How to Support Yourself Throughout Your Life With Migraine

A life with migraine is not easy. There seems to be the “real world” around us that we desperately want to be part of. And then there’s our reality of chronic, often debilitating pain that can have us canceling plans, declining invitations, watching our social life dwindle, as feel trapped in unpredictable and inescapable pain.

What type of support do we need with migraine?

It can be a lonely experience. We want to feel supported. We want to feel supported from our family and friends. And it is important to have a support team. However, what is often overlooked is the support that we’re giving ourselves. Here’s why.

Why do we need to support ourselves?

Before we can expect others to get our experience with migraine, we need to understand and process our own experience. In other words, how well are you supporting yourself?

It can sound odd to consider the support you give yourself, but this gets to the root of our experience. Because we can have a little or a lot of support from others, but if the story that we’re telling ourselves about our experiencing isn’t helpful, our reality will feel unfulfilled. We can be quick to skip over mindset work, but the reality is, it’s essential in my opinion to healing...and a meaningful life.

How do your thoughts play a role?

Are you caught up in your thoughts – especially a negative thought pattern? You’re not alone if you’re answer is yes. When we’re living with chronic, and often debilitating pain, our thoughts can get the best of us. But our thoughts matter...big time.

Your thoughts are incredibly powerful in creating your reality and your life. If you were to go through the same exact experience with two different thought patterns, you would walk away with two completely different stories. Again, your thoughts matter.

What's the good and bad news?

Here’s the good / bad news.

What's the good news?

Nobody else can change your thoughts but you. In other words, you have control over this, you’re not dependent on upon someone else to start changing your thoughts.

What's the bad news?

Nobody else can change your thoughts but you. Yes, that’s the good and the bad news. It’s easy to take ourselves off the hook because we’re waiting for someone else to solve our problems. But when it comes to mindset, you have to do the work. You can leverage tools from other people such as therapy, a guided meditation or some personal development books/podcasts, but at the end of the day, you have to be the one to implement the changes.

How can you process and change your thoughts?

Start by getting clear on your thoughts and the story that you’re telling yourself. If it’s not serving you, it’s time to start changing those thoughts. You can start by giving yourself time to process your thoughts, emotions, and feelings through a journaling practice. It doesn’t have to be long, but simply the act of getting your feelings out on paper can be really freeing and enlightening. It can give you the perspective and tools to start changing your thoughts and supporting yourself better.