Migraine Awareness Week
Last month we supported Migraine Awareness Week with the aim of highlighting what life is like #BeneathTheSurface for those living with migraines.
We set about telling the stories of two women who both suffer from migraines. But words didn’t feel like enough. To communicate the true experience, we partnered with a digital illustrator to bring to life the truth of the condition.
Read more about their stories, and hear first hand about their experiences, below.
Migraines are challenging to describe, frequently misunderstood, and often overlooked. They take away precious moments from those who experience them, driving people into an isolated world of silence and darkness. Yet an estimated 11 million people in the UK experience them, and their effects can be painful, debilitating, and isolating.
To mark Migraine Awareness Week we wanted to help highlight what life is like beneath the surface for those living with migraines.
Lucy*
Migraine affects everyone differently. For Lucy, one thing she wants people to understand is how it impacts her energy.
Everyone starts the day with limited spoons of energy, but for me, even simple tasks use up more spoons. Just washing my hair could be the biggest thing I accomplish in a day, and then I’m done unable to do anything else.
Watch Lucy’s video to find out more and see her experience brought to life through illustration.
*name has been changed at the request of the individual
Deborah
For Deborah the word ‘migraine’ has become trivialised. People think of Victorian ladies swooning in bed, whereas the reality for her is far from it.
I want people to understand that living with migraine is not my fault, nor is it just an excuse. I’m not weak. I believe I am resilient. It’s a serious, challenging condition, that affects all aspects of my life and is still so much misunderstood.
Watch the video to discover more about Deborah’s experience brought to life through illustrations that depict her symptoms as she struggles to keep doing the things she loves.
Irene Guarnieri, the digital illustrator behind the creative campaign, shares her approach.
Reflecting on the campaign and the creative journey, I realise now how much I had underestimated the reality of migraines. It wasn’t until I immersed myself in the research and listened to the patients’ stories that I began to understand the weight of this illness, which is so often underestimated.
My aim was to portray migraines as a relentless presence that is always with you, ready to take over your body without warning.
I chose to visualise this through imagery such as the strings of a puppeteer, tentacles and seaweed that bind, or bold, heavy marks filling the patient’s body—each representing a force that drains energy, takes control, and forces decisions upon them. What resonated most with me as I listened to the patients’ recordings was the sense that, despite their resilience and fight, it’s not truly them living their lives—it’s the migraine dictating their existence.
