E-mail Pen-Pal Program: More Headache and Migraine Support Online!

-from Susan Barron, NHF Support Group and Membership Services Coordinator

Working for the National Headache Foundation (NHF), I frequently hear from headache and migraine sufferers that they lack adequate support. This is not to say that their families and close friends aren't there for them, but after a point, even the most understanding spouse, sibling or child may lose heart from the interruption of social activities or the lack of consistency in their daily lives.

With all of the medical care and management, and even support groups devoted to those with head pain disorders, we still don't find the consistency in personal understanding that we desire. We must cope with the frustration of being forced last-minute to cancel attending an event or not being able to get out of bed (or the bathroom) to pick up our kids or our headache prevents our being at a family dinner. But we also harbor guilt for seemingly letting others down. Ultimately, this frustration and guilt can lead to a breakdown in communication, understanding and support.

Since you're online reading this, I suspect many of you have gone to a variety of headache or migriane related Web sites to post messages seeking specific answers to questions regarding your disease, or to share information. The Internet community is not the only online source available to you. I want to let you in on another support resource--a personal e-mail pen pal program where the matching is done by well-informed individuals, and the participants are connected with those who have a similar diagnosis, shared interests and a commonality in their life-styles.

Why does this work so effectively? Because the NHF does the matching! We have matched more than 2,200 individuals, some of whom have related that while exchanging e-mails they discovered that they live within walking distance of their match! Many have written to let us know that they have become fast friends and that the support they are receiving by corresponding with someone going through the same thing has helped to saved their marriages, their jobs, and in many cases, improved their ability to function day to day.

If you want to learn more about how you can receive your own e-mail pen pal, please visit our E-mail Pen-Pal site, and follow the simple instructions.

Give the E-mail Pen Pal program a try and add another tool to your support network!