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No, You’re not Crazy, You just Have Migraines

June 18th, 2009

On last month’s Managing Life with Migraines Teleconference with Dr. Roger Cady one of the things we discussed was living with the hyper-sensitive nervous system we have as Migraineurs.  Dr. Cady helped us recognize that in caring for ourselves and our emotional helath, we need to nurture the sensitive nervous systems we have.  This was a theme that resonated with many of us on the call, and I’ve had a few participants telling me they never knew that…

As a Migraineur, you might have a highly developed startle-reflex, and jump at every loud noise…

As a Migraineur, you might not be able to process multiple auditory inputs, but feel overwhelmed, panicky, and like you can’t hear when there are many noises at the same time, or even several people talking to you at the same time…

As a Migraineur, your sense of “not liking” crowds is more than just a dislike, it’s an inability to process too much sensory information at the same time - in other words, it’s not psychological, it’s neurological…

As a Migraineur, sensory overload is a very real thing, with very real consequences for you. If you’re like me, you have been accused by co-workers, friends or family members at some point of being hyper-sensitive, neurotic, or just plain no fun because of your tendency to break down in the face of too much noise, light, or overall stimulation. Or you have accused yourself, and pushed yourself to continue in the face of too much, because you want to keep up with everyone else.

When you feel overloaded, that is part of your early warning system.  Heed the warnings.  Seek some quiet.  Take some deep breaths.  Use relaxation routines.  I have some very easy relaxation exercises you can use in the midst of everything to calm your system back down. Continuing the overload leads to our systems’ form of short-circuit - a Migraine.

Are there things you’ve noticed about yourself, like startling at loud noises or panicking in crowds, that you can see are part of your Migrainous nervous system? Please share them!

- Megan

Crowded street image courtesy of Wm Jas.

Tags: managing life with migraine, relaxation techniques, sensitve nervous system, startle reflex
Posted in Managing | Comments (17)

17 Responses to “No, You’re not Crazy, You just Have Migraines”

1. Jasmine Says:
   June 18th, 2009 at 8:56 pm

   This explains what I go through, when I become overwhelmed, perfectly. Great post!

   When my dog barks very loud out of the blue sometimes I think I’m going to jump out of my skin.

   When I hear a mosquito, fly or bee buzz near my ear my neck tightens up, and I move away quickly.

2. admin Says:
   June 18th, 2009 at 9:32 pm

   It really helped me to learn about the startle-reflex. When there’s a repeated loud noise, like a jack-hammer, other people startle the first time they hear it and then quickly get used to it. I will startle over and over, every time, and I always felt like such a wimp for it!

   - Megan

3. Felice Says:
   June 18th, 2009 at 9:59 pm

   Thanks for this post! I can hear perfectly fine in normal situations but the crowd thing is awful. I also can’t stand anything on my ears, like ear muffs or people putting their hands over my ears, etc.

4. TheDailyHerb Says:
   June 19th, 2009 at 12:37 am

   Great information on how our nervous system becomes overwhelmed by too much stimulation. I wish psychologists would read this and understand that our reactions are neurological NOT psychological.

   Did you know that PTSD and childhood abuse have been linked to migraine? Sure explains the “startle reflex” doesn’t it?

5. admin Says:
   June 19th, 2009 at 8:43 am

   Thanks for your comments!

   Dr. Cady mentioned that those of us who are prone to Migraine are also more prone to developing Migraine after trauma - that is, if you have the underlying preconditions, trauma is more likely to affect you in this particular way.

   Having sensitive systems, we are also more prone to various mental/emotional health issues, including PTSD (which you could see would be one way a sensitive system would react to trauma). I have suffered from PTSD myself.

   I have also seen links with childhood abuse, but I think we have to be careful how we look at that - having Migraine doesn’t “mean” you were abused as a child, but perhaps among child abuse victims, those with sensitive systems are likely to be triggered into Migraine.

   - Megan

6. admin Says:
   June 19th, 2009 at 9:03 am

   By the way, my daughter thinks I should add a disclaimer. She says, “you could get in trouble Mom, some of the people reading that post may actually be crazy.” But don’t worry, she’s not crazy, she just has Sarcasm!

7. Aviva Says:
   June 19th, 2009 at 12:41 pm

   Wow. This post really put a lot in perspective for me. I started having migraines around age 12 (30 years ago!!) and while they’re mostly under control these days, all those points you make totally describe me. Wow!

