Migraine and Depression: What’s the Link?

Types of Depression

• Persistent depressive disorder (also called dysthymia): is a depressed mood that lasts for at least two years. A person diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder may have episodes of major Depression along with periods of less severe symptoms, but symptoms must last for two years to be considered a persistent depressive disorder.
• Psychotic Depression: occurs when a person has severe depression plus some form of psychosis, such as having disturbing false fixed beliefs (delusions) or hearing or seeing upsetting things that others cannot hear or see (hallucinations). The psychotic symptoms typically have a depressive “theme,” such as delusions of guilt, poverty, or illness.
• Bipolar disorder: is different from Depression, but it is included in this list because someone with bipolar disorder experiences episodes of extremely low moods that meet the criteria for major Depression (called “Bipolar Depression”). But a person with bipolar disorder also experiences extreme high – euphoric or irritable – moods called “mania” or a less severe form called “hypomania.”
• Postpartum Depression: is much more serious than the “baby blues” (relatively mild depressive and anxiety symptoms that typically clear within two weeks after delivery) that many women experience after giving birth. Women with postpartum Depression experience full-blown major Depression during pregnancy or after delivery (postpartum depression). The feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion that accompany postpartum depression may make it difficult for these new mothers to complete daily care activities for themselves and/or their babies.
• Seasonal affective disorder: is characterized by the onset of Depression during the winter months, when there is less natural sunlight. This Depression generally lifts during spring and summer. Winter Depression, typically accompanied by social withdrawal, increased sleep, and weight gain, predictably returns every year in seasonal affective disorder.
• SAD Seasonal Depression (Depressed SAD): A form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is triggered by the changing of the seasons; it starts and ends about at the same periods each year. If you have SAD like the majority of people do, your symptoms begin in the fall and last through the winter, draining your energy and making you cranky. Typically, these symptoms go away in the spring and summer. SAD less frequently results in depression in the spring or early summer and clears up in the fall or winter. SAD treatment options include medications, psychotherapy, and light therapy (phototherapy).

Depression & Anxiety Statistics

It’s critical to understand the distinction between anxiety and depression. Anxiety, in its most basic form, is an excessive feeling of worry, whereas depression, in its most basic form, is an excessive feeling of worthlessness and hopelessness. It is conceivable for someone to experience depression and anxiety simultaneously.

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According to Dr. Buse, the likelihood that a person has depression increases as the number of days per month that they experience episodic migraine attacks rises to 14 or fewer. Similar to this, between 30% and 50% of persons with chronic migraine also experience anxiety, as do about 20% of people with episodic migraine.

Migraines And Depression

Does depression cause migraines? Can migraines lead to depression? Doctors are unsure of the exact nature of the connection, according to Buse. Because migraines can be so crippling, many people experience despair or anxiety months or years after their headaches first appear.

Others, however, experience migraines after having long-term depression or anxiety. This shows that having a migraine does not always result in depression and anxiety. Anxiety, sadness, and migraines can all run in families.

Depression and migraine: According to Buse, “We think there might be some underlying cause, whether a hereditary explanation or the fact that both migraine and depression play off similar biochemicals in the brain and the body that predisposes someone to have one, then the other.”

Depression And Migraines: Pain and Depression

Transformative migraine was the previous name for chronic migraine. A headache that lasts at least 15 days per month for more than three months is considered chronic. One could anticipate that someone who experiences chronic pain will also experience depression.

According to research, those who have other types of chronic pain, such as lower back pain, do not experience depression as frequently as those who suffer from migraines. Because of this, it is believed that there is a connection between migraine and mood disorders that is not always related to the condition’s ongoing pain.

It’s unclear just what kind of relationship this could be. There are numerous rationales that could apply. The onset of mood disorders like depression may be influenced by migraine, or it may be the other way around. Alternately, there may be a risk factor associated with the environment for both diseases. Though doubtful, it’s also feasible that the apparent connection is the result of coincidence.

Depression Migraines: Depression After Migraine and Depression Before Migraine

People with regular migraine headaches report a lower quality of life than those who only have them occasionally. People with chronic migraine who additionally suffer from depression or an anxiety condition have a higher risk of disability and lower quality of life. Some people even claim that their headache symptoms get worse following a depressive episode.

According to research, those who get migraines with aura are more likely to experience depression than those who experience migraines without aura. Doctors are recommended to check patients for depression since there may be a link between serious depression and recurrent migraines.

Depression Migraine Medication Options

Modern migraine treatments include a class of medications called triptans. They function by attaching to serotonin receptors in the brain. This lessens swollen blood vessels, which eases migraine pain. Currently, seven distinct triptan medicines are prescribed and available. Another medication mixes the over-the-counter painkiller naproxen with the prescription painkiller triptan. brand names consist of:

This type of medication comes in:

Disability For Migraines Anxiety And Depression

Disability for migraines and depression: If your migraines are a side effect of another ailment for which you have received a diagnosis, that is one of the simplest ways to qualify for Social Security disability based on your migraines. Examples of conditions that can exacerbate episodic migraine symptoms include anxiety, depression, neurological conditions, stroke, and high blood pressure.

Depression Secondary To Migraines and Migraines Secondary To Depression

According to research, folks who suffer from migraines are five times more likely to feel depression than those who do not. Chronic migraines frequently result in large amounts of recurrent agony.

Va Migraines Secondary To Depression

Migraines may be considered a secondary illness to depression in the case of migraines and depression. The veteran must already be service-connected for depression in order to be eligible for secondary service connection for migraines. Give the secondary condition’s diagnosis (migraines).

Cortical Spreading Depression Migraine

An electrophysiological phenomenon known as cortical spreading depression (CSD) is characterized by a wave of cortical neuronal excitement followed by inhibition. About 20–30% of migraineurs experience an aura phase before to their headaches, which may be a direct result of the CSD.

We Level Up Dual Diagnosis Treatment

How to get over alcohol depression? The exact definition of dual diagnosis (also referred to as co-occurring disorders) can differ between institutions. However, it is generally described as the specific treatment of someone who has been diagnosed with a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder at the same time. Treating dual-diagnosis clients is a critical aspect of our inpatient treatment experience because co-occurring disorders are strongly correlated with instances of substance abuse.

Creating a treatment plan that addresses the physical aspects of withdrawal, the psychological connection with drug use, and managing underlying mental health disorders is part of setting clients up for success.  A thorough mental health analysis identifies possibilities for treatment.  Meeting with mental health counselors and medical care providers means access to behavioral therapy and medication treatment. At our dual diagnosis treatment center, We Level Up can implement the highest quality of care. 

We recognize the fragile complexities of how mental and substance abuse disorders can influence others and sometimes result in a vicious cycle of addiction or in an alcohol depression cycle.  That’s why we offer specialized treatment in dual-diagnosis cases to provide the most excellent chance of true healing and long-lasting recovery. There is no set alcohol depression recovery time, each person has their own time.

It can be challenging to accept that you may be living with a mental illness, but once it is properly diagnosed and treated, treating the presenting case of substance abuse can be magnitudes easier. Only a properly trained medical professional can diagnose these underlying conditions.  If you believe you are suffering from a disorder alongside addiction, we urge you to seek a qualified treatment center to begin your journey to recovery. Call We Level Up today.