Lived experiences of women with chronic migraine: A phenomenological study

Purpose While quantitative research has yielded valuable insights into the prevalence, triggers, and treatment efficacy of chronic migraine, the embodied experience of the condition remains underexplored. This study portrays chronic migraine as a lived bodily condition, aiming to illuminate how such disruptions are experienced in everyday life. Methods Data were collected from eight female participants through in-depth, open-ended phenomenological interviews. The data were analyzed using Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method. Results The analysis revealed a unifying structure of the lived-through phenomenon comprising four key constituents: (1) sense of agency, (2) sense of bodily control, (3) sense of bodily exhaustion, and (4) sense of adaptation. Participants described recurring migraine attacks as involving disrupted sensations intertwined with a diminished sense of bodily control and agency. The persistent presence of pain and the anticipation of attacks were experienced as part of an ongoing state of vigilance and exhaustion. Participants expressed a tension between feeling unsafe and engaging in adaptive efforts to reconnect with their sense of agency and control. Conclusions This study combines clinical relevance with phenomenological depth, emphasizing the subjective, pre-reflective, and partly unrecognized experiences of living with chronic migraine. Greater attention to bodily experience may support clinical encounters in which patients’ descriptions of bodily unpredictability, exhaustion, and fluctuating agency are more fully acknowledged. From a clinical perspective, attending to such experiences, as reflecting a disruption of bodily experience, may foster more responsive and person-centered approaches to rehabilitation and care in chronic migraine.