Myth
1. Migraine is a direct result of stress, anxiety, another mood disorder or an intrinsic defect in one's personality.

Fact
Migraine is a biologic
condition that probably is genetic in origin and is typically inherited. Many factors, including stress, anxiety or other mood disorders-may affect clinical expression of this fundamentally biogenetic condition.

Myth
2. Migraine is curable.

Fact
Migraine may be controlled via appropriate therapy; as a genetic condition that is inherent to the individual, however, it cannot be cured per se.

Myth
3.Migraine is untreatable. Learn to live with it.

Fact
There are a wide variety of options available for effective treatment of migraine.

Myth
4. The pain of migraine headache is always severe.

5. Migraine is a woman's disease.

6. Accurate diagnosis of migraine requires that a brain scan be performed.

7. Migraine is a sign of a psychological disorder.

Fact
Migraine attacks may involve no pain (i.e., aura only) or any degree of pain, ranging from mild to excruciating. Although migraine is roughly three times more common in women than in men, millions of men also suffer from migraine. Migraine is diagnosed most accurately via the elicitation of clear headache history and the performance of a thorough physical examination. Brain scans rarely are useful in diagnosing migraine. Migraine is associated with depression, anxiety disorders and bipolar illness, but the individual patient may not have any of these. Ones attitude and emotional state influence the body's ability to battle disease and the physical outcome of those battles influences attitude and emotional state.