1Know your enemy
Before declaring war on stress , migraineurs should channel their inner Sherlock Holmes and uncover the sources of their triggers .
“ I always ask my patients , ‘ What ’ s your number one stressor ?’” says psychologist Kathleen Farmer , PsyD , co-founder of the Headache Care Center in Springfield , Mo . “ And they look at me as if they have no clue .”
Some migraineurs find it helpful to keep a headache journal or just a simple list detailing the actions , events and emotions that precede a migraine , says Farmer , who has worked with headache sufferers since 1996 .
“ You need to recognize your behavior and see how you can prevent that stressor from affecting it ,” she says .
After a relatively calm period , Kubasak noticed an uptick in her migraines about two years ago , coinciding with a period of increased anxiety at her job . As a child life specialist at a comprehensive cancer center , Kubasak is tasked with helping kids — many of them terminal — cope with their diagnosis .
“ That ’ s when I started listening to my body and finding out what causes it stress ,” Kubasak says . “ I knew immediately what was behind the change .”
2Get serious about sleep
Most overextended adults treat a good
night ’ s sleep like a luxury instead of a necessity . But even something as seemingly minor as missing a bedtime or logging fewer than seven hours of rest each night can disrupt a migraineur ’ s hyper-excitable nervous system and produce stress , Farmer says .
Good sleep habits elevate your mood and equip you to better handle the day ’ s stresses . They also aid in the production of migraine-alleviating brain chemicals , such as dopamine and serotonin .
To achieve better rest , Farmer recommends going to bed and waking up at the same times each day — even on weekends . Sheep-counting migraineurs also should follow the National Sleep Foundation ’ s tips for ensuring optimal sleep . These include maintaining a quiet , cool and dark place to sleep ; engaging in a relaxing activity , such as reading a book or chilling out to music , before bedtime ; and upgrading those flat pillows and lumpy mattresses , which can cause overnight discomfort .
CAREER THERAPY
Many people are extremely susceptible to their stress triggers during the perilous hours between 9 a . m . and 5 p . m ., Monday through Friday . Migraine sufferer Jessica Kubasak offers her go-to stress reliever when work anxieties pile up and she feels the onset of a migraine headache .
1 Find a quiet , dark place .
2 Lie on your back or , if the office floor is too heinous , cross your arms on your desk and rest your head on them .
3 Focus on the location of the pain .
4 Take long , deep breaths and hold them to the count of 10 before exhaling to the count of 10 .
5 Imagine a blue light that cools your entire body . Picture a beam of that light starting at your toes and working its way up your body to your head , relieving the pain and tension as it moves .
6 Do this three to five times until you feel your heart rate return to normal and your body loosen up .
7 Drink a cool glass of water .
www . headwisemag . org | National Headache Foundation 33