Are you experiencing nausea, mood changes, fatigue, and irritability? You might be at the stage of developing migraine. This article is an ideal source of information to know about anxiety and its relation to migraine, what the identifiers are, and what can be the best possible ways to overcome it.
What is migraine?
Migraine is a painful condition characterized by a throbbing headache that lasts a few hours to days. This usually triggers the onset of intense signs of anxiety and can cause significant disruptions in your daily life routine.
What are the common symptoms of Migraine?
Some people with migraine experience aura, which is a slow worsening of symptoms that trigger the onset of migraine. The affected individuals experience the following symptoms:
- Constipation
- Neck stiffness
- Frequent yawning
- Food cravings
- Increased urination
- Mood changes
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is an intense feeling of fear and discomfort that can lead to restlessness with a rapid heartbeat. It can negatively affect your personal and work life.
What is an Anxiety Headache?
An anxiety headache is a kind of headache that results from anxious actions or constant worrying thoughts. Individuals who have migraines show symptoms of anxiety and may have migraines that are caused by stress, referred to as anxiety migraines or migraines that are precipitated by anxious activities.
Can Anxiety cause Migraines?
Migraines can be caused by anxiety. The causes of Migraine vary from person to person. Migraine conditions that lead to the headache are unique to the individual suffering from it. The risk is higher if you have a history of migraines, are genetically related to migraine sufferers, or even if you are fighting anxiety disorder.
Migraine due to anxiety is common in individuals suffering from panic attacks. For instance, due to anxiety, a sufferer cannot sleep well at night, and they may develop more anxiety about their ability to function due to the effects of sleepless nights. This increased state of anxiety can, therefore, lead to a migraine.
Can Migraines Cause Anxiety?
If a person suffers from frequent migraines, then the risk of developing anxiety disorder is high.
Thus, migraines hold a vital role in the development of generalized anxiety disorder. Symptoms of migraines that can cause anxiety include:
- Continual pain.
- Lack of sleep.
- Sensitivity to one’s surroundings.
Other symptoms that are related to migraines, for example, nausea, always bring anxiety to many people. Identifying the initial signs of migraine can cause discomfort.
Learn More: Insomnia in Women – Symptoms and Causes
What are the ways to prevent and stop anxiety and migraine?
Migraine attacks are hard to understand, and anxiety can act as a primary contributing factor. Heredity, hormones, diet, eye strain, and sleep-wake cycle accompany it. In addition, you cannot stop an anxiety migraine. By following the below-mentioned treatment plans, you can overcome the signs of anxiety and migraine.
Anxiety treatment
Various recent studies show that treating anxiety significantly improves migraine attacks.
Your healthcare provider may also recommend you anti-anxiety medications. Benzodiazepines and beta-blockers also act as rapid relievers of the anxiety signs. As a result, there is a lower chance of migraine attacks.
Anxiety disorders are commonly seen to be treated with the help of psychotherapy approaches, such as:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT):
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps people learn how to identify and change destructive or disturbing thought patterns that negatively influence their behavior and emotions.
Acceptance and commitment therapy:
Acceptance and commitment therapy is mindful psychotherapy that helps you focus on the present moment and accept thoughts and feelings without judgement.
Exposure therapy:
Exposure therapy helps people overcome things, activities, or situations that cause fear or anxiety. It can be implemented through live, virtual, and other types of exposure.
Biofeedback:
Biofeedback is a mind-body technique that uses visual or auditory feedback to teach people to recognize the physical signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety, such as increased heart rate, body temperature, and muscle tension.
Stress management
If anxiety headaches are related to emotional and mental stress, finding ways to relieve that tension may help.
You can manage the effects of stress through:
- Deep breathing exercises
- Yoga
- Jogging
- Nutrient-dense diet
- Adequate sleep
- spending time with your pet
Migraine treatment
If you think that migraine attacks are the cause of your anxiety symptoms, treatment of migraine will aid.
Headaches of mild migraines can be treated with common medicine such as ibuprofen. There is a possibility that an individual can develop chronic migraine, which may require prescribed psychiatric medications.
Triptans and ergot are the primary migraine medications. They help restore the levels of some chemical compounds in the brain that relate to episodes. They are formulated to be used at the onset of migraines to prevent intense signs of migraines.
In some cases, migraine attacks can be prevented through the daily use of prescriptions such as:
- Antidepressants
- Anticonvulsants
- Beta-blockers
- Calcium channel blockers
A quick summary!
A migraine is a commonly experienced form of headache that causes intense, persistent pain for a shorter duration but longer than an ordinary headache. There can be a variety of factors contributing to the onset of migraine signs in a person. One of the leading reasons is anxiety. Moreover, anxiety and migraine undergo similar brain changes that increase the likelihood of solid association. A sufferer may feel overwhelmed while dealing with anxiety-induced migraine. A mental health professional is required to adopt a holistic approach to manage the anxiety-induced migraine. Solid Foundation Psychiatry is a leading mental health platform and should be your top pick for you to overcome your anxiety-induced headaches effectively. Moreover, we have a devoted team of mental health professionals who are fully trained in treating migraine due to anxiety. So, stop looking for ways to overcome migraine due to anxiety and experience relief from persistent signs of anxiety and migraines.
