“The Drug Store in Your Brain Can End Suffering” by Bonnie Groessl, MSN, APNP

July 17, 2012 at 9:09 pm | Posted in Migraine Headaches, Mind Body Medicine, Pain Management, Pain Relief | 2 Comments
Tags: chronic pain management, Integrative Medicine, migraine headaches, mind body medicine, pain management

The Drug Store in Your Brain Can End Suffering …End Suffering By Using the Drug Store in Your Brain

Many of us have had a headache, but some of you know what it’s like to have the “monster headache.” About 30 million people suffer from migraine headaches in the United States alone. Many migraine sufferers find that medications are not as helpful as publicized. What about the people who do not find the relief they need from prescription medication alone? Are they doomed to suffer? The pain and disability of migraine is real, but suffering is optional. We all have more drugs in our brain than any pharmaceutical company could ever make.

Migraine sufferers can learn to use their own drug store to take control of their lives again and not rely solely on prescription medications. What we eat and how well we sleep, what we think, our emotions, how we move our bodies and handle stress all play significant roles in our experience of the migraine. This is largely due to the natural drugs we make in our brain.

Five foundational concepts are essential in learning to use the natural drug store effectively and successfully manage migraines. These include lifestyle, nutrition, learned associations, the power of the mind-body connection and stress management.

Here are some tips for you or the migraine sufferer in your life:

• Eat three meals a day (Yes, breakfast is the most important meal!)
• Stabilize your blood sugar by eating in balance
• Eat real foods and avoid processed or fast foods
• Drink at least eight glasses of water each day
• Avoid artificial sweeteners like aspartame (NutraSweet)
• Move your body; exercise in some way
• Don’t just count the hours of sleep, make sure it’s restorative sleep
• Notice the thoughts and feelings you have most of the time
• Learn to journal your migraines in a beneficial way
• Be aware of your stress, present and past
• Practice gratitude every day

The next 90-minute and interactive “Control Your Migraine” webinar  with Bonnie Groessl, MSN, APNP will be on Sunday, July 29, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. (EST), 6:00 p.m. CST, 5:00 p.m. (MST), 4:00 p.m. (PST).  Click HERE to register for the Webinar.