What's Your Secret: Superpower

By Holly Harding

1 min read

Attempting to flip the script on migraine to see it as having any positives can be a challenge. In this What’s Your Secret Video, we invite you to do just that. Migraineurs can often smell odors, hear sounds, and see lights that others don’t even notice. Are there ways we could use finely attuned senses as superpowers? Additionally, life with chronic pain can lead to a deeper sense of gratitude, patience, strength, resiliency and compassion than we might otherwise have had.

Please join the conversation in the comment section below by sharing ways that you might be able to use your fine-tuned senses and characteristics for good in the world.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Migraine.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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redrumj Member
I have a very sensitive nose. I can smell Lysol from across the building. I still work. So it is well known at my office that NO ONE is to spray ANYTHING on this entire side of my building. It moves up and just kills me. I'm like a freaking bloodhound.
1. Holly Harding Moderator & Contributor
 Ew. Just the thought of lysol is challenging! Good on you that you have the cooperation of coworkers to let you off the hook when it comes to spraying chemicals near/around you. Many of us struggle with that kind of agreement with our coworkers- I've heard stories of people refusing to give up their perfumes for their suitemates even though it is a trigger for their migraine attacks. Such a challenge. Bloodhound is a great analogy! Thanks for sharing.
sewingkitty1170 Member
I always smell cigarette smoke. My mom smoked when I was in-utero and when I was a small child. I cannot stand it! I can smell it like sharks smell blood in water. When I start to smell it and no one around me can detect it, I know I’m in for a headache. Sigh... and I just smelled a faint whiff.
1. Holly Harding Moderator & Contributor
 Hi <inline-mention user-id="3881793" username="sewingkitty1170"/> (love your username, btw!)- I wanted to ask you about the cigarette smoke. It really is such a cloying terrible smell, especially when we are anywhere near migraine attack-mode. For many of us, if we are experiencing an attack, already unfolding, and we are in proximity to someone smoking it will expedite the pain process and make things worse. Many others report cigarette smoke as a phantom smell (others talk about gasoline, cat urine and one)- that occurs in the prodrome stage before they are aware the migraine is coming. There is often no actual cigarette anywhere nearby, but we smell it. And when we do, it means a migraine is on its way. It's yet another clear confirmation that migraine is a neurological disease. Amazing that our brains can manufacture a smell out of nowhere. <a href='https://migraine.com/video/secret-smell/' target='_blank'>https://migraine.com/video/secret-smell/</a> Which is it for you? A phantom smell or an actual odor? Thanks so much for sharing and please keep in touch!
colliemom Member
I have gotten more things as the years have gone on. But two things always catch me off guard, and one that is painful. I see shadows of things that were just in one spot. Like if my cat was sitting and then she moves, it still looks like she is there. And I smell mold. That is my new smell. I lose my sense of smell at some phase of the migraine, but up to it I smell intense mold and cannot wash it away or change my clothes. It can make me feel sick. And I get insanely cold hands. They hurt they get so cold. I wear gloves most of the year. When people touch my hands they are often shocked if it’s migraine hands.
1. Holly Harding Moderator & Contributor
 Hi <inline-mention user-id="3925758" username="colliemom"/> - Thanks so much for sharing. Such interesting symptoms that, to me, are only further confirmation that migraine is a complex neurological disease. Many report phantom smells, like cat urine, mold, gasoline, and smoke for which there is no source. And these smells can be troubling and nausea inducing. <a href='https://migraine.com/video/secret-smell/' target='_blank'>https://migraine.com/video/secret-smell/</a> You are not alone in this! You are also not alone in having cold hands! If you haven't already, take a look at the following article. The comment section alone will help you see that you are in good company: <a href='https://migraine.com/blog/cold-fingers-and-toes/' target='_blank'>https://migraine.com/blog/cold-fingers-and-toes/</a> So glad you're a part of our community. Please stay in touch.
checky Member
i always detect a change in weather before it occurs. i know before the weatherperson on T.V. also, i am very sensitive to noise especially scary noises. i can hear miles away (very weird) but has helped in rescuing people and animals throughout the years. this is a very positive blog when nothing about migraine is pretty or positive.
1. Holly Harding Moderator & Contributor
 So glad this article resonated with you, <inline-mention user-id="3801583" username="checky"/> . Many of us do indeed feel like human barometers: <a href='https://migraine.com/living-migraine/hurricanes-pain-migraines-change/' target='_blank'>https://migraine.com/living-migraine/hurricanes-pain-migraines-change/</a>. Changes in the weather, if a trigger for you, are hard to manage because they are unavoidable. Unlike light or sound sensitivity - for which we can protect ourselves with hats or earplugs- we cannot avoid a barometric pressure drop. So, yes, we are left looking for the positives as we perhaps become notifiers for our community of loud noises or weather changes in ways that we might perhaps help people in some way or another. It's empowering to shift the fact that our ears are exquisitely sensitive (such that loud noises are painful) to the positive (i.e. how far can our hearing reach?). I'd love to hear the stories of how you've been able to rescue people or animals throughout the years! Grateful for your comment and your presence in the community. Please stay in touch.
glassmind Member
I think all these sensitivities are super powers just as the video and other comments say. I'm the official food sniffer in the family and have likely saved many from gi troubles. I can totally smell an "off" food before anyone else can and long before the flavor changes. My sniffer keeps the house super clean too. That's gotta help with germs and contagion, eh? I have pets, but no on can ever sniff them out, because I can first. Even people with pet allergies can sagely visit my home. I've sniffed out wonky electrical devices or heard them, catching faults before potential disasters. And I can hear all the little anomolies of mechanical devices and cars. I've caught wheel bearings and engine mounts before failing. And myself. I caught asthma and pneumonia at early levels. And I've learned which subtlties mean "migraine ahead." I'm also the go to "Do you think this could be something?" in my circle of friends when they question an off physical symptom. They know I'm super sensitive and yet not a hypochondriac. Being someone who can say "Yes, I believe you." Or Yes that is a real symptom (like we often do in the forums here) empowers them to seek care early or advocate stronger with thier doctors (doctors are surprisingly insensitive!) I'm a hyperaware host/guest. I see the grandparent who is chilled or the tot reaching overload. The dog that needs to go out. The flash of a wayward ember. I'm estatic when I meet another hypersensitive who owns it. We can share vigilance or "have each others backs" or just swap stories. Super Sensitive Squad Unite!
glassmind Member
Oh and avoiding traffic snarls because I can hear the sirens, see the lights from afar or tell where the thick exaust trail is coming from. And never ever have I or anyone with stepped in poo! Lol
1. Holly Harding Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention user-id="3906820" username="glassmind"/> - once again you did a wondrous job articulating the ways that migraine can impact an existence. I deeply appreciate you sharing your positive outlook, which can be hard to come by when we are plagued by severe pain so frequently. Most everything you outlined below I (and I'm sure others) can relate to. Your examples made me smile and knowingly nod. Thank you for taking the time to help us all feel connected and remember to continue to search for the bright side in this challenging disease. So grateful you are a part of our community. Please stay in touch!

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