NOT ALL IN HER HEAD:

Let's empower and support every woman with migraine.
An awareness raising campaign launched by the Women's Brain Project in 2022

Migraine. It’s so much more than just a headache.


Yet, even today, the complexity and the seriousness of migraine is not fully understood, leading to stigmatisation and misdiagnosis. It’s dismissed as simply a woman’s trait of being dramatic a true expression of ‘it’s all in your head!’.


Sadly, it’s not. With 3x more women affected than men, the impact of migraine is much more severe on women, affecting several aspects of their lives. When left unresolved, their quality of life rapidly continues to deteriorate, affecting them in their most productive years and leading to a significant economic impact on society.


That’s why, the Women’s Brain Project has stepped up to bring forth an eye-opening campaign that acknowledges migraine’s impact and the fact that it’s ‘Not all in her head’.


A campaign with a strong brand voice to encourage policymakers, patients, society, and healthcare professionals to adopt a multistakeholder approach to help improve the management of migraine (with better awareness, early diagnosis, and gender-specific research), enabling women to function better.



Truly, a holistic approach to empower and support every woman with migraine.


Check out our campaign materials below! Get involved and make a difference; for society, your loved ones and you. Let’s discover the journey of migraine in women together.


As this is a communication-led campaign we will be sharing posts on our social media channels using the hashtag #NotAllinHerHead, and we invite you to do the same. We want to see your stories about migraine and invite you to participate in raising awareness alongside us. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss all of our latest posts and updates.

We would like to thank Organon Belgium B.V., a global women’s healthcare company, who (partially) supported this campaign by sponsorship.

For all media enquiries, we’d love to be in touch. You can contact us at: communication@womensbrainproject.com.

I AM:

A PATIENT /
A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC

A POLICYMAKER

AN EMPLOYER

A HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL

Gruppe 31
Please select who you are
A Patient / a member of the Public 
A policymaker
An employer
A healthcare professional

A PATIENT/
A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC

Patient Infographic

Select the infographic to learn more about women and migraine; you can also download and share it to help raise awareness.
Patient_Infographic_V0
View PDF

Fast Facts

  • Migraine affects 3x more women than men
  • Women suffer longer attack duration and have a higher recurrence rate
  • 60% of people with headache disorders are not properly diagnosed
  • Almost 70% do not seek medical advice for their symptoms
  • 83% have suffered migraine for more than 10 years
  • 49% of patients had to wait over 3 years to get treatment
  • Female hormones can be a migraine trigger
  • Migraine has a huge impact on daily life; impacting careers and family life; women are disproportionately affected
  • CALL TO ACTION: Addressing the specific needs of women with migraine will help reduce gendered stigma and increase awareness

Patient videos

Chéri Ballinger is a producer, actress and sought-after international speaker, she is the official US Ambassador for the Women’s Brain Project. Chéri has vowed to use her story from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) which caused her to suffer with migraine, to bring people hope and to inspire positive change.  

Christina Brewster-Maund has worked in clinical research and development in the healthcare arena. After suffering in silence for years, she shares her story to help disseminate a fuller set of messages about migraine, particularly to women, so they may become more enlightened and empowered with the right information sooner than she was in her own journey.

We would love to learn from and share stories of women living with migraine, so we invite you to share yours on social media using the hashtag #NotAllinHerHead. We know that many of you have suffered in silence for a long time, we are here to listen now and amplify your voices to the world. Please feel free to download and share this social media post here and follow along on our social channels to see other posts you can share!

A HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL

Fast Facts

  • Migraine is one of the most common health conditions worldwide, especially among women who represent over 80% of patients
  • Migraine affects over 30% of women over their lifetime
  • Women suffer longer attack duration than men and a higher recurrence rate
  • Given the number of working women living with migraine, ensuring access to proper care pathways represents not just an economic, but also a gender equity priority
  • The apparent sex disparity in migraine is partly mediated by differences in ovarian hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone
  • 60% of people with headache disorders worldwide are not properly diagnosed
  • Approximately half of all people worldwide living with a headache disorder are primarily self-treating and not in contact with any healthcare professionals
  • Lack of knowledge among healthcare providers is the main clinical barrier: worldwide, on average, only 4 hours of undergraduate medical education are dedicated to instruction on headache disorders
  • CALL TO ACTION: Let’s encourage better understanding of migraine and how it impacts women for better diagnosis, improved access to adequate treatment and reduced stigma

HCP Infographic

Select the Healthcare Professional (HCP) infographic to learn more about women and migraine; you can also download and share it with your colleagues to aid us in raising awareness. 

