“There is a significant association between migraine and PTSD,” says MaryAnn Mays, MD, a neurologist and headache specialist at Cleveland Clinic. “Studies suggest that people with PTSD are more likely to experience migraine than the general population.”
Dr. Mays also says that PTSD likely worsens migraine symptoms, and vice versa.
People with PTSD tend to have higher scores on questionnaires about migraine’s impact on a person, says Ryan Serdenes, DO, a psychiatrist at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia and an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Temple’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine.
“Overall, the relationship between both conditions is complex and likely bidirectional,” Dr. Serdenes says, meaning that each condition may influence your chance of developing the other.
Statistics on PTSD, Migraine, and Other Headache Disorders
Do Headaches Lead to PTSD?
“Headaches themselves do not directly lead to PTSD, but can contribute to the overall burden of PTSD symptoms and exacerbate the condition,” says Mays.
“However, chronic migraine can lead to psychological distress, anxiety, or depression, which may mimic some PTSD symptoms,” she says.
Serdenes says that “generally speaking, PTSD is characterized by either a direct or indirect exposure to trauma,” so headaches or migraine cannot directly lead to PTSD.
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