Throughout my childhood, my mother would have to escape to her bedroom at least once a week due to a migraine. She would close the blinds and hide beneath the covers because of excruciating pain that made even the slightest sound howl with agony and caused waves of nausea with the smallest movement.

Despite our best efforts, my family and I found it difficult to sympathise with my mother’s migraines or understand why she had to miss so many activities as a result of them. You can’t even begin to understand how horribly incapacitating and life-changing a chronic migraine may be from the outside looking in.

The “unseen” pain

Many often, migraines are misinterpreted or written off as “just a headache.” They can, however, cause havoc with a person’s life, relationships, and sense of wellbeing.

It was discovered that patients with chronic migraines face the same societal stigma as those who have epilepsy, a condition with far more pronounced and dramatic symptoms.

External stigma includes things like being treated differently by friends or coworkers. “Migraines are the hidden, unreported discomfort that keeps people from working. As of yet, migraine has no empirical test. People who claim experiencing these issues with chronic pain are frequently not believed or are assumed to be exaggerating in the workplace because of this.

But the study indicated that a large portion of the stigma is internal. Migraine patients frequently worry that their headaches will make their friends and coworkers uncomfortable or that they will be less productive because they skip work so frequently. Such irrational stigmatisation can be as harmful to health as overt prejudice or the breakup of social networks.

The emotional component

There is more to migraines than just physical pain. Living with chronic pain or worrying that a migraine could occur at any time can be emotionally draining. Depression is more likely to occur in people who suffer from migraines.

When you can’t control your migraines, it might leave you feeling powerless, hopeless, and depressed.

It may be beneficial to see a psychiatrist or psychologist if you’re experiencing these emotions, especially in a facility that focuses on pain management. Addressing your significant anxiety and/or depression is crucial since they have a poor impact on migraine. They also make conditions like migraines considerably harder to manage.

In order to deal with chronic pain and the stress that comes with it, mental health specialists can recommend behavioural approaches (like meditation). They can also aid in dispelling any unfavourable opinions about migraines.

Because there is no quick “solution,” treating migraines can be difficult. Almost everything has been tried on my mother, however certain treatments have worked better than others. Working with your general care physician, a neurologist, or a headache specialist is probably the most secure and assured method of obtaining migraine relief. You might discover a remedy that finally eliminates your discomfort after some trial and error.