Migraines are a very common and distressing problem. Studies show that as much as 5 to 10% of the population is suffering regularly from this annoying condition. Three out of four migraine sufferers are women. Migraines are responsible yearly for countless number of missed workdays.
Migraine attacks can last from hours to several days and are often recurring. A typical migraine attack is separated in a prodrome (feeling of a migraine attack coming), the headache per se and the recovery phase.
My purpose today is not to give a detailed dissertation on the physiology and the diagnosis of migraines as this, per se, has the power to give anyone a throbbing headache.
Every migraine sufferer has the difficult task of identifying the triggering factors for their attacks and removing them as much as possible from their daily life. The most common causing factors are: alcohol, caffeine (whether it be coffee or other foods containing caffeine such as tea, chocolate or certain soft drinks or energy drinks ), physical stimuli such as motion sickness, strong odours, solvents or fumes, etc.
Migraine sufferers have also often linked their migraine attacks to changes in their own body. Such changes can be hormonal (pre-menstrual and menstrual period for a woman), great variations of blood sugar in diabetic people, sleep disturbances and secondary effects of many medications. Poor working posture like bending forward towards the computer keyboard for eight hours in a day can cause tension in the neck and head muscles and trigger headaches or migraines.
Many treatments are available on the market today and every person suspecting to suffer from migraines should consult their doctor first for proper diagnosis and treatment. Migraine sufferers need to be informed that migraine treatments are just temporary solutions to a problem that will recur if the underlying cause is not lifted. Hence, a migraine sufferer can enjoy relief of her current migraine episode but if she does not implement any life changes, the migraine episodes will tend to recur.
Furthermore, many migraine treatments are powerful medications and carry their own risks of side effects not to mention their astronomical prices that can give anyone a solid headache.
One factor that has been well overlooked in the migraine equation is the predominant role stress plays. Migraine is a modern scourge because we live in a society where production and stress go hand in hand. Not long ago, migraines were unheard of. Migraine sufferers have to seriously examine the triggering factors for their episodes and change their unhealthy lifestyles. Too often a person suffering from a mild tension headache will take alcohol hoping to alleviate their stress, to only wake-up with a splitting migraine the next day.
Parts of healthy living consist of eating generous amounts of fruits, vegetables and fibres. It is also proven that people who exercise regularly (at least 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week) suffer less from tension headaches and migraines.
Although stress cannot be completely removed from our daily lives, one's reaction to everyday stressors can be greatly controlled and managed. Hypnosis has proven very efficient in helping people cope with their daily stress thus reducing, if not eliminating completely, the rate of headaches and migraine attacks in a year.
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