Migraines & Headaches Resource Center

Researchers are learning more and more about migraine headaches. There has been so much mystery and so many questions regarding migraines over the years, but studies have come up with answers.

There is now a wide array of choices of medication, replacing little or no choice a decade ago. The thinking of medical professionals has changed as well. Rarely does a physician tell a person – especially a woman or child – that they don’t really have a headache and they should take some aspirin and get some rest. This used to happen at an overwhelming rate, using remedies that could make migraines worse.

Researchers have determined that there can be various causes and triggers to migraines. They have linked many things from stress to food triggers to certain hormones and brain activity to migraine headaches.

The newest discovery that researchers have revealed is a probable link between migraine headaches and mental illness. Psychiatric researchers at the University of Manitoba analyzed close to 4,200 patient records from a German health database.

They found 35 per cent of people who suffered migraines also suffered from a mental disorder, ranging from depression and anxiety to phobias and substance abuse disorders.

According to studies, the relationship between migraines and mental illness was even higher among patients who suffered depression – between 72-84 per cent of people who suffered from depression also had migraines prior to the onset of their illness.

The studies show that migraines can lead to or exacerbate mental illness which could then lead to more migraines.

If you have been plagued with migraines and have depression or anxiety, talk to your doctor. The remedies he can help you with might just eliminate both issues.