According to headache expert: This is what migraines could reveal about your personality

Only people who suffer from the severe pain attacks themselves probably know how stressful and limiting migraines can be. Prof. Dr. Dagny Holle-Lee is a neurologist and headache expert and heads the West German Headache and Dizziness Center at Essen University Hospital. She also studies how the migraine brain works - and how it influences personality.

In an interview with "GEO" she says directly: "The attempt to define a migraine personality has so far failed." Nevertheless, special features are noticeable in everyday practice: "These are often people who are very structured and precise. Reliable perfectionists who come to the appointment with a fully filled out headache calendar and have prepared meticulously."

Reliable, structured, perfectionist: the typical migraine patient?

And these characteristics can be of benefit to them - perhaps a silver lining on the pain horizon. "I believe that the high level of structure and care that I observe in my patients is an advantage in many professions," explains Dr. Holle-Lee. "At least in the phases when they are not currently suffering from headaches. But if you constantly have severe headaches and are unable to function in everyday life, even the fastest Porsche in your head is of no use."

But does that mean that people with migraines are also more intelligent? "Prominent examples such as Marie Curie, Salvador Dalí or Richard Wagner are often cited as evidence of the intellectual abilities of migraine sufferers," says Dagny Holle-Lee. "And in some respects the migraine brain actually works 'too well'. But ultimately it cannot be proven that people with migraines are generally particularly intelligent or creative."

Migraine and High Sensitivity

However, the headache expert does see connections to another area. "There is a lot of overlap between the phenomenon of high sensitivity and migraines." She even believes that migraines are often hidden behind such diagnoses or are at least present in addition to them. "But migraines are often not recognized as such."

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According to the neurologist, people with migraines also play an important role in communities, "because they are often more sensitive to the reactions of those around them, perceive more nuances and can therefore better assess people and behave accordingly."

All of these positive qualities and skills may not be of much use to people who suffer from severe migraine attacks in the moment of pain. But Dagny Holle-Lee's observations can still be a small consolation - and help us to understand migraines and the people behind the disease a little better.

mbl Brigitte

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