99.5% of people who have seen a doctor about migraines or headaches have been told to reduce stress. I made up that statistic, but I bet it’s not far off.
Google “ways to reduce stress” and you’ll get nearly 3 million hits. Most recommendations are mildly effective band-aids. Changing how you react in the moment or trying to slow yourself down when you’re already worked up are vital skills, but living a calmer life overall is the only true solution.
Zenhabits takes this approach in 12 Ideas for Establishing a Calming Routine. The recommended daily rituals go a long way toward longterm stress reduction. Among the 12 recommendations include:
- Enjoy a quiet cup of tea or coffee each morning. I sit at the kitchen table and look at our ugly patio. Normally the current state of the patio distresses me, but in the mornings I simply enjoy the sun streaming through the windows.
- Devote a few minutes to think about what and who you are grateful for. A bipolar chronic headache sufferer mentioned in a forum that she does this. The small ritual has made her happier and keeps her from being bogged down by anger and self-pity over her illnesses.
- Have a real, honest conversation with a loved one.
I’m taking bite-size pieces of Zenhabits’ suggestions to see if calm down my life. I’ve quieted my frazzled self a lot in the last two years, but there’s always room to relax more.
Do you have any soothing rituals?
Thanks for sharing your excellent suggestions. I’ll certainly benefit from them and lots of readers will too.
On stress causing migraines: Stress doesn’t *cause* migraine, but it can trigger individual migraine episodes. Migraine is caused by a neurological disorder — stress, foods, weather, lack of sleep, etc. only trigger a preexisting neurological condition.
Kerrie
15 minutes of pranayam(breathing technique in yoga) in the morning. It gives me a surreal feeling of getting energised and calm at the same time. Stupidly enough I allowed two weeks of travel to upset this routine and as a direct consequence I have spent the last two days (after a gap of 2 months) suffering from a TERRIBLE migraine that left me crying and lashing out at my poor husband for no fault of his.
15 minutes of pranayam(breathing technique in yoga) in the morning. It gives me a surreal feeling of getting energised and calm at the same time. Stupidly enough I allowed two weeks of travel to upset this routine and as a direct consequence I have spent the last two days (after a gap of 2 months) suffering from a TERRIBLE migraine that left me crying and lashing out at my poor husband for no fault of his.
I have to tell you. Its hard to reduce my stress with articles like this – http://www.thenewsroom.com/details/584828/Health?c_id=wom=kg-jlt – Greater risks for a stroke with a migraine. not comforting – kate from thenewsroom.com’s womens health desk
I always, always start my day with a cup of coffee (now with vanilla soy milk!) and the newspaper. Whether I’ve slept well or not, been up all night coughing or not, this routine gives me a chance to focus on a new day and start clear-headed. It’s a chance to re-group before the daily grind sucks me in, and it’s a routine that really works for me.
Does stress cause migraines? When I began practicing yoga, I discovered that it helped my “little” headaches, but my migraines remained constant. I am all for de-stressing, however, since it makes the periods between migraines so much more pleasant.
My soothing rituals: walk an hour a day, read the comics with my breakfast, and repeat (what I at first thought was a pretty hokey) mantra my yoga teacher taught–“Breathing in, I relax my body; breathing out, I smile.”
My defining characteristic is stress. I wish it weren’t, but the feedback I receive most often – from myself as well as others – is that I need to slow down, calm down, pipe down, or otherwise do things in a downward direction. I’m just really wound up. Massage therapists are always concerned about the chronically tight neck and back problems I present, to the point where I am at weekly massages now … and they feel like an absolute necessity, not a luxury. Yet, I never get headaches. Ever.
So if I could put in my two cents, maybe it’s a question of how our bodies manifest our stress. I have more of it than the average person, yet the average person gets headaches on occasion, whereas I never do. But the average person doesn’t cause massage therapists to cringe at the state of her rock-hard (in a bad way) muscles … and I do.
I write to relax. I light candles and prop myself up with pillows, as I put pen to paper in my journal or clack away at my laptop. It is my favorite unwinding activity. I also love the massages, and I love baths. Reading is wonderful for me, too. And I absolutely relate to the gratitude suggestion; it substantially decreases my stress and increases my happiness.
AM