Tension headaches, any suggestions?

[ButterflyWoman]

I frequently suffer from tension headache, which is a specific kind of headache caused by uneven tension in the muscles in your scalp. It can be triggered by almost anything (including some foods), and the fact that I tend to grit my teeth when I'm in pain doesn't help (I'm working on breaking that habit, but I don't even realise I'm doing it).

I've found energy work to be really helpful for relieving local joint pain, but I'm not very successful in relieving headache pain. I've tried various kinds of brushing, bouncing, etc.

Happy to take suggestions on ways to get rid of these blasted headaches. They can last a week or more (longest I ever had was six weeks! ) and I really don't want to keep on with the codeine that is frequently necessary to keep the pain managable. There MUST be a way to do this energetically.

[boris]

im in a similar boat. i get alot of headaches and i do the teeth grinding thing too, its strange you suddenly realise you've been grinding your teeth for the last 5 minutes, it just feels wrong somehow.

I sometimes find imagining a cooling blue shower-cap type thing around my head helps a little, but generally i too havent found energy work to be too effective for headaches, yet anyway.

[CFTraveler]

About the only thing that I've tried and works for me sometimes is either soaking my feet in hot water or getting a foot massage. Other than ibuprofen when nothing else works (I don't like taking anything).

[Caelrie]

Giving up caffeine and/or nutrasweet will do wonders for your headaches if you're using either of those two.

[ButterflyWoman]

I gave up the aspartame (phenylalanine) years ago. I never have it at all. I do have caffeine, but it's very limited because of other stuff that can be triggered by it (acid reflux, anxiety, I even get heart palpitations if I have too much of it ). And, believe it or not, caffeine is actually medically known to be helpful with pain relief for tension headache, particularly in conjunction with codeine and/or paracetemol (acetominophen).

I also do a lot of stress management stuff, just on a daily basis. Years of stress/anxiety disorder behind me, so I'm pretty on top of all that. It's just second nature to go through the relaxation and other visualisations now.

So, I'm thinking that maybe energy work isn't that effective for headache, then? Or am I just not strong enough or doing it right? Maybe there are blockages or something? (I do have a lot of neck pain... Hmmm...)

[Beekeeper]

OW, you cannot go past hydrating yourself sufficiently. Dehydration causes so many complaints and it's nortorious for causing headache.

I highly recommend a monthly massage with a good therapist.

Take up yoga and you'll find those headaches lessen or disappear.

Get enough sleep but not too much. Don't spend too long reading or at a computer without getting up and moving. Get your eyes checked. Make sure you get plenty of fresh air. Watch out for perfumes and deodorants; you may have an allergy.

Take good care of you!

[Caelrie]

I second the hydration comment. Dehydration is definitely known for causing both tension headaches and migraines.

[Korpo]

OlderWiser,

I suffered a lot from scalp tension and now even sometimes do. Dehydration surely is not it - I do drink a lot of water, juice, etc. on a regular day, and did for a long time. This cannot be the solution,

What however helped is my energy work - at first it was a big pain, because I was doing it forceful and overdid it, but removing tension blockage by blockage has removed or lessened almost all of my headaches. Scalp, temples, nose/eye bridge, neck, neck vertebrae, cheeks and eyes - points located there have proven over years to be the origin of such headaches.

When you're already suffering from such a headache, you can also use the dissolving practices I use - trying to focus on what is hurting you anyway, if you can, can alleviate the headache a bit, but be very careful - I don't know the strength of your headaches, your tolerance for pain (should be higher in women, but I have a good one for chronic pain) and so on, so do it gently.

IMO if it is tension, it is invariably a blockage. Can't say the same for migraine - IIRC the reasons for that and the sensations are entirely different from a tension headache. I also once traced a bad headache back to a blocked jaw joint (TMJ) in another person, and could alleviate various associated pains by working this point and tracing all the lines that were blocked to other points. These kind of pains in major energy points like the jaw joint tend to radiate out over the lines to other points.

So, in the long run doing something like my dissolving or other blockage-centric work (Robert wrote a good deal of excellent info about blockages in "Energy Work") on the "usual suspects" (the points that flare up during one of your headaches) should actually be able to cure you over time, at least it did for me.

Take good care,
Oliver

[ButterflyWoman]

I second the hydration comment. Dehydration is definitely known for causing both tension headaches and migraines.

Yup. Well aware. I've always got a big cup of water on my desk. I'm a hydration fantatic.

What however helped is my energy work - at first it was a big pain, because I was doing it forceful and overdid it, but removing tension blockage by blockage has removed or lessened almost all of my headaches. Scalp, temples, nose/eye bridge, neck, neck vertebrae, cheeks and eyes - points located there have proven over years to be the origin of such headaches.

Excellent. This is what I was hoping to hear.

When you're already suffering from such a headache, you can also use the dissolving practices I use - trying to focus on what is hurting you anyway, if you can, can alleviate the headache a bit, but be very careful - I don't know the strength of your headaches, your tolerance for pain (should be higher in women, but I have a good one for chronic pain) and so on, so do it gently.

Sounds like a good thing to try. And my tolerance for pain is unfortunately VERY high. I say "unfortunately" because I tolerate a lot more than I ought to, and I'm so good at coping that I'm now having to consciously learn how to let go and release it.

IMO if it is tension, it is invariably a blockage. Can't say the same for migraine - IIRC the reasons for that and the sensations are entirely different from a tension headache.

Yeah, my husband has migraine headaches. They're not the same at all.

So, in the long run doing something like my dissolving or other blockage-centric work (Robert wrote a good deal of excellent info about blockages in "Energy Work") on the "usual suspects" (the points that flare up during one of your headaches) should actually be able to cure you over time, at least it did for me.

I have a copy of Energy Work around somewhere. I haven't read it yet because I got it with a bunch of other stuff and I just started on others first. I need to find that book, I think...

Well, this is very helpful, Oliver. I'm going to work on very deliberately loosening and dissolving blockages. Cool. Thank you very much.

[Korpo]

Cross-post.

Oliver