The Mindful Migraine

There are so many videos on the internet with dogs behaving badly, cats looking grumpy, and pets just generally being moody… sometimes there’s also a dig at another member of the family (usually teenagers) acting out in a similar, snarly, way. It’s like the post I did of animals giving serious-side-eye… only MORE side-eye-y.

I don’t know how well these links will work (if at all), but here’s the sort of thing I’m talking about (I cry ’til I laugh for the first one every-single-time):

Instagram – cranky dog = moody teen

Youtube – grumpy cat = overworked person

Twitter/X – sleepy cat = wish I could be a lazy person

Here’s screen shots if the links don’t open:

[Image source: screen shots]

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Then there’s all the animals that look like people. I must have liked a post about ‘Max the Human-Dog’ at some point in my life, because now, whenever I open up Instagram; there he is… living his best life… looking like a human being who has been trapped inside a furry-body in some sort of reincarnation glitch. When I googled ‘human dog’ in the search field, it turned out Max is not alone on Instagram. Here’s some images to give you the idea (apparently only one is AI):

[Image source: screen shots]

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Of course, when we read moods into animal’s faces, we’re not always right… plenty of dogs snip without forewarning they are getting agitated, and plenty of cats are simply sleepy when they give you a hooded-eye glare and are actually too relaxed to give a hoot about what you’re doing or why. Setting these potential personification-mood-misappropriations aside, there is value in comparing animals to humans, and vice-versa.

By using animals to make a point, it potentially takes some of the sting of recognition out of the moment… we laugh instead of sigh.

“Yeah that’s true,” we think, without being too alarmed or beating ourselves up (too much).

Imagine watching a short video of a cranky teenager being snarly or outright rude to their parents – we’d feel judgmental, defensive, frustrated, appalled… or perhaps (if we’re a teen): vindicated, encouraged, perhaps even motivated to keep up the bad behavior.

When the same behavior is framed inside a meme, however, it is easy to laugh at human angst when it has a grumpy cat’s face:

[Image source – random google search]

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OK, OK, enough frivolity and fun… what’s the point?

If we understand that pets have mood swings – why is it so hard to imagine people do too?

Maybe there’s something even deeper going on.

The French author of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1831), Victor Hugo, has a quote I found online (but can’t verify) that goes like this:

From the oyster to the eagle, from the swine to the tiger, all animals are to be found in men and each of them exists in some man, sometimes several at a time.

Animals are nothing but the portrayal of our virtues and vices made manifest to our eyes, the visible reflections of our souls. God displays them to us to give us food for thought.

I like this sentiment (except perhaps the co-location of the animals and the phrase ‘food for thought’ which makes me lean towards vegetarianism!)

Perhaps we can also begin to think of human-healing in terms of how we would help our pets. My dogs are instantly happier with a meal, back scratches and some eye contact… would that be enough to help me heal? Probably not on its own, but it would be a good start!

I recently heard that about a Japanese author named Syou Ishida who has written a book called “We’ll prescribe you a cat” (2024):

A cat a day keeps the doctor away …

On the top floor of an old building at the end of a cobbled alley in Kyoto lies the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Only a select few – those who feel genuine emotional pain – can find it.

The mysterious centre offers a unique treatment for its troubled patients: it prescribes cats as medication.

As the clinic’s patients navigate their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them towards healing, self-discovery and newfound hope.

I haven’t read the book, but it sounds quite wonderful.

Sometimes, reshaping our pain gives it a new life, new meaning, a new language. Why can’t my migraine meow, purr, hiss…?

In a past post – How do you name your pain? – I mentioned that I call my migraine-brain Goldilocks. By separating my pain-brain from me-me, I can treat my ailments in a novel way. In the cat-prescription book, the blurb says that “Tank and Tangerine bring peace to a hardened handbag designer, as she learns to be kinder to herself”…

Tangerine Goldilocks sounds like a glorious stage name…

Anyway, I’m starting to ramble…

I am a pet lover and truly believe my two fur babies can reduce my pain, and have previously written about the comfort and revelations they have brought me (pet-therapy-for-migraines / conditioning-and-pain / good-doggy / do-animals-get-migraines / sandcastles-for-pain-relief)…

And if you need any evidence of the extensive life lived by beloved pets – head over to my blog buddy’s site run by animals: Across the Oonaverse – It’s Oona’s world. The rest of us just live in it...

To end – let me do a throw back to a post that I published around this time last year: Everything is under control… maybe. It included the following cat-human-control-not meme montage:

Whether you’re the caretaker of a fur-baby or a teenager… or regardless of whether you’re purring contentedly right now, or feeling a little growly (and I’ve been there too (here)), know that it’s ok to feel the feels you’re feeling.

[But – tough love moment coming up: don’t be feeling those negative feelings for tooooooo long if you’re feeling sorry for yourself, because bitter isn’t better.]

So with that, have a wonderful weekend, (hopefully more chill than snippy), and…

Take care taking care, Linda x