Are There Upsides to Migraine? How I Put a Positive Spin on My Condition

Against all logic, migraine can have some positive aspects, like increased resilience, disease protection, and improved self-awareness. This new perspective helps me cope.

The idea of there being any benefit to having migraine may seem not only ridiculous — it’s borderline offensive!

As someone who experiences migraine, I know it goes without saying that migraine is painful and challenging. Still, it may be interesting and even helpful to know that there are some positive aspects to being a migraineur.

I’m not telling you to be happy or grateful about migraine. However, taking note of the positives may help you cope and think of your condition in a new way — like it has for me.

Here’s an invitation to try on this controversial viewpoint and see where it takes you. If it doesn’t work, feel free to chuck it. But maybe — just maybe — it helps you see migraine in a new light.

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Protection from diseases

Migraine is associated with a reduced risk of certain diseases, including type 2 diabetes and alcohol use disorder.

One 2019 study of 74,247 women over the course of 10 years found that those with active migraine were up to 30% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes during that time compared to those who did not have migraine.

While this is interesting, the authors of the study didn’t have an explanation for the finding and suggested further study.

In a 2024 study of 9,931 participants, those with chronic migraine were less likely to develop alcohol use disorder than others with low back pain, type 2 diabetes, and depression. This may be because alcohol can be a trigger for migraine attacks, so people with migraine are more likely to avoid it.

Heightened self-awareness and self-care practices

When you have migraine, you likely become more self-aware in order to track your triggers and prevent future attacks.

By paying close attention to your body, you may notice subtle changes, like a heightened sense of smell, sound, or light, that often precede a migraine attack. The same goes for identifying possible triggers — like eating chocolate or not getting enough sleep — that can be linked to those sensations.

Research from 2023 found that people with migraine who practice mindfulness develop better stress-body awareness (knowing when and how stress affects your body) and interoceptive awareness (being able to understand and interpret cues from your body’s internal sensations).

This leads to earlier recognition of migraine attacks and more effective overall management.

Some self-care practices recommended for migraine include:

• maintaining a consistent routine
• getting regular exercise
• stress relief exercises, like body scan meditation
• keeping a symptom and trigger journal
• drinking enough fluids
• reducing screen time
• taking medications

Greater resilience

Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt successfully to challenging life experiences. Although resilient people may experience bad things, they are still able to be flexible and find ways to cope.

Migraine is certainly a challenging part of life — whether it’s the physical pain, limitations in work, socializing, and hobbies, or the uncertainty of when your next attack will come.

People with migraine are naturally forced to become resilient and develop inner strength in ways that people who’ve never experienced migraine might not understand.

You may find yourself able to “roll with the punches” more, both in relation to migraine and other areas of your life.

More empathy and compassion

Living with migraine can teach a person empathy and compassion for others who are going through adversity. You know firsthand what it’s like to be limited by a disease that you didn’t ask for and can’t always predict.

This can help you understand and share the feelings of others who are going through tough times, whether they are fellow migraineurs, people experiencing chronic pain or illness, or those with other life challenges.

It may be evolutionary

Migraine may have been around for millions of years, though we don’t know for sure. This doesn’t make much sense when you consider evolution. After all, shouldn’t a painful and disabling condition die out in the gene pool via natural selection?

Scientists have a few theories on why this hasn’t been the case.

One theory is that migraine was originally a defense mechanism to warn people if they had consumed toxic substances. In modern times, this defense mechanism isn’t as useful, but thousands of years ago, it could have been a lifesaver.

The paper’s author also points out that headaches and pain are adaptive responses. Tending to these symptoms by being still or in bed may help repair damaged tissues.

Another theory is that because people with migraine have more sensitive nervous systems and heightened senses, they are more readily able to spot predators. This was beneficial to their communities, who then protected migraineurs from threats when they had migraine attacks.

Yet another reason migraine may be an evolved trait is that it may protect from oxidative stress.

Finally, some 2019 research indicates that migraine may be a result of cold tolerance as our ancestors traveled to northern lands.

These theories on the evolutionary benefits of migraine are intriguing, though unproven. Still, they point to some possible upsides of the condition over the millennia.

Takeaway

Migraine isn’t fun, but it is interesting to consider the origins and even upsides of this often disabling condition.

These include developing resilience, empathy, compassion, and even protection from certain diseases as a byproduct of migraine.

While there’s no reason to deny the difficulty that migraine can bring, it’s worth a thought exercise to flip your mental script about migraine and see it in a new light, especially if it helps you cope.

If not, that’s perfectly OK, too.