Symptoms And Signs Of Depression
The findings come from the Serzone Chronic Depression Research, the first significant study of medication alone, psychotherapy alone, and the combination of both in clients with chronic depression. Nefazodone, prescribed under the brand Serzone â¢, is made use of to deal with depression as well as works for lowering can stress depression cause migraines regression. Mental illness or mental health disorders are a wide range of problems affecting psychological health. Mental disorders impact state of mind, thinking, and actions of individuals.
How Emotions Affect Our Body
Why do our feelings sometimes make us sick?
Our lives are filled with emotions, from anger to shame, fear to delight, says Tracy A. Dennis, PhD, associate professor in the department of psychology at Hunter College, the City University of New York.
Each of these emotions causes complex physical responses. When were angry, for example, our heart rate increases, adrenaline flows, blood pressure spikes, and we see red, Dennis says.
These physiological and neuroendocrine changes associated with emotion influence all aspects of our body, including the digestive system, Dennis tells WebMD. These physical responses can start and stop quite suddenly and be very intense.
Dennis says its the intensity of emotions that can send our body into overdrive, producing immediate gastrointestinal distress stomachaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
Treating And Coping With Migraines
Even if the migraines exist alone and are not a symptom of an underlying condition, they can still be debilitating and impact your life. If youre experiencing blind spots or vision disturbances, for example, you will want to wait until they pass before driving.
Ocular migraines will typically go away on their own within 30 minutes. You should rest and avoid triggers such as bright lights until the vision disturbances are gone.
There are both over the counter treatments and prescription medications that can be used to treat recurring migraines. Over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen or Excedrin migraine can be used to reduce the symptoms of a migraine once you already have them. Your doctor can prescribe you:
- beta blockers, to relax blood vessels
- calcium channel blockers, which can prevent the blood vessels from constricting
- anti-epileptics or antidepressants, which are sometimes used to treat and prevent migraines
Some of these prescription medications will be taken on a regular basis instead of an as-needed basis when you get the migraines.
If youre experiencing ocular migraine pain, you can:
- lie down or sit in a dark, quiet room
- massage your scalp with a lot of pressure
- put pressure on your temples
- put a damp towel over your forehead
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Im Pregnant Can My Migraines Still Be Treated
Some migraine medicines should not be used when you are pregnant because they can cause birth defects and other problems. This includes over-the-counter medicines, such as aspirin and ibuprofen. Talk with your doctor if migraine is a problem while you are pregnant or if you are planning to become pregnant. Your doctor might suggest a medicine that will help you and that is safe during pregnancy. Home treatment methods, such as doing relaxation exercises and using cold packs, also might help ease your pain. The good news is that for most women migraines improve or stop from about the third month of the pregnancy.
Treating And Preventing Migraine With Aura Or Retinal Migraine
For infrequent attacks, medications that target symptoms can be effective, from NSAIDs for pain to anti-nausea medications. Preventative therapies including calcium channel blockers, antiepileptic or tricyclic medications. Quitting smoking is recommended and cessation of oral contraceptives may be advised in certain circumstances. Some options for relief without drugs can include resting your eyes, removing yourself from bright sunlight or other harsh lighting, and taking a break from looking at a screen. As with all types of migraine, try to avoid triggers like stress, dehydration, high altitude, low blood sugar, excessive heat and extensive time spent staring at a screen.
While the symptoms can be disorienting and distressing, they are often short-lived, and almost always reversible. Take some time away from triggers and wait for the symptoms to fade. For more information, visit the American Migraine Foundations resource center, which includes content specifically related to Migraine with Aura, Retinal Migraine and more. The American Migraine Foundation is committed to providing comfort and information to people living with this disease. You are not alone: find your support network today.
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Are Headaches Caused By Stress
Many people may wonder if headaches are a direct result of stress. The answer is yes, no, and maybe. Stress can cause many headaches and they can exacerbate others. However, knowing the type of headache you are dealing with can help you to know if stress is a trigger, a contributor, or simply a by-product of the type of headache you are experiencing, so you know the best ways to focus on pain relief and prevention.
While some headaches are blamed entirely on stress, there can be other factors at play as well likewise, some headaches can be blamed on a predisposition to headaches when stress can be a primary trigger. In all cases, it helps to understand more about the nature of the headaches you are experiencing and their relationship to stress.
There are three different types of headaches, two of which are not caused primarily by stress, and one that may be:
How To Eliminate Migraines
Ultimately, we can check for the various stressors to learn what may be triggering your headaches and how stress has shifted your cortisol, digestion, hormones and neurotransmitter levels. We can also look at your genetics to see what your body specifically needs to heal.
