Advocating for people with migraine means standing up for the millions of people whose lives are disrupted by this invisible, misunderstood condition.

Migraine isn’t ‘just a headache’ – it’s a debilitating neurological condition which steals time, opportunities and dignity. Yet all too often it’s ignored by policymakers, research is underfunded and it’s dismissed in workplaces and healthcare settings.

You can help us to change the conversation, to challenge stigma, demand better treatment and push migraine on to the political agenda.

Every email, social media post or story shared helps to bring migraine to the attention of decision-makers and the wider public. Together, we can turn silence into change.

Download our campaigners toolkit

Ways to get involved

Contact your MP by email

Let your MP know how living with migraine affects you and encourage them to raise migraine as an issue in Parliament. You can use this template as a starting point, but adding details of your own experience can be even more impactful.

Contact your MP >

Request a meeting with your MP or local politician

You can request a meeting with your MP or representative to share your experiences and explain why action on migraine is needed. Politicians will usually hold ‘surgeries’ where they will meet with constituents in their office or at different locations in their constituency. You can contact their office to arrange to meet them.

When you meet you will probably not have lots of time, so make sure you are ready to:

• Explain succinctly the impact that migraine has on your life and why you think their support would be helpful
• Be clear if you would like them to take action on your behalf personally, e.g. if you are having difficulty accessing medication and would like them to contact local health services about access
• Ask them to take action on behalf of all people with migraine. You can highlight that 1 in 7 people experience migraine, so this will likely support around 10,000 people in their constituency
• Contacting The Migraine Trust at campaigns@migrainetrust.org for suggested parliamentary questions and points for debates
• Share our MP toolkit with them, which contains information for MPs on how they can support staff and constituents who live with migraine

Share your story

If you are happy to, share your experiences so that people understand why migraine needs to be taken more seriously. This starts with your personal experience of migraine and shining a light on how it can impact your day-to-day life.

You can send us your story or share it through your own social media channels and with friends and colleagues.

Here are some tips for sharing your story:

• Use video: think of a vlog style that helps people walk in your shoes
• Positive narratives: it’s not just about how migraine impacts you, it can also be about what helps you cope or the good can happen when change is made possible
• Show your life with migraine: tackle misconceptions head on and share the reality of how migraine can affect simple, everyday tasks.
• Ask friends and family to share and engage with your story to help you change the dialogue around migraine, and don’t forget to tag us too!

Start the conversation at work

Find out about our campaign to make workplaces more migraine-friendly. We have practical resources, provide training and have a Pledge for employers.

Find out more about our campaign on migraine in the workplace