Migraines and Other Headaches

Avoiding stress is easier said than done. In fact, you can't avoid stress completely unless you want to become a hermit. The important thing is how you react to stress.

“My best friend Kate sort of turned on me,” says Melanie. “She started telling people that I was annoying her. I said to myself, ‘If I'm irritat ing her, maybe I'm irritating everyone else, too.’ I lost faith in myself. I got so upset — Kate and I had been friends since first grade — that I started getting headaches.”

Dr. Santos, a psychologist, helped Melanie to recognize that she had a problem with Kate, not with herself. She advised Melanie to steer clear of Kate for a while. “If you're forced into a group together,” said Dr. Santos, “concentrate on your deep breathing and remove yourself from the sit uation as soon as possible.” When Kate discov ered she could no longer push Melanie's buttons, she stopped picking on her, and Melanie's head aches went away.