In Bed

-Joan Didion

Summary Of “In Bed”

“In bed” is a subjective essay written by an American writer Joan Didion. In this essay writer describes her personal experiences of having a migraine headache.

The writer has migraine 3-5 times a month. In the beginning, she hesitated to share her problem thinking that it would reveal her bad attitudes, unpleasant tempers, and wrong thinking. She used to continue her everyday activities, ignoring the pain. When the pain was unbearable, she would try to lessen her pain by putting ice on the right temple. She even wished to have an operation of her brain to get rid of the pain.

Both males, as well as females and the aged, as well as young, can have a migraine headache. The writer first had it when she was eight years old. It is a hereditary disease. She has it because her grandmother’s and parents had it too.

Fall in the level of serotonin causes a migraine headache. Some medicines like methyser-guide can be taken as a preventive but they have quite a lot of side effects. Once a person suffers from it, no medicine touches it. It brings quite a lot of side effects like mild hallucinations, temporary blindness, pain in the sense organs, fatigue and stroke-like aphasia.

When the writer has it, she drives through the red light, loses house keys, drops whatever she is holding, cannot make correct sentences and looks as if she is drunk. The patient of migraine headaches has to suffer not only the pain but also the criticism of people. The people who don’t have migraines think that is some imaginary disease and can be cured by simple medicines. The writer corrects this popular misconception of people saying that this is neither imaginary nor simple medicines like aspirin can cure it. The doctor says that the patient of migraine headache has a special type of personality call migraine personality. Migraine’s personality tends to be inward, ambitious, intolerant of errors, rigidly organized and perfectionist. The writer partly agrees with the doctor saying that she is a perfectionist though not rigidly organized.

At the later stage of her life, the writer has developed an intellectual response to her headache. She has also developed an understanding of it that she can have it when she is in minor problems not when she is in serious problems. When she has it, she no longer denies it. She simply goes to bed and lets it happen. She concentrates only on the pain. Tears start flowing down her eyes. It lasts for 10 to 12 hours. After the pain of migraine headache is over, she recovers her freshness again.

Some Important Questions And Answers From “In Bed.”

Question. How do migraines differ from ordinary headaches? What are its features? And what do people think about migraines?

Answer. Migraine headache is different from ordinary headache in the following ways:

• Migraine headache is unbearable, which causes intolerable pain in one side of the head. On the other hand, ordinary headache causes bearable pain, usually in the whole head.
• Migraine headache is a hereditary disease, whereas an ordinary headache or not.
• Migraine headache is beyond cure, whereas ordinary headaches can be cured by simple medicines.
• Migraine headache brings quite a lot of side effects like mild hallucinations, temporary blindness, pain in the sense organs, fatigue stomach problems, etc. on the other hand; ordinary headache barely brings any side effects.
• Migraine headache lasts much longer than ordinary headaches.

Headaches are unpleasant pains in our heads that can cause pressure and ache. Headaches can range from mild to severe pain and usually occur on both sides of the head. Some specific areas where headache occurs include the forehead, temples, and back of the neck. Headache can last anywhere from 30 minutes to a week.

The most common headache type is a tension headache, stress, muscle strain, or anxiety. Cluster headaches occur on another side of the head and come in clusters often confused with migraines. Sinus headaches come up with sinus infection systems like fever, stuffy nose, cough, congestion, and facial pressure.

Migraine headaches, on the other hand, can be moderate to severe. Migraine symptoms include nausea, pain behind one eye or ear, pain in the temples, sensitivity to light and sound, temporary vision loss, vomiting, and nausea. Migraine headaches typically affect only one side of the head. A migraine headache causes intense pain that may be throbbing and makes performing daily tasks very difficult.

Question. Point out some popular misconceptions about migraine headaches.

Answer. Joan Didion has pointed out several misconceptions that people have about migraine headaches. She says that migraine does not happen by a brain tumor, eyestrain, high blood pressure, etc. These misconceptions of people are wrong. Migraine headaches are not imaginary, migraine is something more than the fancy of a neurotic imagination.

People believe that migraines are due to a mixture of environmental and genetic factors about two-thirds of cases run in families that mean migraine is a genetic disease. Some people believe that migraine sufferers are firstly complaining about the headaches. Medical science reports say that migraine is not an imaginary concept, it occurs and some treatment can be given.

Migraine is an essentially hereditary complex of substance sale sources that almost anything can trigger a specific attack of migraine: stress, allergy, fatigue, a flashing light, a fire drill, etc. No medicines can completely cure a migraine person. so medicine like methysergide or a Sansert can give temporary relief but a complete cure is not possible so it is not a fancy word, it is a real illness.

Also Read.

THE RECURRING DREAM
THE LOST DOLL
THE HOUSE CALL
FEAR
THE LOVING MOTHER
MY HEART LEAPS UP WHEN I BEHOLD
SPEAKING OF CHILDREN
LOOK AT THE TEACUP
A WORN PATH
THE THREE DAY BLOW
THE POPLAR FIELD
THE NIGHTMARE LIFE WITHOUT FUEL
UNCHOPPING A TREE
KEEPING THINGS WHOLE
CONCRETE CAT
OOPS! HOW’S THAT AGAIN?
MALINI
THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN
ON THE VANITY OF EARTHLY GREATNESS
IN BED
THE GARDENER