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Compassion for Overwhelm
Quite by accident, I came across a mindful-meditation teacher called Tara Brach. I found her while searching for information about self-compassion and discovered that she had written a book called ‘Radical Compassion’. I haven’t had a chance to look into it yet, but my attention was caught by a video…
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Trauma and migraine
Dr Aimie Apigian was interviewed about trauma for the series of interviews held at the 2024 Migraine World Summit. I made a promise to myself when I started this blog at the beginning of the year that I would not post content that I felt might be triggering to myself…
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Brain-strain (not pain): Part TWO (answers)
SPOILER ALERT: Today’s post includes the answers to the three matchstick riddles I offered on Tuesday. If you would like to go back and try the puzzles before you see the answers, go to the link here: * * * * * Ok then, for everyone else, how’d you go?…
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Pain rescue: sometimes you have to save yourself
Today is May the first – May Day. It’s traditionally a European day of ribbon twirling and dancing. But, me being me, it also reminds me of the distress call “Mayday – Mayday!!” I looked up the origins of the phrase, and it apparently comes from the 1920s and is…
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Brain-strain (not pain): Part ONE (questions)
I’ve been talking a lot about how to improve brain health from the point of view of minimizing pain. But I also realized that brain health in general is important; “use it or lose it”, as they say. So, I thought that for something completely different, I’d find three ‘matchstick…
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Creating a (mental) happy place
When I was a child, I used to suffer from insomnia. I would lie in bed and overanalyze what had happened that day… agonize over whether I could have handled things differently… imagine alternative tomorrows… catastrophize a bit. I’m not a huge fan of the concept of a ‘migraine personality’…
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The Boston Marathon and Mount Everest
What do the Boston Marathon and Mount Everest have in common? They seem to be the two most common stories I hear referred to as an (im)possible dream. A dream so big, the dreamer knows it could take them years to achieve, but one which they believe the sacrifice will…
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Sacrifice
Today (the 25th of April) in Australia and New Zealand, is ANZAC Day (the acronym stands for “Australian and New Zealand Army Corps”). Since 1916, it’s been a National Day of Remembrance which pays respect to all those who served and died in all the wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping missions our…
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Chair Yoga for migraines
One of the first posts I ever made on The Mindful Migraine Blog was about Yin Yoga. My neurologist recommended I do a few lessons as a form of mindful movement to help reverse my chronic pain. I mentioned at the time that I felt “no victory” getting out of…
The Mindful Migraine 