Migraine and (dis)encounters: Isolation and relationships in the suffering of chronic headaches

Abstract

Based in the social sciences, this article explores and analyzes the relationship between narratives of people with chronic pain categorized as “migraine”, and people related to these patients. For this purpose, the study connects the notion of failed meetings with the categories of “I” and “you”. Fieldwork was conducted in a public hospital in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, where neurologists and patients suffering migraine were interviewed. Outside the hospital, interviews were conducted with the patients, friends and family. According to the interviews, the appearance of migraine creates isolation and certain practices that modify the relationship with others. Unlike other chronic conditions, isolation is a central issue in these kinds of headaches because their symptoms greatly affect and modify everyday life. Through the analysis of narratives it is possible to visualize the problem and the specificities of the relationship between “I” and “others” associated to separation and isolation. That is, these practices of withdrawal are affected by experiences of suffering and failed encounters that involve not only patients but also their families and friends.