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Migraine and Tension Headaches Behavior,Emotions,and Migranes
Migraine and Tension Headaches Behavior,Emotions,and Migranes
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Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Migraine and Tension Headaches Behavior,Emotions,and Migraines

Migraine headache is a painful condition associated with alternating constriction and dilation of
cerebral arteries that supply blood to the brain.During the first stage(prondrome),arteries constrict.
Subjective signs of the prodrome include dizziness,flushess,visula static,and a familiar sense of
uneasiness.Little or no pain may be felt at this stage.The second stage is the intense,usually one
side pain associate with dilation of the arteries.Migraines can be devastating,often leading to nausea
and to complete temporary incapacitation.Women suffer from them more often than men.

   
A curious feature of migraines is that they do not usually occur simultaneously with intense
stress,but afterwards.Sundays and vacations are notorious migraine days,as if internal permission
finally can be given to let down.
    Migraines resemble heart attacks in that both are  vascular problems.In many respects,the
migraine sufferer also resembles the coronary-prone individual.Both tend to have perfectionist tendencies,
for example.But whereas coronary-prone individuals are more likely to be aggressive,controlling,
and hostile as they struggle to  control their environment,the so-called migraine personality is
more likely to be characterized by self-sacrifice,compliance,and inability to delegate.
    Research on migraine patients many years  ago by Harold Wolf(1950),still considered definitive
by many experts,suggests that  the typical migraine sufferer is a bottom insecure.
    Another consistent behavior pattern often preceding onset of the migraine is withdrawing emotional
energy from another person.Emotion is blocked from flowing outward.Anger and resentment are contained
turned inward where they boil and fester.At this point,the patient often will report a cold,clammy
feeling in feet and hands,sometimes contributing to sleep-onset insomnia.
    A recent study at the John Hopkins School of Medicine asked 324 people,half of whom had frequent
migraines,to complete a questionaire.The migraine group was 2.5 times more likely to be anxious,depressed,
or tense than the control group.Of course,it could be that the migraines caused the emotional distress,
rather than the other way around.Yet,most experts agree that emotional distress probably does help
cause migraines.
    Migraines occur most often between the ages of 16 and 35 and tend to decline by age 50

    Treatment and Prevention

    Experts continue to search for medical and behavioral methods of preventing and treating
migraines.Several types of medications sometimes are prescribed,with mixed results.
    Through meditation,autogenic relaxation,or biofeedback,the individual often can learn to
arrest progression of the migraine at the point of the prodrome by learning to divert blood to the
extremities and away from the head area.One stress specialist report that "85 percent of migraine patients
I work with respond positively to stress reduction practices."
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 27 February 2008 )

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