« Vote for The Daily Headache | Main | Yoga, Migraine, Latte, Whole Foods, Couch »
Migraine Linked to Depression, Anxiety and Other Mental Disorders
By Kerrie | January 23, 2009
People with migraine are likely to have mood disorders, like major depression, anxiety and panic attacks. This is according to a new study, which supports findings of previous studies that have also shown the coexistence, or comorbidity, of migraine and these disorders.
From the current study’s press release (emphasis mine):
Mood Disorders, Migraines Might Be Connected
Migraine headaches can precede the onset of mental disorders, according to a growing body of knowledge that includes a new study in the January-February 2009 issue of General Hospital Psychiatry.
“Together, migraine and mental disorders cause more impairment than alone,” said lead study author Gregory Ratcliffe. “Patients who have one condition should be assessed for the other so they can be treated holistically. Although it is important to know that both are present, treating one will have an effect on the other.”
Ratcliffe is with the department of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba in Canada. He and his colleagues analyzed data on 4,181 participants in the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey. Migraines were diagnosed by a physician and trained interviewers evaluated participants for mental disorders.
Researchers found that 11 percent of participants had migraines. Participants had a variety of disorders: major depression, general anxiety disorder, dysthymia, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, panic disorder, substance abuse disorders, agoraphobia and simple phobia.
The authors considered two theories that might explain the relationship between migraine and mental disorders. The first theory is that a common factor influences both conditions, such as low activity of enzymes that deactivate certain chemical messages sent to the brain. They also considered a causal relationship: This study and others found that anxiety often precedes migraine, which often precedes depression.
Frederick Taylor, M.D., director of the Park Nicollet Headache Clinic in St. Louis Park, Minn., said that migraine co-morbidities — depression, anxiety and other disorders — affect 83 percent of migraineurs and explain 65 percent of their inability to function in life, more than the pain itself.
My bouts of depression show this is true for me. It is also true for other headache bloggers, like Diana from Somebody Heal Me. How about you?
Topics: Biology, News, Treatment |
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Congratulations,
Your blog has been featured on BestSitePicks.com, http://health.bestsitepicks.com/brain-nervous-system/headache/.
BestSitePicks highlights the very best websites for a variety of topics. Visitors vote links up and down the page, defining a Top 10 list, or weed out “bad links”. To ensure quality, each topic has a maximum of 30 links.
Editor, BestSitePicks
January 24th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Most def. the two go hand in hand. And is it really any surprise? I find laying in the dark during a migraine I become either my own best friend or my own worse enemy. I really have had to teach myself to look at the glass half-full ’cause really … ya just HAVE to. ;o)
Have a pain-free weekend!
LORI
January 24th, 2009 at 11:19 am
I feel like it was a causal relationship with me - I wasn’t depressed before, but now that I’m in pain all the time, I struggle more with depression. So far, treating the depression hasn’t helped the migraines, but has helped me have more hope.
January 25th, 2009 at 10:58 am
5-HTP helps me…and it has the bonus of helping with pain as well.
January 25th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I don’t know that I’ve ever met anyone who has suffered from Migraine Disease that hasn’t experienced bouts with anxiety or depression. It’s frightening to be in a body you can’t escape when you have migraines. I know for me, that anxiety could set me up and become a precurser for a migraine attack, and just the fear of having another migraine could bring on anxiety. They also say that for people who suffer anxiety attacks–just the fear of an attack can often be enough to bring one on…and naturally I had that cycle churning too…oh my!
Ultimately my best defense and ally for anxiety and migraines had to do with taking on daily practices that trained my mind and body to build a better relationship together.
There’s a guided meditation I have on my blog for releasing anxiety that I have found very helpful if you’d like to check it out.
http://www.livingbeyondstressandillness.blogspot.com
January 25th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Although I don’t have depression, probably due to excessive exercise, pre migraine, migraine time and immediately post migraine are awful for me. I get very depressed before the migraine comes on. Crying at commercials and TV shows is usually a sign of an oncoming migraine!
January 26th, 2009 at 8:56 am
For me this is absolutely true. Since I began this headache nearly 17 years ago I have struggled with depression,panic attacks, gad, and a great reluctance to leave the house on most days. My medication suggests I might be bipolar, although my doctors are reluctant to diagnose something that began with a head injury as such.
