.png)
2/22/2021
This last week I went over the first ACT Now meeting that occurred in February and continued my research over the Stigma of Headache Disorders. I was not able to attend this first meeting, so I took the time to watch a recorded session of it. This first meeting really highlighted the origins of Migraine Stigma and we went over two presentations that broke down this topic for the patients in the support group. The first presentation was by Dr. Joanna Kemper, an Associate professor of Sociology at Rutgers University and her presentation really highlighted how Migraine has been taken as a personal health problem instead as a public health crisis and really drove home the idea of sexist rhetoric that has led to our current state with headache disorders. Dr. Kemper's main theme within her presentation was the importance of advocacy and collaborating in a group setting to further the awareness of the issue. The second presentation by Dr. Young brought fourth more empirical evidence regarding the stigma against migraine and focused on getting the blame away from the patient, as it is not their fault they suffer from the disease. I found this interesting and I also agreed with this sentiment as it is the way we talk about certain issues that allow it to be advocated for in a much quicker fashion. As I continue to study Migraine Stigma, I believe I must begin to turn my research into migraine advocacy and perhaps this is what my Op-Ed shall focus on.