me, prepper-mindfulness is about imagining yourself as the kind of person who will cope under pressure, who others might turn to in a crisis, and who can get sh!t done when your world is literally (or just metaphorically) falling apart… shoulders back and chin up friends!

That said – if that’s not you (now or potentially ever) – be kind to yourself – no judgment or negative trash talk should be directed your way, stay focused on what is within your ‘circle of concern‘ and let the rest go.

With any luck, you are as #blessed as I am, and the chances of a catastrophe are slim… (whilst recognizing that smaller, ‘everyday traumas‘ can still happen).

So, as 2026 unfolds, imagine me air-boxing, doing a first aid refresher course and keeping my home-grown herbs alive on my windowsill (because that remains an issue for me 2 years since blogging about it (here))… and maybe, by the end of the year, I will have gotten over my squeamish tendencies and tried to catch and gut a fish (yuk)… otherwise, it’s half-dead-zombie-parsley as an apocalypse-dinner for me and mine!

Take care taking care out there, Linda xx