“Migraines and headaches wreak havoc on a sufferer’s daily life. While a migraine is a headache, a headache isn’t always a migraine. Headaches cause pain in the neck, sinuses, face, and head. Migraines, however, cause debilitating pain, visual disturbances, or both. They can last for hours or days and are often chronic. Without relief, migraines can cause other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness and can also lead to depression.”
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-migraine-and-headache-awareness-month-june/
This observance began in the mid-1990s by the National Headache Foundation. It’s purpose is to raise awareness and education both for those who need treatment and for the general public to understand and recognize the issues. Also, as we have seen with other topics, the more interest something has, the more it receives research and development
I’ve suffered from debilitating migraines, so this observance has more significance to me. Mine have been tied to hormones (and began with puberty) as well as foods (due to gastric issues and auto-immune diseases). For decades, I would literally lose days at at time from the inability to function. Even with medication ( meant to be taken AFTER the onset of a migraine), I would be bedridden with debilitating pain, nausea, light and sound sensitivity, as well as dizziness and blurred vision. It wasn’t until later in life, when they gave me medication to PREVENT migraines, that I found relief, changing my quality of life.
My experiences just reiterated to me the importance of awareness. The communication between my healthcare team and me, our knowledge of what was triggering the migraines, what helped to minimize them, and what was available to help PREVENT and not just TREAT them after they set it, made a huge difference. It just encouraged my love for research and books because self-awareness is a vital part of one’s health.