8. Sandi Says:
   June 19th, 2009 at 4:42 pm

   When I heard Dr. Cady describe this during the teleconference, I almost started to cry. When you go around feeling like you’re crazy because of the way you respond to certain things, especially when you seem to be the “only one” who acts this way, it’s easy to feel like you’re alone. I felt so relieved to hear that there was a real reason why I got startled so badly after something so trivial as my husband’s cell phone ringing right next to me (not just the first time, either). Or like when the kids try to scare me (they are just joking around) and I get angry because of the way it makes me feel. And then there’s the fact that the “feelings” don’t just go away immediately. It’s almost like I have to “come down” from them, and that can sometimes take a while. I sometimes get the feeling that people think I over-react to get attention, or something. Believe me… the last thing I want is extra attention. In fact, I would much prefer to NOT be noticed, most of the time. It’s funny, because I wasn’t always this way. I think the thing that seems to be the hardest for me to handle now a days, though, is that people tend to get on my nerves so easily. I find that my patience runs very thin, and often times it appears to be for no relevant reason. That doesn’t seem to be in the same category as being overly sensitive to light, sound, odor, etc. But I don’t have any other explanation for it. And what’s worse is… I don’t know what to do about it. It is definitely something that can bring about anxiety and stress, which is just one of my many migraine triggers.

9. Peggy Says:
   June 19th, 2009 at 9:20 pm

   This is so true for me. It has been somewhat comforting to know that is a neurological problem and not just “over-sensitive” or not coping well because I really do try hard. Also other people in my family are like this and this disorder is known to be genetic.

10. christina Says:
    June 21st, 2009 at 2:58 pm

    this is me all the way, i can’t believe what i just read. how was someone able to know me without ever meeting me. things about me.
    1. i don’t like people standing too close to me.
    2. don’t like being in a group of more than 15 people or so.
    3.every thing that is a sudden noise will make me jump and cause my insides to shake for about 5 min.
    4. yes, my friends, family and coworkers have all made comments about the way I am. They say, first, why are you like this. Why do you get so upset over small things. or, you should learn to relax, lifes too short statement.
    5. i don’t like anything louder than my talking voice and anything brighter than a childs lamp.

    well, at least from reading all of this i can now let go of some of my feeling like, I am crazy. NOT.

11. admin Says:
    June 21st, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    I have tried to substitute the word sensitive for crazy, for myself. I never even liked the idea of being sensitive, because I always wanted to be tough (those of you who know me are probably laughing). But there are many things that are sensitive yet strong, sensitive yet resilient. We need to nurture our sensitive selves but we can still be strong and resilient.

    We can’t change our neurological makeup but we can calm our systems down so that these things we are sensitive too bother us less. I have developed an ability to internally calm down and react less, which helps me tolerate some of these things I am sensitive to. That’s another thing we talked about on the the call with Dr. Cady. I teach people this in my relaxation classes - if you’d like to try learning to calm your system I encourage you to join me!

    - Megan

12. MigrainePuppet Says:
    June 27th, 2009 at 6:33 am

    Thank you for putting this into the words I could never find that describe me so well. Noise definitely makes me feel overloaded and crazy at times. This post really explains me.

    I could never understand the need to get out of the crowd or why I would do things I normally wouldn’t do and kept trying to examine a deeper reason for my actions. I like the words; it’s not psychological, it’s neurological.

    Great post!

13. deborah Says:
    July 14th, 2009 at 7:44 am

    explains me to a T! Some days worse than others of course.

14. July 2009 Headache and Migraine Disease Blog Carnival Says:
    July 15th, 2009 at 10:47 am

    [...] least three of the posts did have a bit of an unintended theme however.  A good title might be No, You’re not Crazy, You just Have Migraines.  It may be an old theme for some of us, but an important one – migraine has some crazy [...]

15. Carrie Says:
    July 15th, 2009 at 10:54 pm

    Wow. I’ve suffered from these migraines for YEARS - and I know little about the how/why. This post describes me to a T! Thank you for sharing the info, it is very helpful to not feel so alone, or as my husband says, “crazy.”

16. Lucy Says:
    July 22nd, 2009 at 5:39 am

    Great to hear that i am not the only one!
    My sensitivty is usually linked to people talking at me, either to loudly or to fast or trying to tell me a lot of information! I usually have to have a lay down after talking to my sister on the phone, I also have a friend who talks a lot at me and this is drives me crazy!!!
    Loving this site!
    xx

17. admin Says:
    July 22nd, 2009 at 8:35 pm

    Thanks everyone! Yes, it helps a lot to know we’re not alone!

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