Work Health
The physical health aspect of migraines directly contributes to worse work/educational health. Migraines make it more difficult to attend work or school consistently and on time. Whenever you cannot think or see clearly, getting in the car and clocking in by 9 am or studying for your midterms are not your priority. The physical health must come first.
Some people feel too ashamed or guilty of their situation to communicate it effectively with their workplace or school. This tends to be a huge mistake. If you do not express your needs and limitations to others, there is no way for them to assist you in making modifications. If no modifications are made, you will not meet the demands of your positions. Knowing the trends of your symptoms will make it easier to know what modifications will be the most helpful. Do your migraines come in the morning? Ask for an afternoon shift at work. Do you have more episodes during the winter? Take a lighter class schedule during that semester.
Financial Health
The dominos continue to fall with financial health. When your work suffers, you financial health suffers. Having less money contributes to higher levels of stress. As you know, increased stress contributes to higher frequency and intensity of migraines.
Living within your means when you have migraines will be more crucial than for most people. Your employment could end unexpectedly due to your absence and finding new work is a challenge. Work to create a “migraine nest egg” that will serve as a reserve of money for times when money is limited. Additionally, people in pain may seek out retail therapy to ease symptoms. Retail therapy is fine in moderation but acts only as a distraction from the real issue.
Sexual Health
People tend to be sexual creatures but your migraines, depression and anxiety may push sex to an afterthought. Maybe you fear that sex will trigger an episode. Maybe you fear your partner is no longer interested in having sex with you.
Think again. Sex has been proven useful in limiting physical pain, decreasing emotional stress and improving quality of intimate relationships. Improving your sexual health will improve your physical health and overall well-being.
Conclusion
The best way to reduce the stress associated with migraines is to look how it is influencing each aspect of your life. Investigate the seven facets listed above to identify the risks, challenges and solutions. Work to find movement towards reducing the negatives and adding the positives. By doing so, migraines may be less of a pain.
