Pain Support for Family & Friends
Where to Find Headache Support for Your Loved One and Yourself
Friends and families of chronic headache suffers can help their loved ones find support. They can also find the support they themselves need.
Foundations and Societies
These organizations are not just for patients. They provide information, latest research, area doctors, fundraising information, as well as message boards, chat rooms, and contacts for patients, families, and friends. A prominent organization is the National Headache Foundation.
A great way to find such organizations is to search online. A majority of disorders have societies, and a majority of societies have websites. Key the disorder (headache or migraine) into a search engine and browse the websites that come up. Within the websites, look for information about local chapters.
Caretaker Support Groups (Online and In-Person)
Support groups for headache sufferers, families, and friends can be facilitated both online and in-person. Online groups (such as message boards and chat groups) can be found at the above-mentioned foundations or societies. Some websites are completely for support. Again, enter key terms--- headaches, migraines--- into a search and explore what comes up. A great website that is completely made up of health message boards is Healthboards.com.
A good way to find an in-person support group is through a local hospital. They often have regular weekly or monthly meetings, and some have outside events so that members can bond and make support contacts outside of meetings. Many hospital newsletters provide such support group information, or you can always call them.
Social Workers and Psychologists
Social workers can provide help by finding daycare, nurse care, and in-person support for patients, families, and friends. They can also provide emotional counseling to families and patients. Social workers have a lot of information at their fingertips; they are much like agents in that they can "represent" someone and more easily find needed resources.
Psychologists are highly trained in emotional counseling, psychological problem-solving, and rehabilitation. Their education focuses on clinical therapy, although they do have knowledge about the medical side of depression and anxiety. Psychologists have doctoral degrees in psychology, so although they are highly qualified to counsel patients and their families and friends, they are not licensed (like psychiatrists) to dispense medicine. A psychologist can determine if a patient might benefit from medication, and then he or she can refer the patient to a psychiatrist for this purpose
Social workers and psychologists can be accessed through hospitals, private psychological counseling groups, and publicly-run clinics. Most major insurance carriers cover these types of service.
*****For more information on headaches and migraines, read Headache Types and Causes, Tension Headache Overview, Migraine Overview, Migraines: Causes and Triggers, Migraine Signs and Symptoms, Migraine Diagnosis and Treatment, and Alternative Migraine Therapies.
******For related neurological information, check out the Neurological ARTICLE INDEX and Blog.
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