Anyone can experience stress, regardless of age or gender. It’s natural to feel angry, frustrated, or nervous, and when you do, your mind and body react with temporary feelings of emotional or physical tension. Stress has many triggers and symptoms, but one unfortunate byproduct is the chance of a migraine. Fortunately, migraines can be treated.
What Are Migraines?
Stress and migraines are significant problems for many people. According to the American Institute of Stress, 33% of people feel extreme stress. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 20% of people in the U.S. across all age groups report migraine headaches in any given year.
So, exactly what is a migraine? The Mayo Clinic describes it as a headache resulting in severe throbbing or a pulsing sensation, often on one side of your head. If you have one, you may feel nauseous, vomit, or have intensive sensitivity to external stimuli, primarily light and sound. And they can persist for hours or days, with the pain becoming so severe that it inhibits your quality of life.
Stress & Other Causes
More than a third of Americans have stress in their lives, which can lead to migraine headaches. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office on Women’s Health, stress can trigger a migraine and other tension-type headaches. Things build up in everyday life which can seem overwhelming, like juggling a career while planning for a wedding, relocating to a new town, or welcoming a baby into your life. These and other everyday stressors result in most headaches.
Some research shows that something called oxidative stress plays a big role in developing migraines. As you’re probably aware, migraines have many possible triggers. Drinking too much alcohol, exposure to extreme weather changes, and a lack of sleep can all lead to migraines, but oxidative stress in the brain is an underlying ingredient. When you experience this kind of stress, damaged molecules called free radicals accumulate in the brain and can result in the intense and long-lasting pain associated with migraine headaches.
One study evaluated 2,000 investigations about migraine triggers published over 25 years and found that the most common triggers can produce oxidative stress. The chief researcher, Jonathan Borkum, Ph.D., concluded that oxidative stress could be a uniting principle precipitating the triggers that untold numbers of people with migraines typically experience.
Most people with migraines experience the symptoms in waves or phases: prodrome, aura, attack, and post-drome. Each has various levels of severity, even in the after-attack or post-drome phase.
Leading causes of stress include:
- Money
- Work
- Economic considerations
- Family obligations
- Relationships and personal health issues
- Family member health problems
- Personal safety
To treat a migraine, it’s important to know about potential causes. There are many, of course, with the most common being:
- Hormonal changes in women.
- Hormonal medications.
- Beverages, including wine and alcohol, or anything with high caffeine levels.
- Strong odors from perfume, paint thinner, secondhand smoke, and other sources.
- Sleep problems, including disrupted sleep cycles or even sleeping too much.
- Intense physical activity, including employment, exercise, or sports, might instigate migraine headaches.
- Weather changes, particularly barometric pressure.
- Certain medicine, including oral contraceptives and vasodilators.
- You eat certain foods like aged cheeses and salty and processed foods.
- Food additives, including certain sweeteners and preservatives.
Diagnosis & Treatment
If you have frequent migraine headaches, it may be time to see a healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment. A neurologist is best equipped to investigate your headache problem and may recommend procedures including magnetic resonance imaging and a computerized tomography scan to reveal the cause of your pain.
Depending on your health and the severity of your headaches, treatment options could include pain-relieving or preventive medicine, diet and lifestyle changes – like avoiding migraine triggers – psychotherapy based on stress levels, or even ketamine therapy. It’s important, however, to treat your headache sooner rather than later, as that’s the best way to manage the symptoms.
Final Thoughts
Migraines affect millions of people in the U.S., and they’re often caused by stress and other factors that you may sometimes ignore. But don’t ignore severe headaches, or you may find yourself dealing with consequences that could spiral out of control – like not being able to work, go to school, or maintain healthy relationships. Talk to your healthcare provider today and ask whether a treatment like ketamine therapy is right for you.
