In this week’s episode of Talking Head Pain, Sarah is joined by Amanda, a migraine patient, advocate, stay-at-home parent, and educator living with multiple chronic health conditions. Join Sarah and Amanda as they dig into the ebbs and flows of being a parent living with chronic migraine, things we’ve learned from the migraine community, getting the confidence to advocate and speak up for ourselves, the importance of normalizing talks about your chronic illnesses and mental health with your family unit and finding time through self-care of dopamine searching through bird watching and memes.

Among the highlights in this episode:

01:29: Sarah kicks off the episode by asking Amanda what word she would use to describe her migraine attacks

02:44: Amanda discusses the challenges of seeking care and advocating for herself, as well as the impact of normalization of pain in families

05:24: Amanda talks about the importance of self-care and seeking help for mental health and migraine

07:26: Amanda expresses her gratitude for the online migraine community and female doctors who educate and empower patients to advocate for themselves

10:25: Sarah and Amanda discuss the interconnectedness of anxiety, migraine, and mental health

16:24: Amanda shares the challenges of being a parent with chronic illness and mental health struggles, such as depression and anxiety, as well as the importance of having open and honest conversations with her child about her illnesses

18:39: Amanda and Sarah discuss the importance of self-care and finding pockets of joy and community, even when in pain

21:58: Amanda and Sarah discuss the importance of finding joy in the small things

Contact Our Hosts:

Joe Coe, Director, Therapeutic Area Growth and Integration at GHLF: jcoe@ghlf.org

Sarah Shaw, Senior Manager of BIPOC Community Outreach at GHLF: sshaw@ghlf.org

We want to hear what you think. Send your comments, or a video or audio clip of yourself, to TalkingHeadPain@GHLF.org.

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