Migraines and Anxiety

By Jeany Miller

A friend of mine has suffered from severe headaches for most of her adult life (she is 42 years old now).

In the last several years, they’ve increased in both number and severity, leaving her unable to go to work on some days. She’s a single mom, so this doesn’t bode well for raising a child either. Like many people, however, she assumed these headaches were simply part of her life’s plan, and she somehow found a way to deal with them.

Migraines

On a visit to her medical doctor in 2010, my friend decided to finally take the plunge and talk to her physician about the headaches. With a thoughtful look on her face, the doctor asked my friend to describe those symptoms that accompany the headaches.

My friend explained she often feels nauseated, has sensitivity to light and severe pain on both sides of her head.

The doctor then made her diagnosis with one simple word: migraines.

Oddly enough, however, that diagnosis wasn’t the end of their discussion. With her assistant scribbling furiously, the doctor asked my friend to describe her life, answer questions about feelings of anxiety and depression and discuss her parents’ histories with these disorders. So my friend complied and explained that she is a single mom who works as a dental assistant during the day and attends online classes to earn her degree in psychology. My friend also explained money is tight, all of her family lives in another state and she is the sole caregiver of her child.

More To It Than That?

The doctor gave her a referral to see a counselor, believing the headaches were symptomatic of anxiety. And that anxiety may be a part of my friend’s familial heritage or simply the result of her life’s state at the present time. Either way, the implication was clear: my friend needed help.

This was the last thing my friend expected, but she followed the doctor’s orders and met with the recommended counselor. That woman soon agreed with the doctor and wrote my friend a prescription for an anti-anxiety medication. She also recommended my friend continue to see her once weekly so they could discuss ways of dealing with anxiety and generally converse about anything that might be troubling my friend.

Gradually, the headaches subsided.

Migraines and Anxiety

My friend’s story is an important one because so many people dismiss headaches as a normal part of everyday life. Researchers suggest migraines may predispose suffers to anxiety disorders. Moreover, migraines and chronic daily headaches are common in people who suffer from anxiety. In particular, people with general anxiety disorder (GAD) are more likely to experience migraines or other types of headaches than those without GAD.

Even more alarming is that people with co-occurring anxiety disorders and migraines have an increased likelihood of experiencing major depression. As many as 40 percent of patients with migraines also suffer from depression, and research further shows those people with chronic and episodic migraines are more likely to have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than the general population. Migraines in people with GAD can also augment anxiety and cause fear as sufferers try to cope with their physical and emotional problems.

The underlying warning is simple: headaches may be symptomatic of anxiety, a very real disorder that can lead to further complications.

Although a concrete link has been established between headaches and anxiety, researchers are unclear as to why the relationship exists. One fact known with certainty is anxiety affects the body and its muscles in strange ways. Other common symptoms of anxiety include rapid breathing, trembling and dizziness.

Emotional and Physical Pain

Therapy and medication are often successful in controlling anxiety and eliminating symptoms.

Researchers also suggest that sufferers eat balanced meals and skip caffeine and alcohol, both of which can exacerbate anxiety. It is also important to get enough sleep to rejuvenate the brain and keep headaches at bay. Additional recommendations for fighting anxiety include regular exercise, meditation and other relaxing activities to prevent worries from becoming overwhelming.

Photo Credit: Lisa Brewster