Energy flows where attention goes.
Most of people who struggle with migraine or other diseases are encouraged by their physicians to track the triggers, frequency, intensity, duration, feelings, and plethora of other symptoms that come hand in hand with the disease. On the market there are variety of migraine diaries and smart-phone applications, such as Migraine Buddy, which allow people to keep score of the migraine.
When I suffered chronic migraine, I was advised to do the same, and in few occasions I tried following the advice, but I found it daunting and wasn’t able to continue. It filled me with negativity that came from focusing solely on the pain.
The article bellow explains that, despite popular belief that tracking is a useful strategy for hacking the migraine (or insomnia, back pain, or any other disease for that matter), in reality, it makes things worse. Dwelling on symptoms makes them more likely to occur. This is called ”nocebo effect”, the dark side of the placebo. The body’s response can be triggered by negative expectations. If we constantly pay attention to sensations in the body, we can magnify them. These sensations may send an alarm to the brain that the migraine might be coming, this in turn triggers anxiety, which activates the fight-or-flight response and soon a real migraine begins.
Energy flows where attention goes. What you focus on grows. Therefore, redirect your attention where you want growth.
I would encourage you to keep track of the good days and good things that happen in your life. How many good days in a month you have? How long do the good periods last? Why do you think they were good? What did you do the day before that could trigger the “goodness”? Focus on the positive things and positive emotions you experience, and you will notice that your energy shifts and provides you with an actual relief.