- A food sensitivity panel will identify any allergies or triggers causing inflammation in your body, and in turn, leaky gut.
- We can test your gut bacteria for imbalances and other digestive issues via a stool panel.
- A cortisol panel will show us how cortisol is progressing throughout the day or if levels are too high or too low And then we can use that information about your cortisol levels to know which herbs and nutrients to use to help bring your cortisol levels back to optimal.
- A neurotransmitter panel will show us if serotonin, GABA, dopamine, and adrenaline levels are too low or too high. Then we can address them using nutrient precursors.
My Adrenal Recovery and Wellness Program includes several of these panels, as well as consultations with me to identify the root issues and work through my Dr. Doni Protocol to reverse your symptoms and ultimately eliminate migraines.
If we suspect that hormonal imbalances are causing your migraines, we can also assess that through a .
We can check for environmental toxins and/or mold toxins with advanced panels. And then I can guide you to get them out of your body safely.
Wellness wishes to you!
Dr. Doni23rd January 2020
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As If Stress Werent Bad Enough On Its Own It Can Both Trigger And Worsen Headaches
Modern life is stressful and, unfortunately, that doesnt seem likely to change any time soon. From the moment your alarm clock jolts you out of bed until youre finally done for the day, you are likely to experience some amount of stress. This can be in the form of anxiety or other psychological pressures, or physical stress such as eye and neck strain from sitting at a computer. While a little stress is tolerable, too much can have damaging effects on your health.i Many symptoms can be attributed to the mental and physiological pressures were under. These can range from fatigue to stomach upset to sleep problems. Top of the list? That nagging headache.ii
Get Your Priorities Straight
Think about your priorities, and write them down as two lists, marked Life and Now. What are the most important things on your list? What can you eliminate? Remember whats really important as you schedule your time and prioritize actions. Being always on the go, focused on tasks that dont make you happy is not the best option for leading a low-stress life.
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What Causes Ocular And Visual Migraines
The exact cause of an ocular migraine can be difficult to pinpoint. But its believed they occur for the same things that cause migraine headaches.
Migraine headaches have a genetic basis, and some studies say that up to 70% of people who suffer from the disorder have a family history of migraine.
According to the World Health Organization , migraines are caused by the activation of a mechanism deep in the brain that leads to release of pain-producing inflammatory substances around the nerves and blood vessels of the head.
Studies have shown changes in blood flow to the brain during ocular migraines and migraine auras . But exactly why this happens remains unclear.
Common migraine triggers that can cause a person to have a migraine attack include:
-
Certain foods
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Can You Get Both Types Of Headaches
If you feel like you’re getting a mix of migraines and tension-type headaches, and you get them often, you might have a condition called chronic or transformed migraine.
This is when you get headaches 15 or more days a month, and on at least 8 of those days it feels like you’re having a migraine.
People with this condition usually start getting occasional migraines in their teens or 20s, and then start having the headaches more often — daily even. As the headaches become more frequent, the pain often becomes less severe.
Along with pain, you may also have migraine symptoms like nausea and sensitivity to light or sound, but these usually become less frequent and severe over time, too.
A variety of things can make you more likely to get chronic migraine. Research shows that almost 80% of people with the condition took pain-relief drugs for their headache symptoms too often. Other things that can raise your odds for chronic migraine are:
- Having more than one migraine a week
- Getting these headaches for a long time
- Obesity
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The Connection Between Stress And Chronic Migraines
Avoiding Triggers
If youve ever had a migraine, you know you dont want to have another one. Therefore, youre willing to go out of your way to avoid things that trigger migraine headaches.
Common triggers for migraines may include
- Menstrual cycles
- Varying levels of caffeine consumption
- Exercise and exertion
- Bright, flickering lights
- Stress and Anxiety
One of the reasons stress and anxiety tend to trigger migraines because it alters patterns to the brains allostatic load.
How Can I Tell If I Have A Migraine Or A Sinus Headache
Many people confuse a sinus headache with a migraine because pain and pressure in the sinuses, nasal congestion, and watery eyes often occur with migraine. To find out if your headache is sinus or migraine, ask yourself these questions:
In addition to my sinus symptoms, do I have:
If you answer yes to two or three of these questions, then most likely you have migraine with sinus symptoms. A true sinus headache is rare and usually occurs due to sinus infection. In a sinus infection, you would also likely have a fever and thick nasal secretions that are yellow, green, or blood-tinged. A sinus headache should go away with treatment of the sinus infection.
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Can Using Birth Control Pills Make My Migraines Worse
In some women, birth control pills improve migraine. The pills may help reduce the number of attacks and their attacks may become less severe. But in other women, the pills may worsen their migraines. In still other women, taking birth control pills has no effect on their migraines.
