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Comments in response to a recent New York Times Domestic Disturbances blog entry raised the hairs on the back of my neck. The writer discussed trying an elimination diet in an attempt to better manage her frequent migraines. The option didn't work out well for her, and many readers felt compelled to give her gobs of unsolicited advice.
Domestic Disturbances: The Migraine Diet
I'm sure most of them had their hearts in the right place. But the reality is that finding a workable solution to managing migraines is a journey. A very personal one. Telling someone with a complicated medical condition to "just do x, y and z" is rarely, if ever, helpful. Most often it's downright insulting. We need to be careful about how we approach other people with our suggestions and try not to assume we have all the answers because something worked well for us or someone we know.
Technorati Tags: diet, rant, elimination diet, media, depression, migraines, chronic illness, health, somebody heal me
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Content by Diana E. Lee.
2 comments:
I wandered over from your lj and then to the article you posted and had the same reaction. Everyone always thinks they have the perfect solution for migraineurs, when in fact there really is no magic solution. I've been told to try meditation (which is great, but it's impossible to meditate while migraining), biofeedback, chiropractics, acupuncture, etc...by people who, fortunately for them, don't understand that what is being dealt with is NOT a psychosomatic disorder but very, very real. They're well-meaning, but it's very insulting--and frustrating when the therapy they're suggesting is prohibitively expensive and not covered by insurance. As if I'm being blamed for not doing something about my pain.
Whew, that was a rant. Sorry...
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Hey, Erin. Thank you so much for your comment!
It's nice to know I'm not the only one with this pet peeve. Sometimes I wonder if I'm overreacting, but then I think about other health conditions and realize that we receive much more unsolicited advice than people with other conditions. It gets old quick.
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