Step into the world of migraine through the eyes of those who live it every day. This powerful video captures the intensity and challenges of migraine experiences shared by individuals from different walks of life. From debilitating pain and sensitivity to light and sound to the emotional toll of feeling misunderstood, each story unfolds with raw honesty. Discover the complexities of managing daily life amidst unpredictable attacks that can last hours, days, or longer. Witness the resilience and strength required to navigate relationships, parenting, and work while coping with this often misunderstood condition. Join us in raising awareness and understanding of migraine beyond just a headache.
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0:03 okay
0:19 can you describe what your typical
0:23 migraine feels like
0:38 I always noticed being sensitive to
0:42 light and sound initially extreme
0:44 sensitivity and I had this doomsday
0:46 feeling like something bad was coming
0:48 I’m having difficulty speaking I’m
0:51 having difficulty concentrating and then
0:54 the throbbing pain starts either on my
0:58 right or left side it feels as though
1:01 someone is stabbing me in my eye with an
1:04 ice pick or a knife kind of like someone
1:06 put their hands in through your skull
1:09 and they’re drinking your head ringing
1:11 your brains I get a lot of nausea I kind
1:14 of have to tie something around my head
1:16 because I feel like my head is going to
1:18 explode I also sometimes can’t do much
1:20 need to be in a cold a dark room to just
1:25 get relief lying down can be a problem
1:27 because the room will start spinning but
1:30 then sitting up can be a problem because
1:32 the room will start spinning it’s hard
1:34 to do anything to speak to move to think
1:39 to eat and it lasts from a few hours to
1:43 a couple of days or
1:46 sometimes longer
1:47 [Music]
2:03 good morning
2:05 I’ll get the kids up and ready but I’ve
2:07 got to work late tonight so if you can
2:09 book them up from daycare a dinner
2:11 meeting with Carl tonight about that
2:12 pitch next week and then we’ll probably
2:14 stick around watch the start of the game
2:16 looks like a beautiful day
2:18 what’s wrong headache still
2:20 I don’t think you’re drinking enough
2:22 water that could be it
2:24 anyways take your time I’ve got the kids
2:35 waking up from bed is a big thing
2:41 I’m very conscious about the fact that
2:43 for the next 20 something hours I would
2:46 have to do everything that everybody
2:48 does having pain
2:59 it’s a big choice to make
3:02 [Music]
3:09 people think it’s just a headache like
3:11 it’s an excuse to take the day off work
3:14 that people might use or they think
3:16 you’re using it as an excuse and not you
3:18 know you’re not taken seriously
3:21 and in fact most people with migraine
3:23 are reluctant to use that as a reason to
3:26 take off work or to not go to the family
3:28 event or or miss out on an activity with
3:31 their friends
3:36 oh hi Erin it’s Carol listen I’m really
3:40 sorry but I don’t think I can make it in
3:41 today my head is just
3:45 yeah yes I know
3:48 uh-huh
3:51 yes
3:53 okay okay I’ll just come in
3:56 it’s okay
3:58 yeah no no worries
4:01 fresh air
4:03 yeah I’m sure that will help
4:06 okay
4:07 okay see you in a bit
4:40 I kind of was always embarrassed about
4:42 having migraines it made me seem like I
4:45 was unhealthy or I didn’t eat well
4:47 enough or I didn’t drink enough water or
4:49 I wasn’t you know I didn’t exercise
4:50 enough that there was something wrong
4:52 with me I think the attitudes towards
4:54 women having migraines is it’s just a
4:58 headache and I don’t still quite
5:01 understand it when I’ve seen people
5:03 women
5:05 completely debilitated
5:07 by migraine and I don’t know why people
5:10 don’t take it seriously
5:25 I had a plan for my life and I didn’t
5:29 want anything to stop me and especially
5:31 migraine unfortunately I had to leave my
5:34 job first I was on a short term sick
5:37 leave thinking that that will be only
5:39 for two weeks maybe three weeks now
5:40 we’ll be back and I never returned to my
5:43 work
5:45 and it is still a very difficult memory
5:48 for me I think as a man a lot of us
5:51 don’t talk about it because we’re either
5:53 taught that it’s just a headache and we
5:55 should push through or men don’t get
5:58 migraine that’s a woman’s disease or
6:00 that’s something that women only get so
6:01 I think we have to remember that we
6:04 can’t leave folks that are in pain
6:05 behind
6:08 yeah
6:11 [Applause]
6:17 it’s my turn mom mom please for me I
6:23 don’t feel like I’m being a good mom
6:25 can you please keep it down I feel very
6:28 guilty that I don’t have the energy that
6:30 I snap at all it is difficult to be a
6:33 mom with migraine
6:35 especially when nobody else understands
6:37 it it can be very isolating
6:40 really the emotional impact has been one
6:44 of
6:45 the typical results of being isolated so
6:48 anxiety and depression my teens and my
6:51 20s were like a really a dark or a
6:54 lonely period I think in my life I
6:58 didn’t really have a lot of people to
7:01 talk to about migraines I was really
7:03 trying and really pushing and thinking
7:07 that no one sees this happening to me
7:10 and I was really falling down
7:12 [Music]
7:18 [Music]
7:26 thank you
7:28 [Music]
7:46 hey sorry I’m so late we ran into
7:49 Michelle and her brother do you remember
7:51 Michelle anyways I was trying to get
7:53 away I texted you to save me I was
7:55 really hoping to see the kids before
7:56 they went to bed oh have you seen my
7:59 blue sweater I want to wear it tomorrow
8:02 you’re not down for the night are you
8:03 it’s only 8 30.
8:07 [Music]
8:12 so there’s a lot of misconceptions about
8:14 migraine but I think the one that is the
8:17 most prevalent is that migraine is just
8:19 a headache and that is the reason why
8:22 there is so much stigma attached to
8:24 migraine when in reality migraine is
8:27 incredibly disabling and it affects
8:29 people most during their Peak productive
8:30 years migraine is an invisible disease
8:33 so I think really recognizing this as a
8:36 disease that has a significant impact
8:38 and and validating the experience of
8:40 these individuals is really important in
8:42 migraine
8:43 I think of more of us that can raise our
8:47 voices and raise awareness we could
8:49 really make the world better for people
8:51 that live with this disease I’m learning
8:53 that people do care and there’s just a
8:57 lot of misinformation out there I think
8:59 it’s hard to advocate for yourself but I
9:03 think it’s extremely important you need
9:05 to care about yourself first so that you
9:08 can actually do all those things that
9:10 you set out to do just take care of
9:14 yourself prioritize this we think
9:15 sometimes that having a migraine makes
9:19 us weak
9:21 and that’s why we feel guilty that’s why
9:24 we feel shame but they don’t make us
9:27 weak we actually
9:31 so much more stronger having them
9:37 foreign
9:50 [Music]
