People who have migraines know all too well how debilitating migraines can be, and how important it is to identify the triggers that cause them in order to decrease, or even prevent, their migraine episodes. There are many different things that can trigger migraines, including anxiety, and being aware of them can help control their impact on your life.
Find a supportive therapist who can help with anxiety.
BetterHelp has over 20,000 licensed therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $65 per week. Take a Free Online Assessment and get matched with the right therapist for you.
What Are Migraines?
Migraines are much more than just a headache. While most migraine episodes include a headache, not all do. Migraine headaches aren’t the same as most headaches, because they often include other physical symptoms such as light sensitivity, nausea, and other symptoms. Migraine headaches are felt only on one side of the head, as opposed to headaches that are more likely to be felt throughout the head.1 Furthermore, while other headache types usually cause dull pain, migraines usually produce throbbing or pulsing pain.1
Migraines frequently have a genetic component1 with sufferers being more likely to have a parent or another relative who experienced migraines.
Common symptoms of migraine headaches include:
- Neck pain
- Auras, or visual disturbances
- Pain
- Nausea
- Sensitivity to light
- Noise sensitivity
The Connection Between Anxiety & Migraines
While research has produced different results, there is some research and theories connecting anxiety to migraines. Most of the research has to do with the brain chemicals that control and regulate sleep, mood, and other aspects of our body, and their effect on migraines.
One theory is that serotonin, the chemical messenger in the brain that affects mood and sleep, can be disrupted in association with anxiety and with migraine. Some research finds that there is a link between migraine attacks and how the brain reacts to or manages serotonin prior to migraine onset.2 Thus, this change in serotonin activity can lead to anxiety, as well as migraines.
What Do Anxiety Migraines Feel Like?
Migraines triggered by anxiety feel like regular migraine experiences, but are accompanied with symptoms of anxiety. For some people, anxiety might be due to worrying about getting a migraine, while for others, the anxiety might be a symptom of migraines.
Are Migraines a Symptom of Anxiety?
Some research points to the idea that migraines could be a symptom of anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder.3 And anxiety has been found to be one of the most common comorbidities with migraines, influencing the sufferer’s response to treatment as well as outcomes.4
It is no surprise that research has found that when anxiety symptoms are improved, either through medication management or other ways to manage symptoms, migraine experiences and symptoms also improve.3
Common symptoms of anxiety include:
- Racing heart
- Fidgeting
- Tension
- Inability to sleep
- Difficulty with concentrating
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Stomach aches
- Sweating
Proactive Measures to Reduce Migraines & Anxiety
Being proactive about the things that reduce anxiety can help decrease your migraine experiences. For example, if you find that you are more likely to have anxiety-induced migraines when you skip meals or when you have not slept, being mindful of these triggers is important.
Some tips and strategies that can reduce the onset of anxiety-related migraines include getting regular exercise, ensuring you have adequate rest, and making sure to take care of your body’s food and water needs can help reduce migraines.
Here are some proactive steps to reduce anxiety-related migraines:
- Mindfulness and meditation: Meditation is a great tool for helping to decrease anxiety. Along with meditation for anxiety, mindfulness exercises can help you remain grounded, reduce stress, and potentially prevent anxiety-related migraines
- Exercise: Movement can be a great stress relief. Taking time to exercise every day, even if just for a few minutes, can help decrease anxiety. Exercise helps anxiety and may help reduce migraine frequency.
- Sleep hygiene: Getting adequate rest is essential for managing anxiety and migraine triggers. Sleep and anxiety are linked, with a lack of adequate sleep being a major trigger for many migraine and anxiety sufferers. Improving sleep hygiene, by having a bedtime routine that is calming and ensures adequate time for rest, can help.
- Take a break: When we are stressed, anxiety can increase. If you have been working for many hours without a break, or many days without a day off, you may be more likely to have increased mental health symptoms linked to stress, and might be more likely to experience migraine attacks. Take a break, even if just for 20-30 minutes, to give your body time to rest.
- Have adequate food intake: For some, skipping meals can lead to greater potential for anxiety or migraines. Whether it’s low blood sugar, or simply inadequate fuel for your body to function, skipping on food can negatively affect symptoms. Make sure to eat a complete meal filled with protein, or pack snacks if you will be unable to take a break for meals.
- Stay hydrated: Like food, water is an essential part of our body’s needs. Make sure to drink plenty of water, as dehydration can increase symptoms of anxiety, and can be a migraine trigger for some.
- Limit sugar: While some people may not be affected by sugar, others report this as being a trigger for anxiety and migraines. Being mindful of how your body processes sugar or other ingredients can empower you to help manage symptoms.