HCP_Infographic_V0
View PDF

HCP video

Dr Nouchine Hadjikhani, MD, PhD has a long-standing interest in neurosciences, with some of her research being devoted to the pathophysiology of one of the most common neurological diseases, namely migraine. She shares her perspective as an HCP on women and migraine and helps to raise awareness, educate and change the stigma and misunderstanding of this serious neurological disease. 

We invite you to learn from and share stories of women living with migraine, so we invite you to check out the hashtag #NotAllinHerHead. We know that women suffering with migraine have felt unheard by medical professionals for a long time, let’s change that now by listening, learning, and amplifying their stories. Please feel free to download and share this social media post here and follow along on our social channels to see other posts you can share!

AN EMPLOYER

Fast Facts

  • Migraine is three times more common in women than in men
  • Women also bear the greatest economic impact
  • Migraine is most troublesome during people’s most productive years (late teens to 50s)
  • Migraine has a huge impact on professional life. Migraine leads to greater gender inequality, more women with migraine are forced to abandon their careers in the prime working years
  • Migraine is the leading reason for lost days of work among people under 50, as approximately a third of attacks occur during workdays and two-thirds of migraine attacks result in a significant loss of productivity
  • Chronic migraine sufferers have four times more productive time lost compared to those who have infrequent headaches
  • An average of 4.6 working days being missed a month has been reported
  • Reduction of working time (absenteeism) and productivity while working (presenteeism) as a result of migraine are significant issues. Women are hit hardest
  • CALL TO ACTION: We need a policy framework for the workforce; adapting school and workplace legislation to give people with migraine, and women in particular, equal opportunities to contribute to society

Work Fact Sheet

Work-Fact-Sheet-1
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Select the work fact sheet to learn more about women and migraine; you can also download and share it with your colleagues, teams, and staff to aid us in raising awareness.

 

We invite you to learn from and share stories of women living with migraine, so we invite you to check out the hashtag #NotAllinHerHead.

We challenge you to start raising awareness in your own workplace, and as we continue sharing resources and information on all of our social media channels, we invite you to share, comment, and learn with us.

Please feel free to download and share this social media post here and follow along on our social channels to see other posts you can share!

A POLICYMAKER​

Fast Facts

  • Migraine is a major global health issue that affects over 10% of the population (≈ 1 billion people globally)
  • Migraine is the second leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide, preceded by lower back pain
  • Women represent over 80% of patients
  • Migraine is still not prioritised enough in policy action, hindering the quality of life for people, and in particular women, with migraine
  • In Europe, direct and indirect annual costs of migraine are estimated at €95 billion, of which 93% account for productivity losses
  • The average annual health expenditure of migraine is greater in women (€1,517) than men (€1,274)
  • Migraine hits mostly young women, addressing it is actually a must if we want to make sure that young women can have a career and contribute to society
  • Society needs to recognise the gender bias and disproportionate impact of migraine on women
  • CALL TO ACTION: We need to shape a more favourable policy environment in order to remove the barriers to treatment and delivery of services to improve diagnosis and the quality of life of women with migraine

Policy Call to Action

Select the Policy Call to Action to learn more about women and migraine; you can also download and share it with your network to aid us in raising awareness.

Policy-Call-to-Action-1
View PDF

We invite you to learn from and share stories of women living with migraine, so we invite you to check out the hashtag #NotAllinHerHead. Women living with migraine are living in a world that does not accommodate or welcome them, we challenge you to take policy steps that can truly make a difference to their lives. Please feel free to download and share this social media post here and follow along on our social channels to see other posts you can share!

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