I had to quit my job.

“In 2013/2014, I was nearing the end of my graduate program. I had a paid job, an internship and attended classes weekly. I had long commutes for all of this. Suddenly, one day I was so dizzy I could hardly drive. There was no explanation to my dizziness and no other symptoms. I had to see a doctor who sent me to another doctor, a specialist. After many tests, it was discovered I had chronic migraine. The dizziness was actually vertigo.

Now, all this time, I was still trying to work and go to school but not doing it very well. I was missing a lot of both. They couldn’t find a treatment and my vertigo persisted. Then came the intense headaches. I cycled through medication after medication. I needed to work to make money and I needed to finish school or I would be delayed an entire year! I even had a teacher who suggested I withdraw from her class, though I had not missed enough class to be forced to. My resolve was strong even though I felt so physically unwell. I needed to finish this program and nothing was going to stop me. As we cycled through treatments, symptoms got worse and better but never stabilized. I was getting tired. Finally, 6 months into this mess, I decided to quit my job. I am not one to willfully have no income but something had to give and I thought I could make it work. Within a week, my migraines were managed. Was this stress related? I would later find out that, yes, my condition happens to be affected by stress. This period of my life was so hard but it showed me (the hard way) the value of putting my needs first. I was incredibly stressed and felt trapped. But I wasn’t. I took care of myself the best way I knew how and I have no doubt it has served me well since. I look at my needs very differently and see that nothing is worth my health. I still get migraines but I have (mostly) found a way to manage them. I have also learned that if something is getting my attention with this level of force, I better look deeper to see what it is trying to teach me.”

-Anonymous