Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Exercise to Ease Migraines!
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Exercise to Ease Migraines
What is Migraine?
A migraine is a complex condition with a wide variety of symptoms. For many people, the main feature is a painful headache. Other symptoms include disturbed vision, sensitivity to light, sound, and smells, feeling sick and vomiting. Behavioral Therapy
Migraine attacks can be very frightening and may result in you having to lie still for several hours. The symptoms will vary from person to person and individuals may have different symptoms during different attacks. Your attacks may differ in length and frequency.
Migraine attacks usually last from 4 to 72 hours and most people are free from symptoms of attacks. A migraine can have an enormous impact on your work, family and social lives.
Causes of a Migraine:
A migraine can start and end at any time. There can be a total cessation of a headache altogether too. You cannot pinpoint any particular cause of your migraine. Doctors advise you to maintain a regular chronological journal of your lifestyle patterns, food intake, and other activities to show up possible causes.
A Few Possible Causes are:
- Irregular and insufficient sleep patterns.
- Strong perfumes, air fresheners or incense sticks.
- Insufficient intake of healthy food.
- Long and stressful driving.
- Prolonged viewing of television or exposure to computers.
- Excessive stress.
- Alcoholic beverages.
1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:
Some migraineurs are fortunate enough to experience prodromal symptoms that let them know a migraine is coming. It isn’t much, but it allows them to plan for the downtime they know they are about to enter into. A migraineur who has learned cognitive behavioral therapy can utilize the same prodromal symptoms to short-circuit their migraine headache.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for migraineurs is aimed at recognizing at consciously manipulating the role that a patient’s behaviors play in the development of their headaches.
Together the patient and therapist will determine how the patient behaves when they feel a headache coming, or when the pain starts for those who do not experience prodromal symptoms. They then develop alternative behaviors to try in the same situation in hopes that changing the behavior will change a migraine.
I. In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:
The doctor or therapist works with the migraineur to:
- Identify the problem behavior to be modified. This is often done by having the patient maintain a headache diary.
- Establish a treatment goal. This is usually not the total elimination of a migraine, but a step along the way, such as learning to relax around potential migraine triggers.
- Create a new behavioral pattern to try to affect change.
- Monitor the patient’s reaction to the new behavior and check for environmental factors that may be influencing the behavior.
II. Common Behavioral Therapy Techniques Include:
- Desensitization.
- Positive Thinking.
- Reframing.
- Role-Playing and.
- Self-talk.
III. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Benefits:
Cognitive behavioral therapy can be helpful by itself but is especially helpful to patients who are also on preventive drug therapies.
A 1989 study found that clinic-based and minimal-therapist contact behavioral therapy had roughly equal success rates, both initially and upon follow-up six months later. Minimal contact therapy is, therefore, an effective, affordable treatment alternative for migraineurs.
2. Exercise to Ease Migraines:
- The relationship between exercise and migraines is quixotic.
- Science says that exercise, by promoting the regular release of endorphins, the body’s natural pain controllers, should help ease the frequency and severity of migraines.
- Many migraineurs claim that their attacks are triggered by physical exertion.
Who is Right?
- Like many other aspects of migraines, the answer is contradictory because both groups are correct.
- Strenuous exercise can cause migraines in people who are prone to them.
- Regular exercise can reduce the frequency and severity of migraine headaches as well as increasing overall health and wellness.
I. Regular Exercise Benefits:
Regular exercise reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases like high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It also helps improve sleep patterns and relieves stress. All of which can subtly affect the likelihood of migraines. Migraineurs who gave up exercise as a headache trigger should try again.
Here are several benefits of exercise you may not have thought of:
- Exercise gets our hearts pumping and that keeps us healthy.
- Our heart is a muscle and needs exercise on a regular basis to stay in shape.
- Exercise, when done consistently, has been proven to reduce the stress levels in our bodies. When you exercise your brain releases chemicals that make you feel good and that is a powerful tool to help you reach your goals.
- it’s improving memory, increasing bone density, increased flexibility and a general increase in the quality of your life.
- also, Exercise linked to a longer life so exercise and enjoy every day.
