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BE AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN YOUR CARE. The patient’ s role on the medical team is just as important as the physician’ s, psychologist’ s and physical therapist’ s, Nicosia says. Doctors and therapists can help identify the causes of headaches and offer medication and therapy to reduce headache occurrence, but they still need your support for their efforts to pay off. Unless you actively communicate your needs and concerns, take the time to identify your triggers, and actively participate in your treatment plan, the medical team can’ t be effective, she says.“ You have to be on board to help yourself, or the treatment won’ t work.”
Because migraineurs can be perfectionists, they sometimes see migraines as a flaw in their character.
USE RELAXATION TOOLS TO MANAGE YOUR STRESS. Yoga, exercise, meditation, prayer, positive affirmations, and biofeedback( a technique used to consciously control involuntary body processes, such as heart rate) all can help ease your anxiety and give you a sense of power over your fears, which in itself is calming, Dr. Farmer says.“ Whatever gets your mind off the negative thoughts is of value.”
She encourages her patients to use biofeedback techniques twice a day while also monitoring their finger temperature so they have measurable proof of the impact they are having on their nervous system. She also urges people to schedule time every day for exercise and / or meditation to help them feel more grounded and in control of their lives and their condition.“ If they feel anxiety coming on, I tell them to go for a walk or work out until they get rid of those negative feelings,” she says.
GET PLENTY OF SLEEP EVERY NIGHT. Not prioritizing sleep is one of the worst mistakes headache sufferers can make, Dr. Elkind says. It not only leads to more frequent headaches, but also ramps up anxiety and stress, and reduces your ability to function effectively throughout the day.“ Attention to sleep is a very important factor,” he says.“ You have to pay attention to it to reduce the frequency of attacks.”
DON’ T MASK YOUR TRIGGERS WITH MEDS. Medicine is a valuable part of the headache treatment process— and anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications can certainly be an important part of your treatment plan— but having a drug at your disposal is not a free pass to behave badly. If red wine triggers a headache, it makes more sense to avoid wine altogether than to respond to the ensuing pain with medication, Dr. Farmer says.“ It’ s better to rid your life of triggers if you can.”
STOP BLAMING YOURSELF. Migraine sufferers often feel like they always have to do everything right, Dr. Farmer says. Because they can be perfectionists, they sometimes see migraines as a flaw in their character. This causes them to feel more anxiety and leads to more headaches. If you want to get control of your anxiety, you have to let go of this drive for perfection and give yourself a break, she says.“ The best affirmation we use is,‘ I forgive myself for being imperfect.’” HW www
For more great tips on coping with migraine, check out Kathleen Farmer’ s site at www. managingmigraine. org.
www. headwisemag. org | National Headache Foundation 27