Psychological Thoughts on Tension and Migraine Headaches - a book by Dr Thomas Hersh

I'm feeling quite well at the moment.  I've recovered from all the Christmas standing around and even permitted myself a couple of New Year alcoholic beverages.  I've also had a couple mature cheese sandwiches and am pleased to note the side of my head remains totally fine.  I'm drinking a slightly stronger coffee in the mornings now, but am still really careful with that, because I want all the bruising in my head to recover.  It feels like its finally doing that.

Two days ago I had a very stressful episode  

Basically, as a result, I could feel the blood rush to my head and was expecting that all too familiar pounding sensation that precipitates most of my headaches.

This went on for about 5 minutes.  Towards the end of that 5 minutes, I could feel a slight pulsating 'at the site of earlier injury' if I can put it like that?  It was completely different though.  Instead of my being able to identify a single pounding vessel, it felt more like lots of much smaller vessels that were spread out in that general area?  It definitely didn't lead them, or any particular vessel, to 'spasm', and after about 10 minutes of waiting and fearing, I just listened to my body and noticed everything return to normal.

This is truly encouraging and I can see that I'm probably beginning to be able to calm down from my dread horror of migraines.  I was so worried that on top of everything else, I might risk becoming phobic about headaches generally?

I think the exercise of sitting and listening to my body as it reacted to something stressful was the start of a kind of greater awareness of my stress threshold.  

Stress doesn't usually make me stop and think, in fact it does the opposite, it makes me very jumpy.  One thing is for sure, my attitude to stress is going to have to change if I'm ever going to manage it.  That's why I was attracted to the book I've linked to below, by Dr Hersh.

I was attracted to this title because somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I kind of always knew that my migraines were probably being caused or released, by me, on some weird level that I didn't really understand and maybe never would??  What I mean to say is, I know that I don't respond to all types of stress in the same way.

I would even go as far as saying, I'm possibly quite a good person to have around in an emergency, in that I can react very swiftly, think clearly and take good precautions.  This surprises family members, as they so often see me in a heap with regard to other types of stress.

How is it that I've managed to filter out stress that I can cope with, from the stress that I can't, when it all seems to be aimed at me??

Well, this little book has helped me a lot in that regard.

The first thing you learn from it is, that a stressful reaction begins in the abdomen and much later involves the head.  (Incidentally, this involvement of the GI tract is one of the things that migraine has in common with epilepsy, but that's a different topic).

Dr Hersh carefully points out that the difference between a reaction of the stomach to stress and the further involvement of the veins in your head (not quoting directly), comes down to the involvement of your own thought processes.  This would imply a voluntary participation of the self???

He further points out that this is the ONLY bit that might be 'voluntary' in the whole cascade of later symptoms and  explains that very thoroughly!

So knowing that this is the only point at which you have a choice, is a very fascinating subject for me.

Dr Hersh admits, that a migraine or tension headache cannot be reversed once it's set in motion.  But what you think about the stress causing it, or more to the point, how you think about the stress, is critical to how much you allow yourself to go out of control...

I know that my migraines are a result of a series of 'threatening' events.  

How not to 'threaten myself' is very interesting topic of self-awareness.

Without saying too much more about the central premise of this essay, Dr Hersh makes the observation that migraine and tension headache sufferers have certain things in common.  

They have an interpretation of events affecting them.  This 'interpretation' in all likelihood, compounds the threat of  headache, by leading to a full blown lock-down of your nervous system, which after a certain point, is beyond your control.

He puts forward a very illuminating central idea, and I for one, can see a correlation in my own behaviour and that of my Dad and brother, all three of us being life-long migraine sufferers.

Dr Hersh also states that his 'observation' is often very difficult for people to face, and suggests the subject is best tackled within the context of therapy.

Personally, I believe in self-help and am relieved that this book is available.  I do agree though that the 'subject' at the centre, possibly, of the migraine syndrome, is very difficult for me to contemplate, and I'm doing a lot of self-searching about the whole thing.  Its fair to say this involves a fair amount of tears and personal acknowledgement of the past, but it my case its proving very worthwhile and necessary.  

I would be really interested in hearing from migraine sufferers that might buy this book?  

His analysis is based on Jungian theory.