Ep 2. Chronic migraine: recovery through pain reprocessing therapy
Release Date: 06/25/2026
Ep 2. Chronic migraine: recovery through pain reprocessing therapy
Heads Up
In this inspiring episode of Heads Up podcast, our host Dr Katy Munro is joined by Amy Mowbray and Lily Earle, two women who transformed their lives after years of living with chronic migraine and debilitating symptoms. Together, they share their personal recovery journeys and discuss how brain training, pain reprocessing therapy, somatic tracking and self-compassion helped them break free from cycles of fear, sensitisation and disability. Amy and Lily explain how understanding the brain-body connection changed their relationship with pain, reduced anxiety around migraine attacks and helped...
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Ep 1. Chronic migraine - facing challenges together Nicola and Dominic Gribbin
Heads Up
What does it take to kayak the entire British coastline solo while your partner manages chronic migraine from a motorhome on shore? In this first episode of series eight of Heads Up, Dr Katy Munro sits down with Nicola and Dominic Gribbin for an honest and inspiring conversation that covers far more than adventure. Nicola has lived with migraine since childhood, from episodic attacks during school exams at sixteen, to chronic daily migraine and the added challenge of vestibular migraine. She shares her decades long journey through medications, including the pitfalls of codeine and the life...
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Ep 7. Pregnancy and Parenthood
Heads Up
Spotlight Series | Heads Up Podcast What happens when cluster headache and pregnancy collide? In this episode, Daisy joins our host Dr Katy Munro to talk honestly about managing attacks during pregnancy and with a toddler, navigating medication decisions, and the importance of specialist support for anyone planning a family. For more information visit: National Migraine Centre: OUCH UK: Heads Up Episode on Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: *Disclaimer* This podcast episode contains discussions about cluster headaches, including topics that may touch upon sensitive subjects such as mental...
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Ep 6. When pain meets the Law
Heads Up
Spotlight Series | Heads Up Podcast Cluster headache can affect every part of a person's life, including their rights at work. In this episode, our host Dr Katy Munro is joined by Mike Smalley who has had Cluster Headache since the age of 14. Drawing on his experience as a former union representative, Mike discusses what the Equality Act 2010 means for cluster headache patients as this is recognised as a disability and what protections are available. Mike is an admin on a patient support forum. For more information: *Disclaimer* This podcast episode contains discussions about...
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Ep 5. Searching for Answers
Heads Up
Spotlight Series | Heads Up Podcast Isobel West has lived with cluster headache since the age of fifteen. Misdiagnosed for years and left to advocate for herself, she eventually found her way to the correct diagnosis at twenty-one. Now she is channeling that experience into a PhD at Kings College London, investigating the brain mechanisms behind the condition through studying human post-mortem brain tissue donated by individuals who lived with cluster headache and generously donated their brains to research, in collaboration with King's College London. In this episode, she joins our host,...
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Ep 4. What’s Going on in the Brain?
Heads Up
Spotlight Series | Heads Up Podcast What happens in the brain during a cluster headache attack? In this episode, our host Dr Katy Munro is joined by Dr Phil Holland, a leading headache neuroscientist and previous guest expert on the podcast, to dig into the science behind one of the most extreme pain events the human body can experience. They explore why attacks follow such striking seasonal and daily patterns, the relationship between cluster headache and sleep, the role of brain neuropeptides like CGRP and PACAP, and what emerging therapies targeting these pathways could mean for patients....
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Ep 3. Navigating Adolescence
Heads Up
Spotlight Series | Heads Up Podcast Frederick was eleven when diagnosed with cluster headache. Now seventeen and heading to university, they join our host Dr Katy Munro alongside their mum Rachael, OUCH's Officer for Children and Young People, to talk about growing up with one of the most painful conditions known to medicine, sharing tips on how they manage and information about support for families. For more information visit the links below: *Disclaimer* This podcast episode contains discussions about cluster headaches, including topics that may touch upon sensitive...
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Ep 2. The Youngest Patients
Heads Up
Spotlight Series | Heads Up Podcast Alexander was two and a half years old when the attacks began. In this episode, he and his mum, Mel, join our host and a headache specialist, Dr Katy Munro, to share what it is like to be a child with cluster headache, from the experience of the excruciating attacks and the fight for diagnosis to navigating treatment and family life. A rare and important conversation about the impact on the youngest patients. For more information visit the links below: *Disclaimer* This podcast episode contains discussions about cluster headaches, including...
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Ep 1. Cluster Headache, Chris Addison shares his story
Heads Up
Spotlight Series | Heads Up Podcast Cluster headache has been called the most painful condition known to medicine. Comedian and actor Chris Addison, known for The Thick of It and In the Loop, knows that firsthand. In this episode, he joins our host Dr Katy Munro, Senior GP Headache Specialist at the National Migraine Centre, to share his experience of living with cluster headache. This is the first of seven Spotlight episodes launching on Cluster Headache Awareness Day, exploring every dimension of the condition, from childhood and pregnancy to the science of what happens in the brain...
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Mast cell activation syndrome and migraine
Heads Up
In our final Heads Up episode of the year, our host Dr Katy Munro is joined by GP headache specialist Dr Cyriac Athappilly and Dr Tina Peers, an expert in mast cell activation syndrome, to explore the fascinating and often under‑recognised connection between MCAS and migraine. Together, they unpack how mast cell activity can influence migraine triggers, discuss the shared symptoms that can complicate diagnosis, and share insights on practical approaches to managing both conditions. Tune in for an engaging, information‑packed conversation that could shed light on new ways to...
info_outlineIn this inspiring episode of Heads Up podcast, our host Dr Katy Munro is joined by Amy Mowbray and Lily Earle, two women who transformed their lives after years of living with chronic migraine and debilitating symptoms. Together, they share their personal recovery journeys and discuss how brain training, pain reprocessing therapy, somatic tracking and self-compassion helped them break free from cycles of fear, sensitisation and disability.
Amy and Lily explain how understanding the brain-body connection changed their relationship with pain, reduced anxiety around migraine attacks and helped them regain confidence, independence and joy. They also offer practical insights into techniques that listeners can explore for themselves.
This conversation is filled with hope, compassion and evidence-informed discussion, reminding anyone living with chronic migraine that recovery is possible.
Disclaimer:
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