"It's just a headache."
When I first starting getting migraines, I was seventeen years old. I thought with time they'd past and I would move on. Over time I was proven wrong, when I was in the ER one night in agonizing pain... I would never agreed that it was just a migraine.
According to the Migraine Research Foundation, migraines affect 39 million people in the United states alone and is considered the be the 6th most disabling illness in the world. The feeling of not being able to join friends, having the need to call out of classes and unable to work a steady schedule is unfortunately very damaging on mental health. When having an attack I always feel as though I am a burden on my family and friends. Just getting up to shower while a migraine has taken over is exhausting and showering can be thought of as a simple every day task.
Overtime I started to feel my old personality hide under the covers and I was suddenly very moody and sunk into my anxiety, which usually triggered more migraines. I was not me anymore and I just wanted answers. There is no easy cure for migraines, because every case is different and it takes trial and error to find the root of the problem in order to fix it. After a trip to the ER in September , I was unable to be seen by a neurologist for seven months. In the long path of waiting I suffered many more attacks, visited the ER again, and fell into a hole of depression and anxiety. I did not want people around me to be victims of my chronic illness, I would have rather stayed inside and under the covers. Although, I believe there was always a little part of me that would push me to try harder and keep going until I could make it to the finish line.
Finally making it to April was like a breath of fresh air, I was finally getting answers to my invisible illness. It was like having the weight of the world taken off my shoulders. I started a new plan to help reduce anxiety, minimize migraines and start my new route of mindfulness. I changed my diet, which includes me finally giving up my favorite soda Diet Cola. I started to take up journaling, meditation, limiting my use of social medias and growing my friendships.
Although I am not yet 100% migraine free, I try to live each moment to the fullest and never seek to fall back into the hole I was in. I do not wish chronic migraines on anyone. Sometimes I wonder if I was given chronic migraines by God, to grow as an individual to help spread more love and positivity.
If you are suffering from chronic migraines, pain or another 'invisible' illness remember you are not alone. Although it seems as though the tunnel is dark, the light at the end of that tunnel will come to find you. Stay strong and surround yourself with positive energies.
Resources for chronic migraines can be found here.
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