I just wish the meds that control these symptoms had some affect on the pain in my head. Instead, I take narcotic pain relievers and spend my days stoned. Not a good solution!
January 27th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I’ve never been able to decide if I was depressed because of my migraines or my migraines were causing my depression.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
I’m late to the discussion here, but my depression and anxiety disorders were diagnosed in 2000, five years before I ever experienced a headache. Any headache - of any sort.
Interesting.
February 18th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
I find that a depressed mood is usually an indicator that I will soon get a migraine. I also get very stressed and worried immediately before the migraine pain starts. My husband says that he can predict a migraine a day or two before it actually hits simply because of my mood.
March 9th, 2009 at 6:30 am
I am on both antidepressents and preventative migraine meds, as well as chiropractic, and I still have some migraines. I also have anxiety problems. I thought I was just weird. I was so relieved when I saw this report a few days ago. It’s me all over.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
I have just found out today from being online about migraine with aura. Mine don’t really hurt(thanks!) but the depression and anxiety along with visual disturbances had me wondering if I were going crazy. The things I see were awesome but later I felt tired and out of sorts, sometimes dizzy and just generally not wanting to do anything. When I exercised regularly and ate well I felt soooo much better. Now I am stuck in the dumps. I just thought it was depression that I couldn’t do anything about except take pills which I won’t stay on for any length of time. This explains so much of my physical complaints. It has taken me 25 years to figure this out. No doctor would ever really know since I don’t have killer headaches. They all claimed it was due to my hyperthroidism. Now I know the real truth. I am relieved but upset that there is one more thing wrong with me to add to the pile. At least I can do something about it all now.
May 8th, 2009 at 8:37 am
I can always tell when a depressive episode might be coming on because I start getting migraines. I guess it has to do with the chemical imbalance, but the 2 are definitely related. Glad to say I’ve been headache & depression free for 3 years! Once I learned how to deal/manage the depression the migraines went away too…there is hope!
July 27th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
i try to manage my anxiety and depression using food supplements like Tryptophan, 5-HTP and GABA.
September 13th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Lola, could you give more details on how you managed your depression so that you’ve been depression & migraine free for 3 years? That’s amazing! I’d love to know how you did it!
October 7th, 2009 at 10:47 am
well. I’ve had migraines since my mid teens. Can’t remember if they began before or after my period. I have always struggled with anxiety and intermittent depression- and very much suffer from PMS, but only for about 1-3 days prior to period. What is interesting to me is that at one time I was on an antidepressant, I found that after about 4 months on the drug Imitrex would no longer work (nor Maxalt, etc.) except for the cardiovascular side effects like low bp, fatigue. I think it is interesting that antidepressants work by inhibiting the uptake of serotonin, but triptan/migraine drugs work by increasing the uptake of serotonin- they do the opposite of one another!
Also, I am usually profoundly fatigued, with flat affect, for the rest of the day after a migraine finally dissipatates. So, in my opinion, I think the migraine is a neurological disorder first, and a psychological one second.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Anxiety attack can be lessened by learning relaxation techniques like those used in meditation. some food supplements like 5-HTP helps in easing the symptoms of anxiety attack
October 20th, 2009 at 7:31 am
5-HTP, L-Tryptophan and GABA are food supplements that are very helpful in easing up Anxiety and Depression.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
I’ve had migraines for over 36 yrs, diagnosed with depression for over approximately 22 yrs no one has ever told me it could be tied together. Recently I have had for the last few months a daily bout of migraines with dizziness. My GP decided not to believe me causing me to lose my job because I was not able to go to work. I am now at a lose don’t know what to do and have lost everything including my was to be future husband teh respect of my children, soon my home and all my belongings. I will be on the streets in a month or so. I just found out my mother is in a very bad state with her cancer in which she was doing well just last month and a half now may not make it past christmas and I don’t know what to do. I was placed on topiramax which was causing me to feel very stupid but still headaches was not able to take the imetrex because when headaches did come I was out in public and it would knock me out for 2 hrs. I kept telling dr this but acted as this was all in my head. I feel like a complete failure and probably am but nothing can be done now. I will go see my mom wait for her then go. Where I don’t know. but go