Migraine Mind Games
Oh migraines, yeah, they’re just like a bad headache, right? WRONG!
Migraines are the most physically painful and debilitating things I’ve ever experienced in my life. Let me try and explain them to you.
What it feels like having a migraine:
Like someone is pushing your eyeballs out of you skull.
Like a vacuum is sucking the air out of your head and it is crumpling inwards.
Like your brain is simultaneously exploding and imploding.
Like you’re drunk and the room won’t stop spinning.
Like your worst hangover but multiplied by ten.
Like one of those gooey rubber balls where you squish them and they burst through a tightly strung net.
Like a constant drill in your head.
Like a washing machine in your head.
Like a magnet inside your head trying desperately to reach another magnet outside of your head.
Like you’ve stood up far too quickly.
Like you’ve been staring at the sun a little too long.
Like you have never ending nausea.
Really f***ing frustrating.
Like half of your body is numb.
Like words are missing whenever you try and read a sentence.
Like something has clouded your memory and you can’t quite remember what just happened.
Like you’re a useless inanimate object that can’t do anything but wallow around in pain within a dark, silent room.
Like you’re running your tongue along your top front teeth and then running it along the bottom front teeth in a circular motion over and over again. Try it. Feel that burn? That’s how it constantly feels.
What to do if someone you know is having a migraine:
LEAVE THEM ALONE! I know there’s the temptation to keep checking in on them but, if someone is bothering you every 20 minutes when all you need is to sleep it off, it’s really annoying. Ask them if they need something just once at the start and then let them be.
Please, please, please just be quiet!
No music. No shouting. Just silence.
If you’re around/live with other people then tell them that someone in close proximity is having a migraine. That way, they know to be quiet, careful and considerate of the poor person suffering.
Make them a snack (carbohydrate based) so they have something to eat when they finally wake up. It will help them feel less hangry too.
Be patient. Yeah, it might suck having to cancel that games night you had planned, or having to use your headphones instead of a speaker, or having to keep to a whisper all the time, but I guarantee it sucks even more for the person having a migraine. Sometimes they only last a few hours, but other times they can last days. So, be respectful of your migraine mates.
