When migraine hits, it can cause hours of distressing symptoms, including severe, throbbing head pain, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound. And migraine doesn’t wait for you to finish work and take refuge in a dark room: It can strike at any time of the day or night, interfering with work, school, and your social life—a fact that more than 37 million people in the United States can attest to, per the American Migraine Foundation.
The worst part is an attack can be so bad it leaves you unable to function until it’s over. Unsurprisingly, that can make it nearly impossible to show up at work, let alone perform at the top of your game, Joey R. Gee, DO, neurologist and medical director at Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, California, tells SELF. Although recent data is limited, research from the last two decades estimates that the neurological disorder costs employers around $13 billion in lost productivity each year, along with more than 112 million lost days of work.1
“Even after the migraine attack is over, many patients are not able to function due to what’s termed a ‘migraine hangover,’ when the brain is still trying to recover from the chemical cascade that triggers the migraines,” Shae Datta, MD, director of cognitive neurology at NYU Langone Hospital, Long Island, tells SELF.
All of this is to say that working with migraine can be extremely challenging, but it’s definitely worth talking with your employer to see if there are some accommodations that can be made. Remember, migraine is a chronic condition, and you deserve to have the best environment possible to help you perform at your best.
First, you’ll need to get comfortable with self-advocacy.
People with lifelong health conditions like migraine tend to encounter a range of issues at work, which vary considerably in relation to how well the condition is managed and the level of sensitivity and accommodation an employer is willing to give, Matt Lundquist, LCSW, MSEd, founder and clinical director of Tribeca Therapy in New York City, tells SELF. (Employers are required to make reasonable accommodations per the Americans With Disabilities Act and will want to do so for a valued employee.)
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“Many of the problems are structural, such as workplaces that aren’t built to accommodate certain employee needs, like breaks, flexibility, and training of peers and colleagues,” Lundquist says. He adds that a common emotional issue is an employer or colleagues not believing that someone is really struggling or in need of certain adjustments. This is particularly relevant to people with migraine and other “invisible” conditions, in which there are no physical identifiers to “prove” the existence of symptoms.
The thing is: Many bosses don’t understand but want to, so it’s up to you to educate them on what your experience is and what reasonable accommodations you might need when a migraine hits, Lundquist says. “Self-advocacy is often the best and only path.” Meaning that the only way to get what you need is to speak up and ask for it.
So how do you have a conversation about migraine with your boss?
Knowing that you need to speak up for yourself and actually doing it in a way that makes you feel empowered are two different things. Here are a few things to keep in mind when the time comes to talk with your manager.
Before you even approach your boss, avoid guilt-tripping yourself.
Many people with chronic conditions like migraine feel like they’re letting people down when they need time off work due to illness, doctor’s appointments, etc. “This is a huge issue and one I wish non-suffering individuals could understand,” Lundquist says.
Source: SELF
