MIGRAINE SYMPTOMS --

Do Migraine Sufferers Have A Unique Personality?

(And Is It Connected To Their Headaches?)

Have you wondered whether people who get migraine headaches are somehow different from people who don't get them? Although certain characteristics have been linked to migraine sufferers, a more useful approach is to observe them when they are under stress and see how they respond. Recent studies show that there are TWO MAJOR WAYS that they can change their behavior to help prevent migraine symptoms.

Migraine Personality
(Is It Real?)

Some sweeping generalizations have been popular over the years. People who get migraines have been characterized as perfectionists, people who are ambitious, rigid, obsessive and achievement-oriented. They have been described as individuals who have a lot of anxiety and who find it difficult to express feelings like anger and aggression.

There are two problems with this profile: 1. Observations of migraine sufferers often don't support it. 2. The profile isn't 'operational' -- it doesn't provide any kind of handle for helping people avoid their migraine symptoms.

A Better Approach
(Watch How They Handle Stress.)

A more useful angle for the study and help for people who get migraine headaches is their response to STRESS. Migraine headaches have been shown to be related to anxiety, and to stress-related personality traits like nervousness, sensitivity, and proneness to worry.

THE FINDINGS:

As compared to migraine-free individuals, migraine sufferers seem to deal with stress more often by avoiding problems -- wishing they would go away or imagining the worst -- rather than meeting them head-on. They also tend to criticize themselves, and to withdraw from others. These are all responses that tend to prolong stress rather than resolve it.

Those who get migraine headaches also tend to respond to stress by developing physical conditions (migraine symptoms) rather than responding verbally to the situation. That is, they tend to INTERNALIZE their response rather than EXTERNALIZING it.

To top it off, migraine sufferers tend to have a low regard for their own abilities to cope with stressful situations.

Chicken Or Egg?
(Which Came First?)

The first thing I wondered when I read the studies was -- which came first, the chicken or the egg? Do these people get migraine headache symptoms because of their response to stress, or do they develop these responses because they live with devastating headaches which often strike without warning?

When you're accustomed to regular sieges of pain, you may tend to become more inward-focused and less open.

You Can Help Yourself.
(It Is Empowering.)

The studies suggest there are two courses of action that migraine sufferers can take to help avoid their migraine symptoms:

1. Learn to VERBALIZE, particularly when you are experiencing stress -- even if it is out loud to yourself.

2. CONNECT with others. Maintain connections with other people, whether you 'need' to or not. Benefits: You realize others go through stress too. You see a range of coping mechanisms. You may find that someone has gone through what you're experiencing, and they found something that helped.

(Sometimes it is just good to talk with someone who also gets migraines, who understands the pain and the disruption to your life. Someone who will not minimize or dismiss your experience. The benefit of a 'support network' of this type should not be underestimated.)