Explore how anxiety can show up in your life, work, and relationships
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How I Took Control of My Chronic Migraines
It was my birthday, my 28th birthday to be exact. I wore a bright red dress. If you looked at me, you wouldn’t have known that anything was wrong. As I waited for my six guests, I had only one thought: how can I get through the next three hours without vomiting and passing out?
Migraines Are a Body-wide Disorder
I've reread this New York Times article about a newly released migraine study again and again. The growing awareness that migraines are a "body-wide" disorder involving chemical reactions in the brain feels like a newly revealed puzzle piece.
Can Technology and Mindfulness Get Along?
This is an older post that I'm transferring from Medium, but it still has some good nuggets of wisdom in it, plus a concrete example of how to laugh when everything is stressing you out.
Migraines, Anxiety, and Magnesium
I take 400 mg of chelated magnesium every day in addition to the magnesium I get from eating foods like almonds and spinach. But it wasn't a simple path to figure out what kind of magnesium to take, or to understand what I should expect it to do.
The Epidemic of Perfectionism in Silicon Valley
My neurologist listened to my concerns and then replied, “This problem — the problem of perfectionism and anxiety — is getting bigger and bigger every day.”
She described seeing an average of three people a day suffering from some form of chronic physical pain who had one thing in common: perfectionism. “It’s extremely common in the tech industry,” she said. “These people are very successful. They want to do everything right.”
Goodbye, Chronic Migraine?!?
I’m afraid to say it. I’m afraid if I say out loud that I’ve found my “cure” – however incomplete, however temporary it may be – I’ll jinx it. Cross my fingers, knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder, whatever it takes, but … for today, migraines are not the boss of me.
I Wish I Had Known That Amorphous Pain was Not a Given
I believe I am not alone on this terribly confusing path. In the time since I was diagnosed, I've talked to tens of people with similar symptoms who also didn't realize that anything could be done about it. They were like me: living with chronic pain, not knowing that anything could change. Simply talking with them has made a huge difference for me, and, as they've told me, for them.