In this blog, I want to share with you some of my own recent migraine experiences.
Recently I had some dental work done. My dentist of 20+ years retired less than a year ago and so this was the first time I have had some major dental work since then. My dentist was great! I had a huge fear of “all things dental” and really appreciated his gentle and understanding approach. He knew my history, knew my TMJ issues, and knew my migraine history. He took extra care when working with me – especially on my “bite’ – as he knew just a tiny bit off meant headaches and torment for me.
However, this dentist is new to me and I have to tell you this was FAR from a good experience. Despite my warning of TMJ and migraine, I had my mouth open WIDE for most of the time and also had to have an old wisdom tooth extracted. So, this whole experience was far from pleasant and threw me into a huge TMJ episode, followed (of course) by the worst migraine pain I have experienced in quite a long time. I even had to resort to an Imitrex injection – which, I might add, did me no good whatsoever. In fact, some of my essential oils did more for me that the regular pain meds.
Still, times like these are always a harsh reminder of how my fellow sufferers feel on a regular basis.
You know what it’s like. There are times when you’re lying in bed, you’ve put on lots of peppermint oil or other essential oils to get some extra relief, you are aching all over, nauseated, and you are probably laying down with either an ice pack or heat. Definitely not a good place to be. For me, when I am laying there, pretty much helpless, I am fervently praying for the pain to go away.
At times like these, it’s really hard to clear your mind of bad thoughts that are just rolling round in your head. Despite trying as hard as you can, you can’t shake some of those thoughts. It’s not just the disappointment of missing out on fun or important events, having yet another day ruined, having to miss work, the guilt of not meeting a deadline on time, or even the annoyance of looking around and seeing work at home that still needs to be done. Most of us have learned to handle these types of thoughts and annoyances over time. Sometimes though, these thoughts seem huge and just go round and round in our minds and we can’t shake them off. Things like:
- Does this level of disability make me a lousy spouse or partner?
- Will my health ever improve?
- If it doesn’t, how am I going to manage?
- Will I be able to pursue my career goals?
- If this doesn’t stop happening, is it going to affect my career?
- Does this constant disability make me a bad parent?
- Will I always feel this isolated and alone?
Thoughts like these steal in with nearly every migraine to some degree or another, and they cause additional anxiety, just when we don’t need any added stress.
So how do we take control over these thoughts and how do we find more positive ways to deal with these intrusive thoughts?
I try hard to flip the script on myself when these thoughts creep in. One of the most effective things I have tried is to practice gratitude, acceptance, self-love, and being in the present moment. We are often the ones who are hardest on ourselves, so give yourself a break and love yourself. You are NOT “migraine.” Don’t let Migraine define who you are.
When trying distractions, you know very well that can be difficult in the midst of migraine pain. For most of us it’s pretty impossible to distract yourself with reading book or even distracting yourself with your Smartphone! Not everyone can tolerate noise, but it you can, listen to an uplifting podcast, or listen to some uplifting music. Sometimes I have found uplifting music to be a great distraction and I don’t have to focus too hard to do that. Mostly though, when the thoughts invade, I find myself focusing on the many things I have to be grateful for. That has helped me more than anything else. It doesn’t take a lot of mental or physical effort, so it doesn’t make my pain worse – in fact, just the opposite. It is definitely a distraction for the pain.
As a migraine sufferer you are probably all too familiar with those invading, unwanted thoughts. So my questions to you are these:
What strategies have helped you deal with the bad thoughts that crop up during an attack?
How do you reassure yourself when it seems as if everything could come crashing down?
I would love to know what has helped you. Perhaps it is something that I can share with others in my migraine support group to help them through their trying times.
It always helps to know you are not alone and someone out there understands. I want you to know that I do understand and I do know how it feels. I would love to support you, so If you want to chat, schedule your free breakthrough strategy session with me >>HERE<<.