Options For Anxiety Treatment
Talk Therapy – Get help from a licensed therapist. Betterhelp offers online therapy starting at $65 per week. Free Assessment
Psychiatry for Anxiety – Looking for anxiety treatment that prioritizes you? Talkiatry can help. Find an in-network psychiatrist you can see online. Get started with our short assessment. Visit Talkiatry
Treatment for Anxiety
Migraines caused by an anxiety disorder would likely improve by treating the anxiety to reduce symptoms. In fact, research shows that when migraine sufferers took medications to control their anxiety symptoms, it helped to decrease their migraines.3
Coping Skills & Lifestyle Changes to Improve Anxiety
Many people can reduce anxiety symptoms , and therefore reduce the number of migraine episodes caused by anxiety, through changes in what they eat or drink, learning to avoid triggers, and adapting coping skills.
Some lifestyle changes and techniques for reducing anxiety symptoms include:
- Limit alcohol and other substances: Alcohol can increase symptoms of anxiety and depression for many people, and may be a migraine trigger. Limiting alcohol use, or even eliminating it, can help with managing symptoms.
- Limit caffeine or other stimulants: While small amounts of caffeine can actually help prevent or alleviate headaches, and are even used in some headache medications5 for some people it can be a trigger. Increased caffeine intake can be a contributor to anxiety or migraines. If you are sensitive to caffeine, limiting it or even eliminating stimulants can help manage anxiety or migraine symptoms.
- Self-care: Increasing the amount of self care, either through ensuring that you have adequate rest or giving yourself permission to do activities you enjoy, you can decrease anxiety.
- Avoid triggers: Avoiding the situations that increase the likelihood of migraines can help you decrease or even eliminate migraine attacks. This might look like avoiding certain foods or scents, limiting screen time, or managing emotional stress.
Anxiety Therapy
For individuals with anxiety disorders or anxiety that isn’t improving through lifestyle adjustments and coping skills, anxiety therapy is an option.
Some common therapy treatment options for anxiety include:
- Somatic therapy: Because it uses the mind-body connection to help decrease symptoms, somatic therapy can treat both anxiety and migraines by bringing awareness to how the experiences within the body are influencing mental health symptoms of anxiety and depression, or vice versa.
- Cognitive behavior therapy: CBT for anxiety helps someone reduce migraines caused by anxiety that was caused by the thoughts and behaviors they have. By bringing more awareness into how our thoughts affect our behaviors and our symptoms, this form of therapy is a great tool for alleviating mental health symptoms.
- Dialectical behavior therapy: DBT for anxiety helps someone reduce migraines caused by anxiety by helping people develop coping skills to decrease the intensity of the emotional experiences and reactions they have.
- Group therapy: Many people with anxiety find that their symptoms increase in social situations. Group therapy can help with this process by giving people the ability to find support through peers.
- Interpersonal therapy: Interpersonal therapy is a form of therapy that focuses on strengthening personal relationships and through communication. This could be a great option for people who are finding that their anxiety, or even their migraines, increase due to relationship stress.
- EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique (ETF) tapping is a great tool for anxiety relief. It is a technique similar to acupuncture, but with gentle self-administered pressure to refocus the mind and decrease anxiety.
Anxiety Medication
For some people, their anxiety symptoms need to be managed with medications. There are different anxiety medications available, so discuss with your doctor if you feel this might be something you need. If you can manage your anxiety symptoms with medication it’s possible you won’t experience as many anxiety-triggered migraine episodes.
When to Find Professional Help for Anxiety
While for some, anxiety is a normal part of experiencing migraines, if this is a new experience for you, or if your anxiety is getting unmanageable, it might be time to seek professional help for the anxiety symptoms. You can find a therapist through an online therapist directory or a search for someone licensed in your area. For some, a mental health app like Noom Mood might be an appropriate way to manage anxiety.
In My Experience
Additional Resources
To help our readers take the next step in their mental health journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy is compensated for marketing by the companies included below.
Talk Therapy
Online-Therapy.com – Get support and guidance from a licensed therapist. Online-Therapy.com provides 45 minutes weekly video sessions and unlimited text messaging with your therapist for only $64/week. Get Started
Virtual Psychiatry
Hims / Hers If you’re living with anxiety or depression, finding the right medication match may make all the difference. Connect with a licensed healthcare provider in just 12 – 48 hours. Explore FDA-approved treatment options and get free shipping, if prescribed. No insurance required. Get Started
Anxiety Newsletter
A free newsletter from Choosing Therapy for those impacted by anxiety. Get helpful tips and the latest information. Sign Up
Learn Mindfulness, Meditation, & Relaxation Techniques
Mindfulness.com – Change your life by practicing mindfulness. In a few minutes a day, you can start developing mindfulness and meditation skills. Free Trial
Choosing Therapy Directory
You can search for therapists by specialty, experience, insurance, or price, and location. Find a therapist today.
Online Anxiety Test
A few questions from Talkiatry can help you understand your symptoms and give you a recommendation for what to do next.
How Does ERP Help With Intrusive Thoughts?
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric condition marked by the presence of obsessive thoughts, images, doubts, or urges, followed by compulsive behaviors or acts aimed at easing the distress caused by the obsession. While the content of the obsessions can take many forms, they are always repetitive, persistent, involuntary, and intrusive, and they often result in a great deal of anxiety for the person experiencing them.