- Exercise strengthens your immune system. Exercise promotes a good night’s sleep.
- It has been proven that sleeping undisturbed through the night is an important key to losing weight.
- Exercise will increase your strength and endurance.
- The benefits of exercise are numerous and exercise is an important part of a healthy life. Science and medicine now realize just how important exercise is in keeping us healthy and allowing us to live longer.
Take advantage,
of every opportunity to get out and move, go for a walk, rake your yard, or even do some stretching exercises. When you begin to exercise your body will respond because that is how it has learned to survive for millions of years. Your body wants to work efficiently so give it every opportunity to fulfill its mission, so exercise, eat right, and enjoy life.
II. Common Exercise Migraine Triggers:
Common Exercise Migraine Triggers are Things Like:
- Not eating properly before exercising and causing a dramatic drop in blood sugar to occur.
- Not taking in enough fluid and becoming dehydrated while exercising.
- Starting a new eating plan and a new exercise plan at the same time.
- Attempting strenuous exercise without warming up properly.
To pinpoint exertion-related migraine triggers, migraineurs should keep an exercise log.
It should include specific information:
- Time of day when exercising.
- Last meal prior to workout.
- Fluid intake.
- Medication details.
- Whether or not a headache occurred during or after the workout.
III. Best Type of Exercise:
The best type of exercise for migraineurs is regular, moderate aerobic exercise, at least 30 minutes three times a week.
Recommended activities include:
- Power Walking.
- Jogging.
- Cycling.
- Swimming.
- Dancing.
Any new exercise plan needs at least six weeks to discover if it has a beneficial effect on migraines.
Simple Tips To Relieve Your Migraine:
There are many preventative measures that can be applied to relieve the pain, however, there is no instant cures or remedies, however, if you follow the simple advice and tips on how to relieve your migraine, you may be able to identify and eliminate some of the causes that contribute towards your migraine.
It is worth noting that there are many different factors that cause a migraine attack and what may be a trigger for one person may not always be the trigger for another person. Migraines are usually described by many sufferers as a throbbing, pulsing pain on one side of the head. Other common symptoms are nausea, and vomiting, also sensitivity to light and sound.
1. Light And Sound:
If you are one of those sufferers where sensitivity to light and sound is the cause of your migraine, the best thing to do is to lie down in the quiet dimly lit room or better still draw the curtains and resist the temptation to turn any lights on.
2. Maintain Regular Sleep Patterns:
Lack of sleep is a huge trigger for migraines. If you want to prevent migraines, work really hard to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. It is also helpful to avoid napping and oversleeping. If you have consistent trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, seek medical attention to figure out the cause.
Keeping a regular sleep pattern and having a proper night’s sleep is beneficial if you are a migraine sufferer. Not only will it help reduce the possibility of a migraine attack, there is also the added benefit of improving health and reducing stress levels.
3. Avoid Stress:
The rigors of everyday life can be an issue and being able to reduce the levels of stress that trigger a migraine attack is paramount. There are many trivial things that can cause a migraine trigger, which sometimes doesn’t always seem obvious. These can include waking up late, spilling a drink, getting caught in traffic, overloaded with work and even working late. Understanding and identifying the causes of your stress will help to relieve the possibility of a migraine attack.
4. Food And Diet:
What you eat and drink everyday can sometimes be the trigger or cause of a migraine attack. There are numerous common food triggers and they include mature cheeses, caffeine, alcohol, red wine, chocolate and even citrus fruits to name but a few.
It’s worth remembering not all foods affect everybody the same way. The best way to avoid and eliminate these foods from your diet is to keep a check on what you consume and the only way to do so is to keep a diary of eating and drinking habits.
5. Limit Smoking and Drinking Alcohol:
Sure it might feel good at the time, but if smoking, drinking or the lack of good sleep these activities might cause brings on a migraine for you, it is best to completely avoid them.
6. Don’t Skip The Meal:
By skipping meals, your blood sugar can drop significantly and lead to headaches, nausea or vomiting. Eat healthy, nutritious foods an avoid getting too hungry or too full.
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Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”
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