Category: Strategies
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Migraine Love Language
We need help when we are sick. Sometimes we ask for it. Sometimes we just hope that our loved ones will read our mind and turn up with what we need when we need it. Sometimes our family and friends want to help so they provide what they think is…
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Have you had a nervous breakthrough?
When I look back over the past few years and try to figure out “what went wrong” and why my occasional migraines became chronic… no BIG OBVIOUS answer appears. What I THINK happened is a series of smaller, negative events (hormonal, lifestyle, emotional, financial) presented themselves all at the same…
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Find your WHY
You’ve probably heard the saying before – find your why – like all sayings, they tend to do the rounds for a while then fade away… for a while. When I thought about it the other day though, it seemed to take on a new resonance. I had been thinking…
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Pain + Fear = Chronic Pain
I often wonder why my occasional migraines switched over into a chronic migraine condition about three years ago. To try and understand what might have been the cause, I tried to remember what was happening in my life at about the time of the change. I realized that five significant…
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The migraine-pain-brain-train
The other day I had to catch the train into university to see my PhD supervisor. It takes about one hour, as long as everything goes right. If there is any sort of problem, then it can be even longer. Very occasionally, I’ve had to get off and change to…
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Be prepared… but like, REALLY prepared
The Boy Scouts have a saying (or at least they did when I was there earning my merit badges while backpacking with leeches) which is “be prepared”. The idea is to hope for the best but plan for the worst. Don’t head off into the wilderness without a bottle of…
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“The Migraine Brain”
“I’d rather die than get another migraine!” – that’s the dramatic start to the introduction of “The Migraine Brain” (2020) by Dr Carolyn Bernstein. It was attention getting, no doubt, but it also got me immediately on edge. I recognized the sentiment, sure, but I also think of that form…
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The step after self-actualization
Today’s blog post is something of a thought experiment. It’s about things that have been floating around in my mind for a while, but this is the first time I’ve tried to articulate the ideas. So, think of it as a ‘first draft’ and apologies in advance if it doesn’t…
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Sit in your discomfort longer
When my eldest daughter was about 10 years old, I remember her teacher saying, “the best advice I was ever given as a parent, is the same advice I give to all the parents of my students: let kids sit in their discomfort longer.” What she meant was; when a…
The Mindful Migraine 