Migraine Awareness Week 2024

Migraine hurts in many ways. Join us to change the perception this Migraine Awareness Week (23-29 September)

Migraine hurts in many ways. From physical pain to the emotional pain that often comes with living with the condition, and the pain of encountering the misconceptions across society about migraine.

We’ll be releasing our new research on the impact of migraine on mental health and talking about how migraine impacts every area of life – help us reach more people, and change the perception of migraine, by getting involved.

This Migraine Awareness Week, we are looking at some of the many ways that living with migraine hurts, and there are lots of ways for you to get involved:

During Migraine Awareness Week, we’ll be sharing the stories of people who have been impacted by the pain of living with migraine. If you are interested in sharing your experience of migraine you can submit your story via our website. We know that people who experience migraine represent a range of ages, ethnicities, genders and backgrounds and it’s important to us to reflect that in the stories we share. With this in mind, we are particularly interested in stories from people within the following groups, which are currently under-represented in our stories:

- Men
- Minority ethnic groups
- Those who live in Northern Ireland

We can’t promise to share every story that we get but if we can match your story to one of our opportunities, we will be in touch.

Sharing your story

Use and search the hashtags #MigraineHurts and #MigraineAwarenessWeek to share your experience and to read others’ experiences too.

Get involved and fundraise to help The Migraine Trust continue to support people with migraine: There are lots of ways to get involved, including hosting a Migraine Meet Up – the perfect way to raise awareness, get together with loved ones, and help raise vital funds!

Host a migraine meet-up

Migraine Hurts Migraine Awareness Week Poster

During Migraine Awareness Week (Monday 23 to Sunday 29 September) The Migraine Trust want to raise awareness of what it means to live with migraine in the UK.

1 in 7 people live with migraine and it is most common among adults of working age. It can impact working life, but this can be significantly reduced if people with migraine are supported at work.

Information to share in newsletters and employee updates

Migraine is a severe and painful long-term health condition. If you have migraine, you will have migraine attacks, which can be a whole-body experience.

Common symptoms of an attack can include:

head pain,
problems with your sight such as seeing flashing lights,
being very sensitive to light, sounds and smells,
fatigue,
feeling sick and being sick.

Different people get different symptoms. When you have a migraine attack, you may not be able to function normally.

People with migraine often need very little help from their employer, but this small amount of support can enable them to work effectively with migraine.

Migraine symptoms can vary and keeping your manager informed about this can help us to understand how we can provide appropriate support and reasonable adjustments. You can download the Migraine Trusts’ ‘Managing Migraine in the Workplace’ toolkit, for suggestions on how to have these conversations at work.

This year for Migraine Awareness Week (Monday 23 to Sunday 29 September) The Migraine Trust are raising awareness of the many ways in which living with migraine hurts, including and beyond physical pain. Migraine has a significant impact on quality of life, impacts mental health, relationships, education and the ability to work.

How can you get involved this Migraine Awareness Week?

If you have migraine – Share your story of how migraine impacts you at work – by sharing your experience, you will be helping to raise awareness of migraine and helping others feel less alone.
– Check out our resources on managing migraine at work, including our Migraine in the Workplace toolkit
If you work with someone who has migraine – Take some time to find out more about migraine, it’s impact and how you can best support colleagues with migraine
If you’re an employer – Contact us to arrange a ‘Managing Migraine in the Workplace’ information talk, and take the first step to becoming a migraine friendly workplace
Consider becoming a corporate partner