Tag: Jerome Groopman

Books & Products, Coping, Favorites, Mental Health, Resources

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

Kerrie Smyres

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 to get here.

After my occipital nerve stimulator proved ineffective in January 2004, I was devastated. What I thought was my last chance at treatment had failed. Feeling like you have nothing left can suck you into a dark hole. It can also be the motivation necessary to claw back to an enjoyable life even if chronic daily headache and migraine are going to stick around. Most likely, it will be both.

For more than a year, I wrapped myself in the sadness and hopelessness that enveloped me. Mourning losses from my illness was necessary, but I wanted my life back. Even one full of pain and exhaustion was preferable to where I’d sunk. I was finally motivated to find a happier way to be.

Reading The Anatomy of Hope by Dr. Jerome Groopman played a crucial role. He writes: “Hope is the elevating feeling we experience when we see – in the mind’s eye – a path to a better future. Hope acknowledges the significant obstacles and deep pitfalls along that path. True hope has no room for delusion.”

Until then hope was believing I’d find a miracle treatment. Groopman taught me that hope is knowing a happy life is possible even with illness. Finding the joy in everyday life is far better than clinging to desperate desire for a magic cure.

Instant change didn’t follow my aha! moment, but put the process in gear. Now I have days where the thought “I love my life” jumps unbidden in my mind. That never would have happened four years ago. I still have plenty of days that are horrible, but hope lurks even on days I don’t think I can handle it anymore. When I feel OK, I really do try to seize the moment, as the cliche goes. Corny yet true.

The following books have helped me along:

  • The Anatomy of Hope by Jerome Groopman – The first time I read this, it was just an interesting collection of essays; the second time I “got it” and took the messages to heart. That was when I was first beginning to accept headaches as a permanent part of my life.
  • All in My Head by Paula Kamen – A memoir and great information source on chronic daily headache. She recommends Chronic Illness and the Twelve Steps by Martha Cleveland for accepting illness. (Kamen is also a contributor to the New York Times’ migraine blog.)
  • The Chronic Illness Workbook by Patricia Fennell – The same idea as the 12 steps book, but with less of a spiritual focus and is more methodical (for lack of a better word). I prefer this one.
  • Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen – In the self-help/inspiration genre without being over the top pushy or mushy. The thoughts it provokes have been vital to my acceptance of illness. My copy currently has 14 bookmarks in it.
Books & Products, Coping, Favorites, Mental Health

Acceptance, My Best Treatment

Kerrie Smyres

This flowed out of Don’t Give Up on Finding a Treatment. It’s the most effective of all the headache treatments I’ve tried — and the hardest to get.

You may be surprised to learn I feel I’ve had success in treating my headaches. I still have pain, mental fogginess, a super sniffer and many other largely unknown symptoms of migraine. Yet I’m full of hope.

To me, hope isn’t about finding a magic bullet. It’s knowing that I can have a full and joyous life despite my illness. Something that I wrote when I first started blogging explains this idea well:

The Anatomy of Hope, by Dr. Jerome Groopman, draws a line between hope and positive thinking. Groopman, an oncologist and hematologist, has treated patients with life-threatening illness for 30 years, many of whom have survived against the odds. The definition of hope that he offers is that “Hope is the elevating feeling we experience when we see – in the mind’s eye – a path to a better future. Hope acknowledges the significant obstacles and deep pitfalls along that path. True hope has no room for delusion.”

The better future he mentions does not require living without disease. Yes, people often overcome their diseases or are able to live without pain. But the better future Groopman describes can also be learning to live joyously even with debility.

Two years ago I didn’t understand the distinction. I am thankful for the time I spent in denial, but am even more grateful that my current version of being positive is rooted in reality. A reality that means I spend more days than I want in bed, but that I’m not emotionally miserable on those days.

I’m not saying that you just have to be positive and your headaches will go away. Nor do I think you can simply decide to accept your fate and go from there. Like all things in life, it’s a process. There’s no timeline to follow, but you will notice that you’ve began to have more acceptance than you once did.

If you want some help along the way, check out The Chronic Illness Workbook and Chronic Illness and the Twelve Steps. Therapists who specialize in chronic illness can also be tremendous help.