MIGRAINE LANGUAGE
Language plays a vital role in how we understand the world. Migraine is a common illness that is often stigmatized and misunderstood. Many people see those living with diseases as helpless or as victims of their condition, and disparaging language is used to describe them. Sometimes the language used gives the impression that people did something to deserve being sick, or should be blamed for their medical condition. For migraine, the language used often reinforces the myth that migraine is ‘just a headache’.
MIGRAINE LANGUAGE QUICK GUIDE
This quick guide contains the most important points from the migraine language guide. If we change how we talk about migraine, we will help reduce the stigma for everyone living with migraine!
1: Say migraine attack or episode, not ‘a migraine’
Migraine is a life-long medical condition. The term migraine attack is more accurate to describe the symptoms we experience.
2: Say migraine, not ‘migraines’
The term migraines (i.e. with an ‘s’) suggests that migraine comes and goes, when this is not the case. The way migraine affects people can change from one day to another and between attacks, but the condition is always there. Migraine disorder is also acceptable.
3: Say ‘people living with migraine’, not ‘migraine sufferers’
Migraine can be awful and people with migraine suffer from the symptoms of migraine attacks. The term ‘migraine sufferer’ isn't helpful as it focuses on the disorder instead of the person.
4: Don’t call your headache a migraine, or migraine a headache
The ‘just a headache’ myth is the leading cause of migraine stigma. Headache is a common symptom, but some people living with migraine do not experience headache at all! Check out types of migraine to see what other symptoms those with migraine usually experience.
5: Don’t call anything else migraine
Please try not to use the word migraine unless you are actually talking about migraine. The term migraine shouldn’t be used to describe something else. It also shouldn’t be used in casual conversation, for example, don’t say things like “I’m getting a migraine just thinking about that”.
some information has been sourced from CHAMP