The Project

As a person who has had Chronic Migraine for many years, often the hardest part is explaining to others how they make you feel. Many people, sometimes even doctors have many misconceptions about migraines and the disease that causes them often, sometimes every day. There still isn’t enough known about what causes migraines and how to effectively prevent them. For many people suffering, medication can sometimes be ineffective and certainly can’t stop them all together. Some medications are too expensive for even people with insurance to afford. So, very often people with this disease suffer silently. I am lucky. I was able to find a medicine combination that helped me, but it isn’t a cure. I do still get migraines more often than most people. But I have learned how to live my life around them. People with my condition try to endure the pain and push through, even though doing everyday things can be excruciating.

Migraines are often terribly misunderstood. Most people seem to think of them as an annoying headache and nothing more, but in actuality, migraines are horribly painful and so much more than a headache. The brain is basically malfunctioning during an attack and the pain receptors are overreacting. People can experience blinding pain, auras (which are visual disturbances or feelings of extreme dizziness, nausea and vomiting, or even feeling like you are not attached to your body.), and sometimes even stroke-like symptoms. During an attack, every light, sound, or sensation can feel like torture. Those that have experienced it would tell you the pain and symptoms are unbearable and strong medicines sometimes don’t even touch it. Having migraines chronically, with nothing really triggering them is especially frustrating and isolating. Having them so often can bring about depression and anxiety as well.

My hope with this project was to show people visually what a migraine feels like before they are quick to dismiss it as “just a headache.” I hope to bring awareness to this condition through this digital art and showcase what it is like to be in a migraineur’s shoes for just a moment. People with this condition are not lazy, weak, or over-dramatic. This is what we experience, sometimes every day. Our healing can start with understanding and some compassion from the people around us.

(All photos in these pieces are images free for reuse.)