Group support spells headache relief - Live Healthy News

Shape, Feb, 2004 by Kathleen Doheny

When people with chronic headaches took part in a six-month program that gave them self-help tips, medical information and opportunities to talk to other headache sufferers, their pain was slashed in half and they had about five fewer headaches a month. "The effectiveness was dramatic," says researcher Allan Bernstein, M.D., a neurologist at Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center in California.

"The secret is sharing, realizing you are not alone." Until such programs are more widely available, one option is to assemble an informal support group on your own.