"It is never too late to be what you might have been.
" - George Eliot Migraine headaches are such a long-established fact of life for some people that treatment must go beyond their pain, and consider the impact on the whole person.
Sufferers can be helped to come to terms with their condition, and then learn to do the very best that they can, using the wealth of personal and interpersonal resources that they still have.
They do not need to remain as "migraine victims" - they can develop what is called "migraine independence".
I want to address you, an entrenched migraine sufferer like myself.
You have been to doctors and specialists and used many medications.
Perhaps you have also tried alternative treatments like acupuncture or massage.
The volume of advice that is available, along with overblown claims about a migraine cure, is staggering.
Yet your migraines always return with predictable regularity - with attacks coming on average from once a week, to as much as every other day, or even more often.
This is very hard, in terms of both the pain and the impact that you perceive on your quality of life.
I speak from experience - as a migraineur of long standing, but one who has nevertheless created a fulfilling life and learned many paths to overcome barriers to succeed.
You already know what it means to be regularly 'out of the picture' because of migraine.
What if that picture changed? Being independent of your migraines would give you some or all of the following:

• The ability to work more, or more productively
• The ability to contribute more to your family life
• Fewer limits to your social life
• An enhanced ability to plan ahead
• A greater feeling of control over your life
• Less frustration and worry
• More hope for the future.
  

I never want you to stop seeking medical or alternative treatment.
There may be something helpful that you haven't tried, or your current medication may lose its potency.
But there is no current cure for migraine.
Even if you can achieve some degree of pain relief in future, the chances are that you will have a lifetime challenge from this disease.
Working with a coach towards migraine independence enables you to address this challenge.
Think of migraine as a disability, one that you have been chosen to live with.
Then think of Helen Keller, Franklin Roosevelt and Stephen Hawking, who overcame blindness, polio and ALS to make enormous contributions to the world.
Even though the timing of a particular migraine is unpredictable, you have become accustomed to living with the pain that it causes.
What if you were to accept your pain, rather than fighting it -- and move on to get the most out of what you have? Your physical pain is all but inevitable; but the accompanying suffering that arises from being 'out of the picture' so frequently is partly psychological.
Your coach can tailor a migraine independence program specifically to your individual needs.
Working together, you will break through your personal barriers and learn how to alleviate your suffering.
Because each migraine sufferer is different, your coach can choose from a number of tools, including helping you to:

• Move from fighting your migraine to understanding and befriending it
• Discover and deploy your strengths
• Turn negative into positive self-talk
• Avoid 'catastrophizing' migraine attacks and making them worse
• Develop support networks
• Etc.
  

As a migraine victim, you exist as a person with sadly untapped potential.
Acquiring migraine independence holds the promise of lifting you out of this state, improving your quality of life and filling you with hope for fulfillment and success.