What Not to Say to a Migraineur
Comments and questions that may hurt more than help.
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According to the Migraine Research Foundation, more than one billion people worldwide suffer from migraine. It is the sixth most disabling illness in the world, and sends someone in the U.S. to the emergency room every 10 seconds.
Yet every migraineur, at one time or another, has had the validity of their pain questioned by someone who doesn’t suffer from the affliction. To an extent, this is understandable — migraine is an invisible illness, one that shows no outward signs of trauma. But the pain is real, and unsolicited advice, dismissive questions, and snide comments only exacerbate what is already an incredibly frustrating malady.
“Migraine is 50 percent more prevalent than depression, twice as prevalent as osteoarthritis, three times as prevalent as diabetes, fifteen times as prevalent as rheumatoid arthritis. It affects three times more women than men, more whites than blacks, more blacks than Asian-Americans, more working class than upper class.” — Andrew Levy, A Brain Wider Than the Sky*
