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Dealing with anxiety in between attacks.

Hi! My name is Michelle. I've had migraine with aura regularly since i was maybe 13 years old, I'm now 22. Both my parents have it. Luckily i only have it about 2-4 times per year. It have become more frequent in the past years, probably because of the stress and anxiety i have about it. It always starts with a little blindspot that becomes larger, and then it turns into a ziggzagg-pattern that maybe lasts for 30 mins, after that i get a massive headache that lasts for several hours. And sometime during the migraine i usually get numbness in my hand or in my mouth, i don't know why. I also get nausea, and sometimes I vomit, even though i have medication. The numbness-symptom is relatively new. It usually lasts from 5-7 hours, I haven't really found a medicine that works, and I don't really know where to start. Tho my biggest issue with this is the anxiety i have between the attacks. Like, "when is it going to come next time? On my birthday? Christmas? Maybe to ruin some special occasion?" I'm so worried about how long its going to last and I just hate not knowing when i'ts going to come and what day its going to come to ruin. I just keep like "looking" after the blindspot in my vision and tricking myself into thinking its coming even though its not. I have extreme anxiety about it, especially when i'm out, in the gym or somewhere else thats far away from home. I can't stop thinking about it and I don't know how to relax at all. The anxiety has just become worse and worse, I can never catch a break in my mind, it hasn't always been like this. When I was younger I was coping quite alright, though still worried at special occations. Right now i'm trying to meditate, eat good food and workout. I would love to talk to someone about this. I don't want migraine to control and ruin my life.

  1. Hi Michelleberg,

    Welcome to the Migraine.com discussion forum! I think you'll find great support and information here.

    Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Due to their debilitating nature, it's difficult not to worry about getting a migraine attack, and ruin our day. It's easy to get into a cycle of worry even when we are feeling good. On good days it's not uncommon to worry about when the next attack will be, how much functionality will I have during the attack and how much will my day be interrupted. Some things we can do to help ease this cycle of worry is to exercise, take a walk, or practice yoga. Use mindfulness/meditation, as you mentioned, every day, and make healthy food choices. These articles have tips on how to handle anxiety; https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-and-anxiety-a-multi-faceted-relationship/ and https://migraine.com/expert/migraine-anxiety-interview-psychologist-brooke-pellegrino/.

    One of the problems with migraine disease is we can be the "perfect" patient and still have a migraine attack. This brings me to the topic of acceptance. Accepting that migraine is a genetic neurological disease can make a world of difference, it has for me. I'm not suggesting giving up, rather accepting that we have a disease. It may be helpful to think of migraine disease like having asthma; it's always with us and we do our best to manage it.

    I hope this helps! Please let me know,
    Nancy

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