Some things I cannot avoid—no matter what I try—but because I struggle with them and we’re working together, you can help me out by knowing more about these things.
Lots of important health-related information in this section.
- People.
- Team building.
- Organised fun.
- I cannot do team building or organised fun. I cannot stress that enough.
- Meetings which consist of people chatting about their weekend, evening, family, or other non-meeting agenda items.
- I’m autistic with ADHD and I don’t understand the need for small talk in the workplace. I need to get on with whatever needs discussing so I can get back to work.
More specifically, migraine’s public perception.
- It’s not
just a headache
. - The term
migraines
—incorrect. Migraine is a neurological disorder and a singular entity. People either have migraine or they don’t. Different types of migraine exist, but it’s still migraine.Attacks
are what you call the episodes—notmigraines
. Words matter. - I get hemiplegic migraine attacks, which have more in common with a stroke than a headache. I often can’t string a sentence together or understand simple words in these times (known as temporary aphasia).
- I get vestibular migraine attacks, during which I have vertigo and even standing up is a challenge, which is why I fall over a lot.
- I get cluster headaches, which are like having a white-hot ice pick plunged into your eye socket, described as one of the most intense pains humans endure. Getting one of these can make me suicidal, especially when they arrive during an attack of another type.
- I get attacks where it’s symptoms of different types mixing together, but no crippling head pain. These can be as bad, as the effect they have on my body is draining.
I suffer from clinical depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which means in autumn and winter I’m withdrawn, quiet, deeply depressed, and chronic fatigue also kicks in (because, why not). I’m also a third-grade black belt introvert. I’ll leave out the dark episodes that’ve almost happened many times in the past.
I have what’s called a dynamic disability. I have chronic illnesses that can destroy me. While I might be fine one moment, I could be in absolute agony an hour later, and want to die. This means it’s hard to plan things in advance and I cancel things constantly because of flare-ups.
I also have chronic fatigue syndrome, which conflicts with my ADHD. Some days I stagger around the house like a 200-year-old man, but my brain races and the frustration is intense. On other days, I bounce off the walls as if I’ve recently consumed a large amount of cocaine. My energy is a rollercoaster that crashes constantly.
Brain fog will usually roll in hard and fast, like I’m San Francisco. I liken this to having sewage pumped into my skull, contaminating everything and adding a level of uncomfortable pressure which makes even the most basic tasks seem out of reach. This is one of the many reasons why text-based comms are preferable for me, because it gives me a chance to read and respond. That might involve reading over and over again, and then taking half an hour to construct a basic response. Your call is important to us, please hold…