Being Intentional About Your Mental Health and Migraines

Figuring out what can trigger a migraine can be a stressful, ongoing process. And, often, stress is a trigger in itself. So what’s a person with migraines to do? “I’ve really had to be intentional with my mental and emotional health,” says WebMD’s migraine blogger Michele Jordan. For her, that includes everything from seeing a therapist to journaling. “I can’t change the fact that I have migraines,” she says. “I try to do things that support joy and happiness.”

Video Transcript

MICHELE JORDAN: Having migraines for as long as I have has impacted my mental health through the years. It is hard. It is a hard thing to deal with. And you sacrifice a lot– a lot of plans, vacations may change, sometimes your work schedule can be unpredictable. And so many things in life that I’ve wanted to do I’ve had to decline. And that can be hard over time.

I think migraines or other health conditions can really shine a light on who your true friends are and those family members that truly support you. I’ve kind of moved through life learning to keep the folks who support me as close as possible. We’ve got to work with a variety of people in this world. And so it’s helpful for me to know who I can count on.

Through the years, I think there’s been more education around migraine, more treatments, more people are open and talking about them. And I think it’s helped society understand that, again, it’s not your typical headache and it really is something that can change your life. I pay attention to the stress meter in my life. And if I feel it’s going up, then I know a migraine might be around the corner and I have to do something to change it. So I’m always on the lookout for ways to manage stress and things that I can do to just decompress and unwind. And so just like with my physical health, I’ve really had to be intentional about my mental and emotional health with migraines.

I see a therapist. I keep a journal. I try to do things that support joy and happiness. I can’t change the fact that I have migraines. There is currently no cure. But I can manage them. And for me, it’s taking the best care that I can of myself.

Everybody deals with something in this world. And for me, it’s migraines. Other people are dealing with conditions that are much more debilitating. And I try to keep that perspective that I have migraines. Migraines don’t have me. And there are so many things that I can be joyful about and thankful for in my life. And that definitely helps me make it through some of the hard days and the low days.

When I want to ask, why me? I look around and I see what I do have and I’m grateful. And that helps.