Facebook Pixel

Comment Reply

EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I've been having mild to strong migraines for a few years now (52 yr.-old) and occasionally have some aphasia. The migraines almost always start with aura. Often I'll get tiny migraines where there is a just a sudden shift in my visual perception followed by a sparkle. Sometimes the sparkle disappears pretty quickly and I get a slight headache and other times it grows and develops into a full visual aura. I've gradually learned my triggers, what medication to take that works for me (ibuprofen), and what to do when an aura starts and looks like it is going to keep developing.

My main "medication" when an aura starts in earnest is meditation (no pills at all). If I can be in a quiet place and sit, I will do so for one hour to one and a half hours until it feels like the pain-development stage is over. Often doing this will completely derail the pain part of the headache so that I'm back to normal activities within 90 minutes. If I don't do the meditation and don't take any ibuprofen — I take ibuprofen when I can't sit quietly — I will have pain. Sometimes the pain will just be annoying and depressing other times debilitating, though I haven't had debilitating for quite a while due knowing how to manage the episodes. Ibuprofen seems to reduce the pain to manageable levels but not eliminate it.

Anyways, the main reason I'm writing this is to let other migraine sufferers know the meditation procedure I use when a migraine starts.
1) Sit quietly and relaxed. Sitting is important. No matter what you do if you lie down you'll have a stronger migraine.
2) Close your eyes.
3) Start to focus on your breathing. The focus of your attention should be deep in your body and the sensations the in- and out-breath produce low in your belly. The idea is to take the focus off your head.
4) As you breath in relax and experience the breathing sensations. As you breath out relax your upper body while maintaining a good posture: shoulders, neck, chest, face, everything. This relaxation will be a gradual process of releasing more tension as you go deeper.
5) If pain or discomfort arises relax and go back to the breathing sensation low in your body. There might be twinges of pain or sensations in your head but don't react, they pass. Part of the problem we experience when we have migraines is to dramatize them and panic: "I hate my life!" "This is terrible!". This creates tension and helps the migraine to develop, rather than recede. In the migraine context negative thoughts, no matter how justified they may seem, just make matters worse.
6) Don't worry about being bored for 60-90 minutes - it's better than having a migraine! And if you do this right you well feel way better than if you hadn't done it. At the very least you will have a weaker migraine and have saved yourself from having to take medicine.

If you can meditate every day to become used to it you will be prepared when a migraine does come, and in the mean time you'll help yourself be a happier person.

November 19, 2015 - 5:38am

Reply

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
By submitting this form, you agree to EmpowHER's terms of service and privacy policy