Mind your health: anxiety, depression, and migraines

Updated on October 22, 2024.

People with migraines are five times more likely to develop depression.

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Transcript

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Treating our mental health is a really important tool in our toolbox to treat our whole-human health, especially when it comes to chronic disease management.
00:07
[MELLOW MUSIC] Mental health is critical to our whole-body health.
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And when we say whole-body health, like, why is that important? What does that mean for you? Yeah, I think, often we've spent so much time separating
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the mind from the body. You know, it's like taking care of physical things, taking care of mental things. We really can't separate the two.
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It's really the whole person, the whole human. We already know that migraines and mental health are connected. But Dr. Jud, what have you heard from patients
00:33
regarding their migraines? Well, I've heard many things. The migraine patients we surveyed said, for example, "When my anxiety and stress are bad,
00:40
I rarely eat. And if I'm not eating, I'm more likely to get a migraine." Somebody else reported, "I'm too stressed to go to sleep.
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Then I wake up with four hours of sleep and a migraine. Then I spend all day trying to rest and relieve the pain." You know, migraine is often associated with symptoms
00:55
of anxiety and depression. In fact, people with migraines are five times more likely to develop depression. What exactly are migraine patients
01:02
experiencing when they suffer from a migraine, both physically and mentally? JUD BREWER: Here, stress can act as a trigger for migraines.
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Migraines can also be their own trigger of anxiety and depression. Migraines can contribute to anxiety and depression in a few ways, for example, loss of productivity,
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lower quality of life, stress of the possibility of a future migraine, chronic pain and sensitivity, fatigue and sleep disturbance.
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Anxiety and depression can also impact migraines. In fact, there may be a biological tie between anxiety and migraines.
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Evidence suggests that altered brain stem signaling mechanisms play a role in the pathophysiology of migraine, particularly in relation to symptoms,
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such as nausea, vertigo, and other symptoms that can also overlap with heightened anxiety. The physical toll of a migraine can
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lead to stress about future migraines, making patients more prone to another episode. So how do you recommend migraine patients
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manage their mental health and, in turn, manage their migraine symptoms? Treatment here is very important. One study found that 36.5% of patients
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reported an improvement in their headache with anxiety treatment. To avoid the anxiety over possible future migraines,
02:06
lifestyle changes may help. Here, it's helpful to maintain routine and adequate sleep, maintain routine eating and drinking habits, and try to avoid fasting and dehydration when possible.
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Also, it's helpful to limit caffeine, alcohol, and nonprescription medications. As we know, stress can trigger migraines.
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To relieve stress and improve your overall mental health, eat a healthy diet, try to exercise regularly.
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And of course, mindfulness activities, like yoga, meditation, and mindfulness apps, can be helpful. I love these suggestions. And for anyone out there, you know,
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it might be easy to feel overwhelmed or lost when migraines seem to be controlling your life. But talk to your health care provider about what steps
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you can take. And together, you can get your disease under control. [AUDIO LOGO]

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