The reason for these different responses is not well understood. For women whose migraines get worse when they take birth control pills, their attacks seem to occur during the last week of the cycle. This is because the last seven pills in most monthly pill packs don’t have hormones they are there to keep you in the habit of taking your birth control daily. Without the hormones, your body’s estrogen levels drop sharply. This may trigger migraine in some women.
Talk with your doctor if you think birth control pills are making your migraines worse. Switching to a pill pack in which all the pills for the entire month contain hormones and using that for three months in a row can improve headaches. Lifestyle changes, such as getting on a regular sleep pattern and eating healthy foods, can help too.
Can Poor Vision Trigger A Migraine
If you have poor vision, you may squint a lot or hold items up close or far away from your face in order to see them clearly. This can have a negative impact on your vision over time. You could also strain your eyes by reading in poor lighting. When your eyes are constantly straining to see properly, it could trigger a migraine. Having a comprehensive eye exam by a trusted eye doctor is one step you can take to make sure poor vision is one less thing that could trigger a migraine for you.
Additionally, there are eye conditions that can trigger migraines including glaucoma. Glaucoma causes the pressure to build up in the eye and damage the optic nerve. In order to relieve these migraines, the conditions must be treated.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Mixed Tension Migraines
Mixed tension migraines have symptoms of both tension headaches and migraines. However, symptoms may vary from person to person. In other words, you may have more symptoms associated with a migraine than a tension headache or vice versa.
The pain of a mixed tension migraine can vary from dull to throbbing and from mild to severe. Mixed tension migraines typically last 4 to 72 hours.
Symptoms of a mixed tension migraine include:
- pain on one or both sides of your head that may get worse with activity
- nausea or vomiting
How Stress Triggers Migraines
The fact is multiple stressors can lead to migraine attacks. Sometimes it is the accumulation of multiple difficult situations or activities other times it is tied to specific life-changing events. Generally, there are a few different categories of stressors of which people with migraine should be aware:3
- Physical, environmental and other external stressors
- Psychological stressors such as trauma , socioeconomic and/or social stressors
- Physiological stressors
Many patients report that they experience a migraine after a stressful situation. Although post-stress migraine attacks can occur within minutes or hours, they more often manifest within a few days. Specifically, migraineurs have cited an increase in daily hassles 1-3 days prior to attacks.5 Not only does this lead to greater feelings of stress and anxiety, but it also enhances mood swings, irritability, and fatigue. This supports other findings that daily challenges are one of the leading causes of stress-triggered migraines.
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What Are Some Ways I Can Prevent Migraine
The best way to prevent migraine is to find out what triggers your attacks and avoid or limit these triggers. Since migraine headaches are more common during times of stress, finding healthy ways to cut down on and cope with stress might help. Talk with your doctor about starting a fitness program or taking a class to learn relaxation skills.
Talk with your doctor if you need to take your pain-relief medicine more than twice a week. Doing so can lead to rebound headaches. If your doctor has prescribed medicine for you to help prevent migraine, take them exactly as prescribed. Ask what you should do if you miss a dose and how long you should take the medicine. Talk with your doctor if the amount of medicine you are prescribed is not helping your headaches.
What Kind Of Stress Triggers Migraines
Many kinds of stress or stressful events can kick off a migraine. Stress can also result from happy events, like buying a new home, planning a wedding, or having a baby.
Some research shows that regular, day-to-day stressors like a high-pressure job, long commute, or raising kids are more likely to cause headaches than unusual stress. Daily stress that never really lets up can lead to chronic headaches.
Some people have a migraine when their regular stress lets up. After a tough week at work, you may think youâre ready to relax and enjoy your weekend, but then you get a migraine. That could be because your brain is used to the constant stress. The sudden change in your routine triggers a headache.
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What Symptoms Must You Have To Be Diagnosed With A Migraine
Migraine with aura . This is a headache, plus:
- Visual symptoms or vision loss.
- Sensory symptoms .
Migraine without aura . A common migraine is a headache and:
- The attacks included pain on one side of your head.
- Youve had at least five attacks, each lasting between four and 72 hours.
Plus, youve experienced at least one of the following:
- Nausea and/or vomiting.
- Lights bother you and/or you avoid light.
- Sounds bother you and/or you avoid sounds.
Make Time For Relationships And Personal Growth
Studies show that talking with other people relieves stress. Schedule together time with your partner, and deliberately get off the couch and do something fun. Reach out to your support network, and offer support to others. By increasing personal interaction and prioritizing the things that make you happy, stress will instantly be minimized.
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