What's in a name?

You've probably heard of the Fortune Cookie game – add 'in bed' to the end of any fortune from a cookie to make it more exciting. Well, I'm hoping that my love of books and beautiful writing will help me cope with chronic migraines.

Tuesday 10 June 2014

'One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore.' – André Gide

I've had three kinesiology appointments now and they've all been very different. The first involved a lot of talking. She made statements like, 'I believe I can get over this problem' and 'I want to get over this problem,' and observed how my body reacted to them. I felt very emotional the night after and did a lot of crying and thinking about issues she had brought up. I thought about the depressed state and negative mindset I was falling into from the endless migraines. Forgiveness and suppression were also key themes so I started thinking about forgiving my mum for a traumatic event that happened in our family a few years ago, just before my first bought of relentless migraines. I also began thinking about forgiveness of my husband's and my part in the shake-up of our marriage last year. Finally, I thought about how I suppress my true quirkiness and desires in order to seem more stable and sensible. Over the following weeks, I began to feel more positive as the unremitting migraines began to ease.

After the second appointment, about three weeks ago, I didn't cry all night or have any major epiphanies, but I kept working on the same issues. In that appointment she used some pressure points and tuning forks and some more emotive statements. She identified suppressed anger as a source of tension. I began keeping an anger diary to record when I felt angry and what I could do about it. I also came to terms with forgiving my mum and initiated a tearful, cathartic conversation. The migraines continued to abate to about one mild episode per week. I was pretty good about doing the yoga-like rhythmic movements she recommended, which were calming and centring.

Today's session involved lots of different pressure points, some massage and muscle manipulation. She continued identifying problem patterns in my thinking such as my habit of inhibiting myself and denying the negative sides of my personality. I am continuing to work on dealing with my anger and not feeling shattered or endangered when others express anger. Also, I will continue the rhythmic movements and meditating on forgiveness with a goal of totally forgiving my husband so we can properly move on. I will continue to track the frequency and severity of the migraines, although it's not a scientific test of whether kinesiology cures migraines since I'm also taking a new, daily medication.

I had a positive experience with kinesiology, which brought many personal issues to light so that I can work on how I react to them. I don't know if I'll go back for another session, but I left each session feeling soothed, positive and more relaxed than I went in feeling. Therefore, I think the whole experience was worthwhile even if it didn't miraculously cure the migraines overnight – a diminishment is a positive favourable too.

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