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An Uncanny Story (Part Two)
Last week, for Halloween, I wrote a short story (here) that finished on a cliffhanger. Many of you asked – “what happens next?” (YAY!) So here it is, a brief interruption to my regular mindful-healing posts, and another sojourn into the uncanny… let there be answers… (and a few more…
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“Be someone’s lighthouse”
Today’s title is shamelessly taken from the last line of John Malone’s (lovely, well worth a read) poem: The Last Lighthouse. I’ve mentioned before that there are moments in blog-land when words jump out at me… and attach themselves like beautiful burs on my fluffy-mental-sock… and then they linger there.…
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What is “quiet cracking”?
It feels like only yesterday I learnt the term “quiet quitting”, which refers to employees all but giving up on their job. They turn up to the office each day, but they put in the bare minimum of effort, without enthusiasm, and without anything close to an “above and beyond”…
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A story uncanny
I’ve been experimenting with ways to help people understand what it’s like to live with chronic migraine. This blog is part of my endeavors, as are the short stories I write under the genre-name I refer to as “Migraine Gothic”. After I’d written a few posts (here), I put several…
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Ice-curling and chronic pain
A short time ago I reviewed a piece of writing about migraines, plants and pain, written by Tan Tuck Ming. There was a phrase that he used that stood out to me at the time of reading, and has stayed with me since – he mentioned his pursuit of a…
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Mansplaining migraines (and painsplaining away)
In 2018, there was a massive uproar in the Australian news about an image that was placed on the hoarding of a construction site, on the campus of Adelaid University. Can you see why? [Image source: Ad outside future Adelaide university building ridiculed] I’ll let the newspaper author explain it:…
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Haiku for pain relief
Some time ago, I wrote a post titled “The narrow road of healing” which referenced the seventeenth century writer Matsuo Basho (1644-94) and his book of poems written on pilgrimage. The collection of poems included one that is considered ‘the most famous’ haiku ever written – “The Old Pond”: An…
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7 minutes of movement for 7 days
I am not fit. I don’t like exercise. I tell myself it’s because I don’t have enough energy to exercise. Or time. Or that I’m worried the bouncing around will make my head pain worse. And besides, I already do mindful movement in the form of Tai Chi. Oh! And…
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Trapped in migraine postdrome
Today’s post outlines what the 4 phases of a migraine are, including the fourth stage – ‘postdrome’ – and it explains why chronic migraine can feel like you’re permanently stuck in a state of postdrome. But it’s not all bad news; it also provides some ideas about how to change…
The Mindful Migraine 