CLUSTER HEADACHE AWARENESS DAY 21st MARCH

"Pain and Isolation" a powerful depiction of cluster headache by a talented sufferer, Oscar Nolan.

Oscar's Story:

Hello everyone, my name is Oscar and I was diagnosed with episodic CH in June2020. It felt like awful timing as it was in the middle of my A levels. But of course there is no such thing as a good time for a CH episode. 

I was forced to take some time off school for various periods throughout the year and found that certain medications made it hard for me to work or concentrate. However, I found that in between attacks, painting was a perfect way to direct my energy and time. With my favoured subject of painting being portraiture I decided to see if I could portray something close to the feeling of CH in a painting.Obviously it is difficult to convey the extremity of the piercing pain felt during an attack but I decided to give it a go.

I represented the stabbing feeling through the tortured and contorted flesh and the stress and restlessness of the rest of the body through the rigid and tensed limbs. The bright colours of the skin were chosen to emphasise the heat and the flush felt during an attack. Whereas in sharp contrast the surrounding background has a lack of detail andjust one colour. This hazy background highlights the sense of isolation during an attack. It conveys the feeling of everything else merging into a blur as the pain takes the spotlight, almost as though you are underwater.

I find painting to be a really good way of dealing with my CH and highly recommend taking up a form of art as it can be very therapeutic.

https://ouchuk.org/what-is-cluster-headache