Category: Metaphor

  • The Silva Method for Migraines

    The Silva Method for Migraines

    Some time ago, I wrote about the power of alpha-theta-waves for healing. Our brains are constantly producing brain-waves, and the ‘optimum’ state for deep relaxation is apparently when we are in an alpha-theta state. Alpha-theta waves First up, a quick recount if you missed the earlier post: Theta waves appear…

  • What is neuro-immune lag?

    What is neuro-immune lag?

    Over and over I remind you: DON’T take medical advice off the internet. And I mean it. But. I’m also guilty of letting little tidbits of information tweak my curiosity and send me off to investigate more. That’s how I landed on the concept of ‘neuro-immune lag’. PainNP is a…

  • “The Vagus Nerve Reset”

    “The Vagus Nerve Reset”

    For a long time now, I’ve been saying that the biggest step forward in my healing journey was learning how to calm down my over-stressed (potentially broken) nervous system. I’ve previously written about the Vagus Nerve in particular, and my Nervous Breakthrough in more general terms… that’s why I was…

  • The opposite of The Placebo Effect

    The opposite of The Placebo Effect

    I don’t identify with the term ‘pessimism’. I see myself as ‘rationally realistic’. My husband, an ‘eternal optimist’, would probably disagree. I’ve written before about the version of pessimism that I carry through life (which can be summarized as ‘hope for the best / plan for the worst’). The prior…

  • DIY Migraine Cave

    DIY Migraine Cave

    When a full-blown migraine strikes, there is not a lot you can do other than ‘shelter in place’ as it were; go to a quiet room, close the curtains, and shut the door. For me, I’ll have the company of a heat-pack I place on the right side of my…

  • When your healing journey hits a roadblock

    When your healing journey hits a roadblock

    I’ve written before that I have had to change my healing-metaphor from time to time. There’s the shift I made from thinking of myself as a “migraine warrior” to becoming more of a “gentle gardener” in order to make peace with my pain. Then there’s the shift from thinking of…

  • The bird pilgrimage

    The bird pilgrimage

    Some time ago I read a post on the “Holistic Fibro Fighter” blog [which seems to have gone silent] which the author, Jane Taylor, titled “A pilgrimage of self-care”. The title gave me a zingy “wow- yes!” moment, because the word ‘pilgrimage’ instantly resonated with my healing journey. It explains…

  • Migraine = an own goal

    Migraine = an own goal

    Today’s post is a book review – sort of – it’s about “Splitting: the inside story on headaches” (2020) by physiologist and neuroscientist Amanda Ellison. The reason it’s only ‘sort of’ a book review, is that it was a pretty intense book, for a potentially more medical-trained readership, so I…

  • Migraine-brains are like Nuclear Reactors…

    Migraine-brains are like Nuclear Reactors…

    The other day there was an earthquake in Japan.  It made me sad.  It also made me worried.  For the people, for their buildings and infrastructure… for their nuclear reactors.  In my typical “domino thinking” manner, that thought led to another: ‘normal’ brains are like coal-based power-plants, whilst migraine-brains are…