Guest Author - Joyce N. Eldridge, M.Ed.

Suffering from chronic headaches, especially migraines, can be debilitating. Not only can headaches affect the quality of life of the headache sufferer but they can impact the entire family. In general, minor headaches come and go. People typically take over-the-counter medications and get relief within a few minutes to a few hours. For the chronic sufferer, relief may come at the price of precious family time.

In order to get relief from any type of chronic headache, a person typically does one of two things, sometimes both. Shut themselves away from the outside world in order to decrease the stimulation of things like lights, noise, smells, etc. Or, take a medication prescribed to relieve the pain, which will most likely cause drowsiness. How fun can those two alternatives be to the rest of the family? Especially the kids.

There are a number of things that a headache sufferer can do to preserve quality time with the family. Some of these things include:

· Communicate what having a headache means
· Don’t push yourself when you have a headache
· Plan ahead for the times when you do get a headache
· Find and explore resources as a family
· Take care of yourself

By communicating exactly what it means when you have a headache, your family and those close to you will know exactly how to support you. It is a good idea to let your family know about your medical condition as it relates to headaches as well as what the prognosis is. Research suggests that headache sufferers often feel guilty about their condition and therefore do not relay the full extent of the problem to those close to them. You should never feel guilty about any medical condition, especially one that you cannot control. Some people do not bother to tell family and friends because they feel that they won’t understand. There are times when just knowing that others do understand can make the difference and relieve some of the stress known to cause headaches in the first place.

Do not be afraid to admit that you are feeling pain or any other symptom associated with a headache. A headache can come on at any time. You should never push yourself beyond your limit. It is very unlikely that ignoring the headache or its symptoms will make it go away. In fact, just the opposite is likely to occur—a more severe headache that lasts even longer. If you are in pain, your family will be more concerned about you and your health than anything else because they care about you.

If headaches of any kind are apart of your life, you can’t ignore them. Plan ahead for family activities/outings and household chores. If you are a parent it would be a good idea to have activities pre-planned that the kids can do in the event that your original plans get cancelled. Of course they will be upset if the trip to the amusement park turns into paint-by-numbers but at least they will see that you thought about them and you tried to make it up. Stress can jump start any headache and certainly the stress associated with letting your family down will make your headache even worse. Besides, having your children occupied in the event that you do need to shut out the world may be slightly easier if they have something to do, that is if their age permits. Another tip for pre-planning it to pace yourself with family chores and if possible, let others like your significant other/ parents/ kids/ friends know what needs to be done, when and how. More importantly, if it’s not that important, it can wait!

It never hurts to have support as you battle the big bad chronic headache. Why not get your family and those close to you involved in researching resources and activities geared towards headache suffers. These resources may include information on Internet sites, conferences, books and support groups. One-third of those affected by headaches suffer in silence, most of the time this is unnecessary. You would be amazed at how helpful people can be if just given the chance.

Lastly, if you suffer from headaches of any kind—take care of yourself! Stay active in your medical treatment plan, maintain an appropriate diet and exercise plan, take medication as prescribed, maintain a routine, and get as much rest as possible.