Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The headache remedy.

When I was a little girl I used to get migraines. Not all the time, but one or two a summer for sure. They usually came after days of swimming and a lot of sun.

You can imagine how scary the intense pain was for a child. I would sink into the covers of my bed and rock back and forth with tears streaming down my cheeks. I wouldn't speak to anyone...

Except my father.

My father was the only one that could make it all better. I don't know how it started, it might be that he had migraines as a child too...or maybe he came up with the magic cure all on his own...but however it came along, it worked. And only HE could make it work.

He would sit by my side and rub the hair away from my forehead in large wide strokes, and then quietly tell me the story.

A cloud would come into my room and pick me up. It would gently take me up the sky where the wind would be in my hair and the stars would twinkle above me. The wind would be warm and calming, as I would float westward towards the sea, and Hawaii. Once in Hawaii I would sit on the beach and run my toes through the warm sand and watch the waves wash again and again against the shore. Soon the cloud would pick me up and take me on my journey back to home. But not before I accomplished the most important task of my journey...

I would take my headache, and throw it away into the sea.

And you know what?

When I threw it away...it really DID disappear.

Our bodies, or minds...they are crazy complicated, but one thing I know is we have more control over our bodies than we may think.

Now as an adult, I take my headaches, my worries and my fears...and I throw them out to the ocean of the blogging world.

I'm not kidding, it takes the pain of the day away, and helps me sleep at night.

When I came home from Disney a couple nights ago, all I could do was lay in bed and go over and over in my head the events from the week. I got up after a good hour, and began writing my post that went up yesterday. Writing it all out, and letting it go, led to me sleeping like a baby when I went back to bed.

Did you get that? I was able to let it go!

And so it is with all the clutter in my swelly brain. Letting it go...writing it out..is freeing. I don't need to stew. All I need do is write out how I feel.

Years ago, before I began blogging, I had a particularly upsetting experience at a family wedding. I didn't sleep for two weeks, going over all the things I wish I could have said to the people that were around me at the time. My husband suggested writing it all out. I wrote a letter that was 7 pages long. Every word that I went over and over and over again in my brain was finally released from their prison.

I never mailed the letter to anyone, but I was FINALLY free of those feelings.

Believe it or not, there is a reason for me going on and on about all of this...

I'm on a mission to get one of YOU, my dear lurkers, to start a journal. It is as easy as opening up a notepad, or opening up your laptop and clicking on "Microsoft Word."

Set those feelings free! Write about your frustrations, your fears, your guilt, your happiness! Write a letter to your child, or your husband...or even yourself. You don't even have to write out anything, you can make a list...or bullet points.

If you don't have a close friend to do some latte/hot chocolate therapy with...this is a wonderful alternative.

You don't need to publish your words...trust me when I say, it is enough just to get them out of your head. I've written a few blog posts that I never published. Writing it out is enough sometimes. Sure, you might have such a backlog of feelings, it may take days, or weeks to get them all out. But once you do...

Freedom.

Take YOUR headache, and throw it into the ocean.

You may be surprised at the results...



16 comments:

  1. I LOVE to write when I need to get things out. When my dad passed away suddenly 12 years ago, I wrote him a 20 page letter...Had to say all the things I never did but wished I had; good and bad. It helped SO much to release those feelings, and as you say, throw them in the ocean! Love to you and yours sweet lady!

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  2. Letters really are great therapy. I love writing them and never sending it. I totally agree with you on this one! What a beautiful story about your dad. At first when I read you were talking about headaches, I thought you were references after a high or low LOL but I am going to use this info for that too :)

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  3. Writing can definitely be a cathartic experience. Even if you don't feel like you're good at writing, I think releasing those thoughts and feelings is always a good thing AND no one has to see them unless you want them to. And I strongly believe that we can make things seem worse or better with just our thoughts alone. Great post! :)

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  4. So very true, Meri!
    Writing has always been therapy for me...whether those words have been read by anyone or not.
    Just 'getting them out' can be so very freeing.

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  5. Nice Meri. Hopefully you have inspired the lurkers!!

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  6. I thought I was the only one who wrote on their blog never intending to post... but it is works wonders!

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  7. SO very true! I haven't been blogging for long, but I've written out my thoughts and stresses and feelings for years...it's an amazing release. I will have to try your migraine remedy as well, i get them every once and a while as well. LOVE this post!

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  8. This is like the most beautiful post...just left me feeling so hopeful tonight-which I really needed. Someone asked me how I find time every day to blog and I said, "i dunno" but the reality is that I feel like it saves me. Just like reading blogs like yours saves me.

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  10. Writing has always been cathartic for me as well. I bet you inspire a lurker or two. This post might even be the inspiration for a new blog. :)

    That's a beautiful story about your father, too. :)

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  11. Great post Meri, I so agree with you on every angle. When in college I actually did my senior psych thesis on this very topic (Biofeedback) and know that it helped tremendously in my mothers fight with breast cancer. I'm glad you're back blogging after your awesome trip with your guys. Hope the sun is shining in your area and you all are enjoying a fabulous start to summer break.

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  12. Oh sister, I hear you. I actually was NEVER, EVER, NEVER, EVER, NEVER a "writer" a "journaler" a "scribbler". That being said, at this point in my life...I find writing it all out therapeutic.

    I am fillin' up my ocean baby!!!!

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  13. true that sister!! Wonderful post I loved listening to you talk about your dad.

    Writing does help, even ask my husband every time he pissed me off when we were dating he would get a 5 page letter filled with my hurt feelings and emotions...he loved it!!LOL :)

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  14. What a lovely story about your dad. And I hope you encourage some lurkers to start journaling, even if it's not public.

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  15. Oh boy! Does writing it ever help me let it go.... It does! Big time!

    I love your story! So sweet! I feel relaxed just reading it!

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