In Hiding

This is Milo, my newly adopted dog, hiding under his bed. 

Hmmm, is he already emulating me?

Have you ever felt like just hiding from the world?  There are many days when it is frankly easier to stay in bed than to get up and function with pain and the emotions associated with it.  I know intellectually that this is not a positive coping mechanism.  However, sometimes it seems that staying in bed is all that I can handle.  When I am hurting or feeling down, I tend to hibernate rather than to even try to use the things in my "migraine toolkit."


While there are certainly days and times when it may be appropriate to stay in bed, my experience has been that many of us deal with our feelings and our pain by sleeping - by seeking some kind of psychological or physical reprieve from sleep.  While sleep does make the day go by faster and protects us from dealing with our feelings, it is also something which can actually make our depression and pain worse.  It increases our loneliness and our sense of having no purpose.  


Most migraine specialists will talk with you about the importance of good sleep hygiene.  When we think about this, it is usually associated with having a regular sleep and wake time and getting enough sleep. It's easy to wonder what the harm is in getting "too much" sleep.  This article on WebMD shares some of the effects of too much sleep. Click Here

Here are some of the things I try to do when all I want to do is hibernate:


1. Reach out to other migraineurs through on-line forums, phone or Facebook.  Two great sources are Helpforheadaches.com and Migraine.com.


2. Reach out to my local friends and plan a low key activity.  I regularly hold a "movie night" at my house where my friends are invited to come (fragrance free) to sit in the dark and watch a good movie together.


3. Do something I enjoy such as playing with or training my dogs, beading, listening to a good book on the Ipod (reading is difficult for me with my migraines), watch a good movie or listen to music.


4. Take a short walk outside.


5. Stretch or use a yoga/tai chi video.


6. Journal/write.


7. Send cards to encourage friends.


8. Give myself a good (but positive) talking to!

Feeling Frustrated!

I have to admit that I am perplexed, even frustrated.  I know from looking at statistics that over 38 million people in the US suffer from migraines.  In fact, the World Health Organization classifies migraine disease as being among the most disabling illnesses, comparable with quadriplegia, dementia and active psychosis.

Migraine does not just impact the individuals who suffer from migraines but also impacts their families, their friends, and their co-workers.  Migraine has a signifiant and dramatic impact on one's life financially, socially, vocationally, physically and emotionally.

So the question I, and many others, are asking is "If so many people suffer from migraines, either directly or indirectly, why do we have so few signatures on a petition from the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy (AHDA) which is asking for Congressional Hearings on the impact of migraine and headache disorders?  There are currently about 7,000 signatures; however, 20,000 are needed in order to present this to Congress.

This quite simply and bluntly makes no sense at all to me.  We cannot afford to assume the passive patient role or the victim role when it comes to migraine advocacy.  We need to make our voices heard.  There is an opportunity here before us to get our Congress to investigate the impact of migraine, just as they have many other diseases.  There are people, including patient advocate Teri Robert, who are planning to hand deliver this petition to Washington D.C.

This is a gift and opportunity which is within our grasp and means.  However, we must take advantage of it.  It isn't a lengthy or involved process.  All it requires is for each of us to go to the link below and enter our name, email address and zip code.  That's it!  Really, how easy can that be?

Please don't let this opportunity slip through our fingers!  If you've never asked friends or family members to do anything for migraine advocacy, now is the time to do so.  Forward this link to everyone you know and ask them to make a difference in your life by signing the petition.

http://act.allianceforheadacheadvocacy.org/5624/urge-congressional-hearings-on-impact-migraine-headache-disorders/