Happy June (my favorite month of the year!) and Migraine Awareness Month!

Amy (@the_migraine_life) and I have been cooking up awareness ideas for a while now, and finally came up with #mightywithmigraine which just felt right. We wanted something that would showcase the strength and courage that those living with migraine flex on a daily basis. We wanted a positive message. We wanted to empower our fellow migraineurs and also draw attention to how widespread this disease is. We chose #mightywithmigraine, because that is what each and every migraineur is: mighty!

In an effort to raise awareness, open conversation, reduce stigma and facilitate positive change, we are asking members of the migraine community to share a photo holding a “Mighty with Migraine” sign with the hashtag #mightywithmigraine.

We want to include not only the migraine warrior, but also, their friends, family, coworkers, loved ones, etc. In this way we hope to illustrate that migraine pain is like a ripple on a pond, affecting not only the person feeling the physical pain that it causes, but also those who surround that person in their daily lives.

Migraine affects 1 in 7 people. The degree of severity and frequency of attacks exist on a spectrum, ranging from being debilitating for a few hours at a time, a few times a year to severely impacting every single day. Migraine is a neurobiological disease. A migraine attack is a symptom of migraine. People who live with migraine disease are impacted in so many ways outside of the physical attacks themselves. Each attack can vary dramatically in symptoms and presentation, keeping the migraineur in a state of needing to constantly adjust and react to those variations. Similarly, each person in that migraine sufferer’s sphere must do the same. It is a confusing, stressful, frustrating and debilitating disease (one that takes being mighty to combat!)

Participate in our campaign by following the instructions below:

1. Fold a piece of printer paper in half or download sign here

2. Take a black & white photo of yourself with your sign

3. Stand in front of a light colored, blank wall and hold your sign in front of you at arm’s length 

4. Make sure to tag @mindfulmigraine + @the_migraine_life in your post and use #mightywithmigraine

5. In the caption share how YOU are MIGHTY with migraine!

6. Share on your own social media (using the hashtag #mightywithmigraine) and go like other people’s photos who have shared the same hashtag

7. Tag 2 friends and challenge them to participate also (have them hold up a sign supporting the migraineur in their life, i.e: my friend/my teacher/our coworker/my brother…is Mighty with Migraine) 

Practical tips:

• We really want to make an effort to have these images be uniform, clean and crisp!

• Make sure to have someone else take your picture to ensure you don’t get backwards selfie (tested by trial and error)

• By standing against similar light, blank backdrops and making them all black & white, hopefully these images will be recognized across social media as we flood the internet with them during migraine awareness month!

Some ideas for the “fill in the blank” on your sign:

• I am #mightywithmigraine

• My mom is #mightywithmigraine

• Our coworker is #mightywithmigraine

• My cousin is #mightywithmigraine

• My patients are #mightywithmigraine

• My daughter is #mightywithmigraine

• Our clients are #mightywithmigraine

• My aunt is #mightywithmigraine

1 in 7 is too many to be without effective treatments. Increased awareness will lead to more research which will lead to better treatments. Together, we can put the spotlight on this disabling condition that deserves to be treated with the seriousness of other devastating diseases.

Let the world know that those who live with migraine are mighty; and all around us. You do not have to have migraine in order to participate in this campaign! If you know anyone whose life is impacted by migraine (which is guaranteed if you are here reading this) — you can take part too.

Make it fun! Have your niece, child, dog, group of friends, coworkers or anyone in your world willing to participate hold a sign and help us spread the word about the far reach this disease has and how many people are thriving in spite of facing it every single day.

Also, last year an extremely talented graphic design artist, Allison Berg, created a special migraine awareness ribbon for us. She has updated it this year for a #mightywithmigraine version! Feel free to share it along with your photo or separately on social media. You can download a copy of the image with text here, and without text here.

Migraine Awareness Month kicks off June 1, let’s get together as many images as we can so we can make a big splash on the internet!

Natalie Sayre