Abstract

MASCELLA, Vivian; VIEIRA, Nádia; BEDA, Luiz Carlos  and  LIPP, Marilda Emmanuel Novaes. Stress, anxiety symptoms and depression on women with headache. Bol. - Acad. Paul. Psicol. [online]. 2014, vol.34, n.87, pp. 407-428. ISSN 1415-711X.

Accepted as a psychological sympton, the headache has been evaluated with concern, since it can lead to limitation and damage to an individual's capacities. In primary attendance, headache appears as the second most common complaint of pain, considered as a great problem of public health. It is estimated that more than half of the population presents some type of headache in some phase of life, and a great part, in a chronic way. Most headaches have a primary cause. Among them, the most common are migraine and those of a tensional type. The impact of migraine on an individual is not only on a headache crisis, but it also affects its quality of life. Migraine increases with age, and is considered as one of the 20 most incapacitating sicknesses of the human being. The current research had as a goal to evaluate stress, anxiety and depression on women with headache. 31 women participated; from these, 16 had migraine and 15 had tension-type headache (TTH), with ages between 18 and 72. Results revealed that 100% of women with migraine had stress, from these 50% were resisting it and 43,75% were near exhaustion, as 66,67% of women with TTH showed stress. In relation to anxiety, 31,25% of women with migraine had a moderated level, while 60% of women with TTH showed a minimum level. As for depression, 37,50% of women with migraine revealed moderated levels, and 53,33% of women with TTH presented minimum levels of depression. It is worth noting that, although the research sample is small, the results met are similar to other studies, and confirm the need to elaborate a psychological treatment for women who suffer from migraine and TTH, aimed at health promotion and improved life quality.

Keywords : Stress; depression; headache.

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