Headache and Migraine Impact Quiz

Your headaches and migraines may be having a greater impact on your life than you imagined. The costs to home, school, family and personal life as well as the health care system can be enormous. Many of us may underestimate the extent to which headaches and migraines impact our lives. Whether it's regular missed days at work or a bad mood from having dealt with the throbbing head pain, migraines and headaches can wreck havoc on daily functioning and eventually, enjoyment of life.

Assessing The Impact On Your Career

With so much time spent working, it's no wonder that headaches and migraines cause missed days at work, poorer quality work and large costs to the employer. On top of that, head pain can more easily be ignored at work when you have a deadline pressuring you to keep pushing yourself, despite the pain. You should ask yourself how many days a year you miss work due to head pain. The odd missed day from a bad migraine is probably not going to have an enormous effect on your career. Regular missed days, however, are a warning sign that you are not obtaining successful treatment for your pain. To look at how headaches and migraines are impacting your career, ask yourself:

• When I have a headache at work, do I ever ignore it?
• Do I lose focus on my work when my head hurts?
• Do my headaches affect my moods with colleagues and clients?

If you answered yes to any or all of the questions above, your head pain is having a significant enough effect on your work that it could be compromising your efficiency, work quality and your ability to advance in your career. It may also be a sign to investigate any headache and migraine triggers in your work environment, particularly if head pain mostly strikes during work hours.

Assessing The Impact On Your Personal Life

If you suffer from headaches at work, they can leave you returning home exhausted but if you continue to suffer from them at home as well, you could be causing problems in your personal life. Some of the questions you should ask yourself include:

• Do I ever avoid going out due to fear of a headache or migraine striking?
• Do I lose time out with family or friends because of pain?
• Do headaches and migraines keep me from enjoying hobbies?
• Do I avoid time with my partner because I am too exhausted from my migraines?
• Am I ever bad-tempered with those around me because of frustration over headaches?

Answer the questions carefully and think honestly and realistically about how your personal life is impacted by your headaches or migraines. If you answered yes to one or more of the questions, then headaches and migraines are negatively affecting your personal life. Only you can judge just to what extent they are affecting your life, whether they tend to impact how much time you spend with loved ones or if they leave you so tired from battling the pain that you avoid your partner.

The old joke: "Honey, I have a headache" actually extends accurately to migraines because even after the pain is gone, sufferers can feel fatigued and worn out from the experience. This leaves them unmotivated to participate fully in their relationships.

Understand The Impact And Seek Treatment

Take the time to complete a headache and migraine impact quiz. You may be surprised by the impact that your headaches or migraines are having on your life. It can be upsetting to see how headaches and migraines can influence daily living. However, a wake-up call can be a good thing when it encourages you to take action and it helps you to become free of headaches and migraines.