Category: Stories
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The three ghosts of Christmas migraines
I’ve never been a huge fan of Charles Dicken’s story “A Christmas Carol” (1843). The cranky old selfish man Ebenezer Scrooge was a horrible central character, and yes, I know that he undergoes an epic character arc which redeems him… but still… what kind of person picks on a child…
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Happy Holidays with “Revertigo”
Many years ago, I came across the neologism “revertigo”. Even without knowing the details, I had a sense of the concept from the elements of the made-up word: revert + vertigo. The article which the term appeared in explained that revertigo relates to how quickly we fall back into our…
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The day I met Queen Nefertiti
Many, many, many, years ago, I studied art in high school. One of our major works required us to explore the changing way women were represented in art. I recall that we had to choose three images, from different eras, and then find a way to mix their messages. Strangely,…
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Light me up Scotty…
I’m not a Star Trek fan… I don’t know how, but I missed it all when I was younger and know absolutely nothing about it now… except the “beam me up Scotty” message… This (apparently misquoted-pop-culture) phrase came to mind when I was reading an article about an Australian business……
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My worst migraine ever
Ok, so the details of this story are going to seem a bit jumbled… because in my mind they were a bit jumbled… because when you have a serious migraine attack, they are always a bit jumbled… * It was Easter time, and I had a bad migraine. Not really…
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Doctors behaving badly
This isn’t intended to be a trigger-warning kind of post – my definition of “bad behavior” is not going to be where your mind might be going. I’m just going to talk about a personal experience that left me emotionally winded, nothing more… When I was at my lowest point…
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“In bed” by Joan Didion
Joan Didon (1934-2021) is an American writer and journalist. Her obituary in Vogue casually mentions: “She was afflicted by migraines and was frequently depressed, even wearing dark glasses through the wedding ceremony.” I found a picture on Joan’s website, and sunglasses indoors does appear to confirm she is a person…
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My first migraine
It occurred to me the other day that whenever we experience an event for the FIRST TIME, there is the potential for our hearts and minds to “learn” from how that event unfolded and assume that this is the “normal” way such an event ALWAYS unfolds… that we might accidentally…
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The power of positivity
Don’t ask me why, but the other day it occurred to me how many ‘crosses’ there are in my life. I spend a lot of time at pharmacists, and there’s always a red (blue or green) cross on the signage. My husband has Maltese heritage, so my house is filled…
The Mindful Migraine 