Migraines can be Depressing

What, I ask you, could possibly be depressing about having chronic and debilitating migraine pain? It's hard to see isn't it?
While a link between depression and migraine seems almost silly, researchers in Canada have found just that, a link! Astonishing!
Sarcasm aside, it is a little worrying to read that, according to the study undertaken at the University of Calgary, people who suffer from migraines, are up to 20% more likely to also suffer from depression. Darn. That's depressing.

The researchers were unable to determine whether the participants who had both migraines and depression, were depressed because they had migraines or had migraines because they were depressed. Which was the chicken and which was the egg so to speak. I have my own theories on that.

The good news to take out of this story, is that this discovery may open up different avenues for researchers to look into eliminating migraines.
In the mean time, at our level, what does this mean? Is this anything other than a rather obvious observation, for the many of us that have been lucky enough to hit the migraine and depression double?
I think there might be.
In the first instance, at least migraineurs now know there are legitimate reasons to be on the look out for signs of depression when suffering from migraines. A little bit of awareness, especially when family and friends are also in the know, can lead to earlier detection of depression symptoms and therefore earlier and more effective treatment.
In the second instance, perhaps for those stuck in the mire of depression and migraines, some hope can be gleaned from the link. Beating one may have double the benefits, work hard on ridding yourself of migraines may make life lighter and brighter as well.

Details for this post were sourced from  Reuters.