Severe headaches tied to suicide attempts
The bottom line, according to Breslau, is that people with severe head pain should seek help from their doctor – or, if needed, a specialized pain clinic.
The treatment for migraine or severe headaches is often similar. If standard painkillers are not enough, doctors may recommend other medications – like antidepressants or triptans, which raise serotonin levels.
Certain other drugs, like some high blood pressure or anti-seizure medications, are sometimes given to prevent migraine attacks.
Another study conducted by the same facility – (Perinatal Origin of Adult Self-Destructive Behavior, Acta Psychiatiati. Scand. 1987; 76(4): 364-71) is synopsized below:
“The objective of the study was to test whether obstetric procedures are of importance for eventual adult behavior of the newborn, as ecological data from the United States seem to indicate. Birth record data were gathered for 412 forensic victims comprising suicides, alcoholics and drug addicts born in Stockholm after 1940, and who died there in 1978-1984. The births of the victims were unevenly distributed among six hospitals. Comparison with 2,901 controls, and mutual comparison of categories, showed that suicides involving asphyxiation were closely associated with asphyxia at birth, suicides by violent mechanical means were associated with mechanical birth trauma and drug addiction was associated with opiate and/or barbiturate administration to mothers during labor. Irrespective of the mechanism transferring the birth trauma to adulthood-which might be analogous to imprinting-the results show that obstetric procedures should be carefully evaluated and possibly modified to prevent eventual self-destructive behavior.” (Summary from Medscape.com )
Thus, the correlation between headaches and suicidality is not one of cause and effect, but rather that both are the result of early fetal traumas – in particular, the trauma of birth.
A non-drug option is biofeedback, where people learn to control the physical responses to stress, like muscle tension – which may help head off or ease migraine pain.
One of the researchers involved in the study reported having ties to manufacturers of migraine treatments.
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SOURCE: Headache, online March 9, 2012