a candid look at managing and living with headaches & migraines

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What Matters

It doesn’t matter if we do things right, “doesn’t matter if we do things according to the book or what we expect or what others expect. What matters is the quality of heart and integrity we bring to what we do. . . . What matters is remembering that we care about as many moments [...]

Please Read “An Open Letter to People Without Migraine”

Migraine, chronic or not, has a profound impact on those who experience it, yet even well-meaning family, friends, coworkers and health care professionals often think of it as “just a headache.” An Open Letter to People Without Migraine was intended for my personal Facebook page — until I realized the message was too crucial to [...]

TheraSpecs FL-41 Glasses Now Available

TheraSpecs, the company Hart and I have started, is now open for business selling precision-tinted therapeutic glasses! Clinical research shows they can reduce the frequency of migraine attacks, relieve sensitivity to light during a migraine, protect you from light-triggered migraines (especially from fluorescent lights and CFLs), and reduce headaches and eyestrain. They are available in [...]

The Eternal Asterisk of Chronic Illness

“Join us for dinner, I feel like cooking.”* “Yes, get me a ticket for the baseball game.”* “See you at yoga tomorrow.”* *unless I’m too pained, dizzy or nauseated to do so For about 10 years years, this was the pattern whenever I’d make plans: My excitement would build as the dinner/concert/play/party approached. I’d spend [...]

No One is Strong Enough to Handle Chronic Illness Alone

“People cry, not because they’re weak. It’s because they’ve been strong too long.” The National Headache Foundation posted that on Facebook last week, right when I was wondering how much more I could possibly endure. I’d had five weeks of nearly perpetual migraine and I was well beyond the end of my wits. Sunday night [...]

You’re Doing Everything Right

“You’re doing everything right,” a friend wrote to me two years ago when my migraines were at their very worst. That sentenced has sustained me through many difficult patches. It has been so helpful for me that I want to tell you that you, too, are doing everything right. The next 10 days afford many [...]

Mindfulness & Meditation: An Introduction

Finally! Here’s an explanation of mindfulness meditation and the practice of mindfulness in general. The post is long but worth sticking with. (I think so at least!) Mindfulness = Paying Attention Mindfulness is captured by simple terms: Paying attention Being, not doing Present moment awareness Being “here” Easy ideas, complicated concepts. The ubiquity of multitasking [...]

Looking Beyond Illness: Adding Up the Smallest Joys

A few smiles a day can make a big difference in how we perceive pain — and our lives. This occurred to me today as I bought Spike Lee water. (That’s sparkling water to anyone outside my household.) I was taken aback when my then six-year-old niece asked me for her Spike Lee shirt a [...]

The Guilt of Letting Myself Down Over and Over

Guilt and I spend a lot of time together. It is my closest friend, a friend I happen to despise. This is one bad relationship I don’t think will ever end. I feel guilty when I let anyone down, especially when that person is me. Multiple times a day I make promises to myself and [...]

Making Peace With Pain: Accepting Migraine and Chronic Daily Headache in My Life

Accepting that I may have a migraine or headache every day for the rest of my life is the most effective treatment I’ve had. But how did I get here and what does acceptance mean, exactly? Time. I know, not an encouraging answer, but where I am now is worth all the time it took [...]