Am I a migraine language nazi?

Recently I find myself posting the same thing, over and over again, on almost every corner of the internet. I should have it as an automatic message or something: ‘Migraine, not migraines’.

I feel like some people think I’m being a pedantic bitch, nit-picking at that single letter. But it does matter, and the job of changing the way that we talk about migraine is no small task – it’s something we have to plug away at every single day.

And probably will have to keep plugging away at it for years before we can erase ‘migraines’.

Here’s why it matters:

Migraine is a life-long medical condition. 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 episodes, but the condition is always there.

We can only get migraine once – before we are born, when the genetic lottery of what we will be is drawn. So the plural is silly, when you think about it.

Referring to migraine attacks as ‘a migraine’ (or migraines) devalues this very significant and complex condition to the same level as ‘a headache’ or ‘a cold’. A short term mild discomfort that you’ll get over soon enough. Anyone living with migraine will tell you that’s not even vaguely close to the reality.

Using terms like migraine attack, or if you prefer, migraine episode, more accurately conveys what is happening – an acute presentation of the symptoms of our chronic condition – and makes it more clear it is part of a bigger thing, not the whole thing.

There’s a bunch of other terms I get triggered by: ‘cure’ or ‘suffer’ language both drive me around the bend. Suffer is occasionally appropriate when you’re discussing symptoms, but migraine itself we live with, and does not necessarily cause suffering. I don’t want to be referred to as a migraine sufferer. Cure is never ok – you cannot cure a genetic condition.

Recently I asked a support group on Facebook to consider changing their name from ‘migraines’ to migraine. The reply was quick, and basically told me to go jump.

About a day later, a post in another group asked if anyone had managed to cure their migraines. I replied that migraine can’t be cured, it’s genetic, and was basically Facebook lynched.

Many people within our own community do not want to make the shift, don’t want to know the facts, and are happier thinking that their ‘migraines’ are a transient issue which they will eventually find a ‘cure’ for and end their suffering. And, to be fair, if they’re describing their own experience they can use whatever damn language they want.

But if we want the rest of the world to take us seriously and give us the tools we need to manage our condition, we need to take it seriously first and start talking about it more accurately.

So perhaps I am a migraine language nazi. But know that if I’m gently correcting you somewhere online, it’s coming from a place of love.

Migraine Australia will be releasing a language guide soon, but in the meantime, the CHAMP one is pretty good.