Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
Today on the Let Yourself Sparkle Podcast, I talk about the link between hormones, stress, and migraines. I interviewed and polled hundreds of people this week in a Vestibular Migraine Support Group on Facebook. I asked the question– what is your biggest migraine trigger? And the majority of people- said stress and anxiety were their biggest triggers. Next in line was not enough sleep, and following that was hormones.
I am conducting this research to reverse engineer how I got to the point that lately I’ve been waking up energized and excited, to run to the park at 7am to go roller skating or bike riding, when just half a year ago I was experiencing daily migraines, and bedridden for days- unable to function, and crawling to the bathroom because the vertigo was so unbearable.
My theory was that greatly lowering my stress and doing everything in my power to boost my well being through lifestyle tweaks (getting enough sleep, working out, eating nutrient rich foods) and primarily- shifting my focus to joy – snapped me out of the crippling effects of Vestibular Migraines.
I basically got creative, thought out of the box and DIY’d myself back to health and happiness after all the drugs and doctors and specialists led me to believe there was no cure and I might live this way forever.
I feel like I had to go through the pain and suffering of almost 2 years of this terrible diagnosis- so that I could help other people going through this realize that in fact- there is hope, and they can heal and get their lives back.
Something profound I realized this week- is that it’s not EITHER stress or hormones that causes migraines…. BUT that they are linked.
When we our stressed, our body is in fight and/or flight mode, and the hormones cortisol and adrenaline are created. Those stress hormones throw off your system and can cause all kinds of physical reactions such as pain and visual disturbances and even balance issues and vertigo. (Along with plenty of other severe health complications…. )
While a certain level of stress is good for you, and also unavoidable…. too much stress, or toxic stress is what we need to get under control.
But the thing I realized is- when I was in the thick of my migraines– I chose to try to find any way to find joy, because I was starting to fall into a dark depression and it hit me that I needed to lift my spirits because my children deserved a happy mom.
So this is how I pulled myself out of the darkness, and away from the migraines and vertigo.
Joy pulled me out of it. And why would that work?
Because its about the hormones… Because I did everything and anything to boost joy– which meant doing all the activities known to boost your bodies feel good hormones– dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, and serotonin.
And I discovered– that the happy hormones, overpower and consume the stress hormones. And this is how I got my life back. And the other miraculous stories I’ve heard these last few weeks from other people who suffered for years with crippling migraines, who were also bedridden for periods of time from the vertigo…. they too healed themselves and got their lives back, through self care, and detaching from limiting beliefs and taking action and getting creative with their treatment plans.
So this is the key.
Lower your stress, and boost your joy.
And most importantly let go of that limiting belief that you will be suffering like this forever. If you are willing to get creative, and be open to the possibility that something might work…. and you push yourself to take action, you can profoundly change your life.
So how do we combat stress? And how can we find joy?
There are many ways. I created courses and have written books about this, and offer group and private coaching to help anyone going through this to creatively DIY their way back to feeling happy and healthy and more alive than they ever dreamed possible.
Join the patronage at www.Patreon.com/LetYourselfSparkle so that I can support you with a customized action plan to help you heal and get your life back.
Special thanks to Cathy Heller and her podcast “Don’t Keep Your Day Job” for the inspiration to put this show together, and for her song Gonna Make a Change which is featured in the episode.
