Migraine art exhibits are hard to watch; sometimes gruesome, always disturbing migraine art portrayals of migraine symptoms like migraine aura, excruciating migraine headaches, and stomach-clenching nausea allow migraineurs to give skeptics a glimpse into their struggles with chronic pain.
Migraine stigma affects everybody
“If only you could see what migraines feel like, you would be more sympathetic.”
That’s the motto of many a migraineur having to deal with agonizing migraine headaches and public skepticism at the same time. While migraines may happen once or twice per month, their ominous presence lingers 24/7, threatening to disrupt work, pleasure, sleep, and all the other nuances of daily life.
Migraine art raises awareness
“Migraines make me feel useless, depressed, and alone.”
Depression is one of the most troubling aspects of migraine illness. Despair magnifies pain, making it harder to cope with severe headaches, vomiting, nausea, and eye sensitivity. You feel like you can’t contribute to society, can’t perform your work duties, can’t function in a family unit- all because you never know when the next migraine attack is going to strike.
With the popularity of migraine art, millions of chronic pain sufferers know that they are not alone at all, and that they are part of a society of migraine patients facing the same struggles that they themselves endure.
What’s that Smell? Migraine Sensitivity and Olfactory Auras
Migraine is a documented illness
“Migraines are not an excuse to get out of work- they’re part of a neurological disorder.”
Migraine art dates back to the 12th century, hundreds of years before doctors first began documenting illustrations of scintillating scotomas, a visual phenomenon that occurs with migraine aura, mere minutes before a migraine attack.
It is widely believed that Lewis Carroll, the man behind the Alice in Wonderland tales, experienced migraine auras frequently, as evidenced by character descriptions like the elusive Cheshire cat, or Alice’s not feeling “quite myself.”
Go Ask Alice: Migraine Auras in Wonderland
Read more about migraines with aura
Migraine Aura Video Simulations: You Tube’s Top 10
Migraine Pain, Portrayed through Art and Poetry
When Migraine Aura with Aphasia leaves you Lost for Words
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