OCTOBER 1997 MEETING NOTES
TOPIC: "PREVENTION OF STRESS HEADACHES: A PRACTICAL APPROACH"
Roger Johnson, D.V.M., is a veterinarian who has led workshops on Stress Reduction. He presented his practical approach to the prevention of stress headaches to the East Bay Headache Support Group on October 14th. The meeting was held in the Sequoia I Conference Room at John Muir Medical Center from 7:30 to 9:00 PM with 18 people in attendance.
Dr. Johnson said that we may be genetically predisposed to getting headaches, but there is also a strong association between stress and headaches of any kind. He accompanied his talk with a slide presentation, as outlined below:
1. Headache Prevention
• Choose different parents • Biofeedback
• Avoid physical triggers • Relaxation techniques
• Take drugs • Mental imagery
• Balance hormones • Psychological (cognitive/behavioral)
• Stress reduction
2. Do you…
Know WHEN you are "STRESSED?"
Recognize your "STRESSORS?"
Associate HEADACHE with "STRESS?"
3. Stress Reduction to Avoid Headache
A step-by-step method
Recognize daily stress
Stop stressing instantly
To break the ice, Dr. Johnson said: "He teaches what he most needs to learn." (Anonymous)
4. What is stress?
"Stress is the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it." (Dr. Hans Selye)
5. Types of stressors:
• Environmental - cold/heat, etc.
• Infectious agents
• Toxic substances
• Physical exertion
• Psychological/Emotional
6. Stress/Distress Chart
We get aroused to accomplish things, but there is a break-point, where stress becomes distress. People experience stress and distress differently though. One person may interpret a situation one way, and the next person another way.
The following three slides were questionnaires which we filled out as a group.
7. When do you stress? Some answers from the group included:
"too much work, too little time"
"heavy traffic"
"husband’s driving"
"speaking in public"
"bad boss"
8. What do you feel emotionally? Some answers were:
"anger"
"tension"
Dr. Johnson said that changes seem to trigger headaches.
9. What do you feel physically? Some responses were:
"heart rate goes up"
"temperature goes up"
"muscle tension increases"
"fatigue"
"decreased hearing acuity"
"sleepiness"
"tightness in stomach"
"sweat"
"extremities get cold"
10. Physiology of Stress
• Fight or flight syndrome
Release of hormones
Sympathetic nervous system stimulation
Needed to save your life
• Inappropriate when not life-threatening
Emotional distress
Causes illness
Causes headache - How?
Dr. Johnson told us it is a natural physical thing to save your butt--a primeval response. The same response can occur at work, but then it’s inappropriate (unless maybe you’re a police officer chasing a bad guy, etc.). "It’s killing us--and causing headaches."
11. Can thoughts create headache?
Dr. Johnson presented a flow chart starting out with circumstances, leading to thoughts, leading to emotions, leading to a stress response, which results in a possible headache. He said there is a strong association between excessive stress (distress) and headache.
Instant Rage--when old thoughts cause us to become enraged easily.
"We can control our emotions, decrease response, and reduce headache."
12. This slide was entitled "A day in the life of a headache sufferer" and it depicted someone having a really bad day (i.e., one character is running off a cliff, and the other is taking a sledge hammer to his computer).
13. If it hurts, don’t do it! Dr. Johnson said there is value in reducing your work load, if necessary.
14. Expectations: fulfilled or unfulfilled. If things go your way (that is, if your expectations are fulfilled)…
15. The four squares of unfulfilled expectations:
Dr. Johnson drew a happy face when we take action on something we can change (yes, just do it), a sad face when we don’t take action on something we can change (if yes, why don’t we?). On the other side, he drew a sad face when we take action on something we can’t change, and a happy face when we don’t take action on things we cannot change (let it go).
16. What is!
There are things we can change, and things we cannot change. Under cannot change he listed: time, other people, weather, physical stuff. If you can get it clear in your mind that you cannot change other people, stress goes down 50%, according to Dr. Johnson.
You can’t rewind--what’s already happened you cannot change. He reiterated:
1. You can’t change the past.
2. You can’t change other people.
3. You can’t change physical stuff.
However,
1. You can change your attitude.
2. You can change your expectations.
3. You can change the future.
17. What can we do?
Dr. Johnson filled in the blanks.
Can Change Cannot Change
Action Winning Senseless
No Action Giving Up Letting Go
18. Resulting Emotions--these are what you experience when you take action on something you can change. Some emotions suggested by the group:
In control Finished
Happy Fulfilled
Euphoric Content
Exhileration Up
Positive Yes
Dr. Johnson said that positive emotions are not as deleterious as negative emotions--they tend not to be as stressful.
19. If you take no action on things you could change, you feel:
Defeated, depressed, fatigued, bummed, have poor self-esteem. Resulting emotions are sadness, self-hatred, resignation, depression, poor self-worth.
20. Resulting emotions when you come up against something you cannot change, but will try anything: Frustrated, anger, anxiety, "up tight," resentful, and some people feel poor self-worth.
21. Resulting emotions when you take no action on something you cannot change:
Relief
Peaceful
OK
Mellow
Therefore, …..Winning is non-stressful.
Senseless is stressful.
Giving up is stressful.
Letting go is non-stressful.
22. Can I change it? If yes, just do it.
If we don’t take action, why not? We don’t take action because we either fear it will cause us more pain, or less pleasure.
If you know chocolate triggers a migraine and you eat it anyway, you’re focusing on the pleasure. Focus on pleasure instead of pain--then we’ll take more action.
What is the cost/benefit ratio? If it’s in your best interests, do it. If not, let it go.
23. Can I change it? If not, let it go.
It’s really stupid to dwell on something someone has already done. Anticipate the future, don’t dwell on the past. Would you rather have anger, upset, or have peace?
24. Let go of what? What is it we’re trying to let go of?
Dr. Johnson said "Blame" is the key word here.
25. Whose fault is it? It isn’t fair.
26. Can I change it? If no, let go of it.
Dr. Johnson said, "There is no upset without blame" (almost always).
27. Stress.
• Unfulfilled expectations
• Thoughts--BLAME
• Negative emotions
• Stress response
• Headache
28. Stress Reduction Step #1: Am I stressing?
• What am I feeling physically?
• What am I feeling emotionally?
• What am I thinking?
29. Stress Reduction Step #2: What about?
• Identify the upset.
30. Stress Reduction Step #3: Can I change it?
31. Stress Reduction Step #4: If yes?
• Think - "more pleasure or less pain?"
• Take action!
• Just do it!
32. Stress Reduction Step #5: If no?
• Let it go!
• What if I can’t "let it go"?
- Who am I blaming?
- What am I blaming?
• LET GO OF BLAME!!!!!
In review, Dr. Johnson went over his key points.
Just do it.
Let it go. We can never let it go without letting go of blame.
At that point, Donna Johnson passed out buttons to the group which stated "No Blame."
Questions and Answers:
Dr. Johnson: The secret to peace of mind = absence of blame (yourself or others). Know your limitations.
Don’t blame yourself because you’re predisposed to having headaches, or whenever you get a headache.
Ways to let it go:
Meditation
Tai chi
Cognitive therapy
Biofeedback
One lady mentioned she has worked to get in touch with her spirit, through tai chi and meditation.
If we all try to heal ourselves, we can heal the world.
The intention of the East Bay Headache Support Group is to provide information and resources. It does not provide medical advice, which should be obtained directly from a physician.