Positivity – Life of Hayley

My migraines and headaches have progressively gotten worse over the past couple of years but I have gotten stronger. It’s easy to let my fear of a migraine or my day-to-day pain bring me down but I’ve decided that I am stronger than my migraines and I deserve to live a life worth living.

There is no cure for migraines. There’s no easy way out. I haven’t been able to find a medication that will magically take all of my pain away and leave me symptom free. Instead I have decide that I am mentally strong enough to withstand the pain. There are still many days where I don’t want to get out of bed and sleeping is the only thing that helps. And that’s okay.

I had an appointment with my neurologist last week and I was a bit disappointed at first. It’s easy to feel like all of my doctors have given up on me when they can’t find a way to help my migraines. In this case, I think my neurologist was trying to push me to make a decision that I wasn’t ready to make at the time. He wanted me to make the decision on how much I’m willing to put my body through in order to be pain free. He wasn’t doing this to be hurtful but wanted to have an honest conversation with me. He’s a good guy and a great doctor.

I needed to take a step back. We talked about Amiovig at my last appointment and I had been thinking about it since. I hadn’t decided if I was ready to make that leap. So instead I decided to take some time to take care of myself for once. I’ve had a little success with my current medication so I’ll keep taking it. I’ve had a lot of success with eating a low-carb, low-sugar diet so I’ll try that again.

This is my third time doing the Ketogenic diet. I know that tons of people say that it’s not healthy but both of my neurologists have suggested it to me. According to them, Keto was originally created to help people with Epilepsy and can help those with other neurological problems as well.

Losing weight is not my main concern. I just want a healthy and happy brain. Sugar has always been a huge trigger for my migraines so now I’m putting my health first and saying no to sugar.

I don’t know how sustainable Keto will be for me. I already have so much more energy, less brain fog, and I’m sleeping better. I did not experience the “Keto flu” and I’m making sure that I still eat enough calories and drink enough water. I’m cooking new recipes and meal prepping and planning. I feel really good.

I want to push myself to do Keto for at least three full months and am keeping notes about how my body feels. I’m hoping that eating a healthier diet and avoiding my known food triggers will help me. I want to do what’s best for my body and this feels right for now.

I’m still taking things one day at a time but every morning when I wake up I remind myself that I am worthy of having a good day. I won’t let migraines bring me down forever even when I do have my really bad days.

Have you tried the Keto diet? Let me know if you have any tips!

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Photo by Hello I’m Nik 🇬🇧 on Unsplash

I wrote a post last week titled “Overcoming Self-Doubt” which was hard to write but really important for me to share. One of my main goals of blogging is to share my real life which includes all of the ugly moments in between the magical moments. Self-doubt is something that I have struggled with my whole life and I have let it slow me down and ruin many opportunities.

Today I wanted to share 10 things that I love about myself to remind myself that I have so many good qualities to share with the world.

I’m funny. I’m typically a quiet person and I didn’t know that I was funny until my sister told me. I don’t open up around people very easily but I’ve been trying to open up more and I enjoy letting my personality shine. I’m able to make people laugh along with me and bring a bit of brightness to their day.
I’m empathetic. I’m a crier and if I see someone crying I will probably cry with them. I feel all the feelings so strongly and deeply that it’s often hard to catch my breath. I want to help people feel better. I want to be able to take some of their pain away. Being empathetic is a superpower in my book.
I’m a great listener. I tend to thank my introverted tendencies for making me such a great listener. I’m constantly aware of my surroundings and love a good chat with a friend to catch up on their life.
Children love me. For some reason children have always loved me. They naturally seem to make their way to me and want to talk or play. When I was young I couldn’t wait to be a mom and have children of my own to run around with.
I always put family first. I was at a funeral recently and the minister said something about spending a day with your family and friends because you never know when it’s your last time. I think about that all the time now and cherish every moment with my family and friends.
I’m a dog AND a cat person. A lot of people seem to be one or the other but I have both a dog and cat and I love them equally.
I love to travel. A part of me is always ready for the next adventure but I’m a planner so I must think everything over before acting. I look forward to the next trip all year.
I’m a dreamer. I’m always lost in my own head dreaming up my next blog post, thoughts, words, adventures, etc. I have big dreams and I’m always working on my next move to make my dreams come true.
I’m a great wife. Being married is so hard and I think I was a little naive going into it. I got married at 23 after being with my husband for 6 years. Even though we had been together for so long and had lived together prior to being married, it’s still been a bit of a challenge. I know I’m a great wife though and I’ll never stop fighting for my husband.
I’m an introvert. If you asked me a year ago I would have said that being an introvert was my worst quality. Now I know that being an introvert is what makes me empathetic, caring, thoughtful, and organized. Some of my very best qualities were created because of my personality and I’m so glad I have learned to embrace it!

If you are struggling with self-doubt or any other type of insecurity I challenge you to create a list of 10 things you love about yourself too. I thought coming up with 10 things would be hard but I found it to be quite therapeutic.

We are our own worst critics. It’s okay to have a bad day but it’s so important to give yourself grace and respect.

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