A WOMAN whose debilitating four-year battle with chronic migraines has been recognised in Parliament.
Mollie Campbell woke up with agonising pain in her eye, eyebrow and head in 2019 which hasn't left her since.
The 26-year-old, who lives in the New Forest, said her life has been destroyed due to suffering chronic migraines.
Mollie is no longer able to live a normal life as the level of pain she experiences reaches excruciating levels for several hours daily.
Feeling as if she is a prisoner in her own body, Mollie has called upon society to recognise the invisible illness and understand the devastation is causes.
"Many people think that chronic migraine is a mild or modest condition or that it is ‘merely a headache’. But my life is living proof that it is so much more than just a headache," she said.
"I am now 26 and I have no life. Chronic migraine has destroyed everything I have. I no longer recognise myself."
Once an avid reader, tasks as simple as concentrating on a screen can be "impossible at times" and cause a lot of pain.
Due to this, Mollie feels "abandoned and lost" in a modern world which relies on technology.
"Every single thing that brings me pleasure is now impossible for me," she added.
Her life now consists of waking up and sitting in a darkened room doing nothing but resting in agony.
The pain has impacted her mental health so intensely to the point she contemplates suicide every day.
But Mollie said she is not receiving the help she needs because her crisis team "don't understand" how her condition affects her mental health.
She explained: "Mental health issues that are brought on by chronic pain are so incredibly different to ‘traditional’ mental health issues.
"I was never depressed and suicidal until I started to suffer with chronic migraine and chronic pain, and that is because this condition has debilitated me to the point of having no life at all."
Mollie caught the attention of Dehenna Davison, Conservative MP for Bishop Aukland, who listened to her story and secured a debate on the subject of migraine in the House of Commons on Wednesday, March 20.
Ms Davison also suffers with chronic migraines and told the House of Commons: "Mollie sought help from her GP, but it took months, several misdiagnoses, a number of unsuitable drugs being prescribed and, eventually, her paying to access a scan privately before she was eventually diagnosed with chronic migraine.
"Unfortunately, Mollie’s story is not uncommon. It can take patients months, if not years, to get a diagnosis."
Disbelieved by numerous medical professionals and grieving the life she once had, Mollie has taken it upon herself to raise awareness for her condition which leaves sufferers "cast aside to the edge of society to suffer in silence".
Her message is clear: "Nobody sees us. We are invisible. We need help, and we need to be seen. Please, see us."
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