I recently shared a post from Blokes Psychology that screenshotted a tweet pointing out how important your health is and I sit here reflecting on that as I go into my 4th day of moving between migraines and no pain.
I have lived with migraines since I was 5 years old and they are more than just a headache. If you could imagine thousands of piledrivers hitting you in your head constantly with nothing you can do except go into a dark room, lie down and put a wet cloth on your head, you might have an idea what it feels like. I am not exaggerating, the pain is unbearable, it stops everything and all you try to do is survive.
Over the years, I have found certain treatments and interventions work with mixed results or sometimes stop working, but that is the standard experience of a migraineur. Despite this week’s spike, I feel like my current treatment plan is the most effective and I can eliminate certain triggers to help this. That’s part of the reason why I don’t drink alcohol any longer.
But one thing that has changed recently, is my self-care plan. I normally go to the gym at least 3-4 times a week. The cold weather has turned me off getting up at 415am. I also have taken some liberties with my sleep schedule, opting to stay up longer, watching tv or scrolling on my phone. I have also been really lazy with my diet and have opted for quicker, fast food options instead of staying in and eating. This all culminates with a 4 day migraine that takes me away from work but more importantly impacts those around me because I am effectively paralysed in pain.
An image of an individual pressing their hand to their forehead, indicating discomfort or pain, often associated with migraines. This picture represents the physical health challenges that are addressed alongside mental health in individual and couples therapy in Camden and Southern Highlands counselling sessions.
So why am I sharing this? Well it highlights the importance of taking a holistic view to our wellbeing. We all know eating well, exercising and getting sleep is beneficial but it isn’t until we really see the direct consequences of not approaching these things that we realise how important it is to our health.
And this is something I try to share with my clients. Therapy is great, I do it myself and I love helping people, but if we’re only looking at the psychological side of things but ignoring the rest, we are only working on a very small part of our wellbeing.
So today I am practising what I preach to my clients, I have set a clear sleep schedule, I have made some changes to my diet and I am slowly working on getting into some physical activity (a walk is better than nothing!). So I implore you all to do the same.
There might be some barriers to why you can’t find the energy to go out and move around a little bit, or set some strict sleep/wake times, and that’s where I can help. Reach out and we can explore those issues together and therapy.
