Dealing With Headaches

What the heck is guided imagery and is it covered by most major health insurance companies? I’ll answer the second question first : No. However, there isn’t any cost to reduce headaches with guided imagery, anyway.

Guided imagery is a fancy term for your imagination. Another term is “creative visualization”.

Don’t roll your eyes. Your imagination is a powerful tool and a great ally in helping you help yourself. Remember how Albert Einstein came up with his equations and theories, especially Brownian motion theory? (Well, pretend you once knew, anyway.) He figured them all out by use of his imagination (and a really really good grasp of mathematics).

Does It Work?

The results of a study using guided imagry to reduce headaches, stress and other chronic pains was recently published in January’s Mayo Clinic Health Letter. What? You let your subscription laspe? Click here for the summary. The practical upshot is that you certianly can reduce headaches with guided imagery. If you know that you get tension headaches, or that your headaches can worsen due to stress and worry, then guided imaegry can help you eliminate the stress that might trigger or worsen your head pains.

How It Works

With imagination, you let yur mind go all over the place. This has positive and negative results, depending on what your imagination fastens on. If you keep imagining that you are going to get fired because you keep getting headaches, this will NOT help your headaches one bit. However, if you imagine that Jedi Knights go into your head after little Stormtroopers that are setting off bombs to make you have a headache, then that can help ease your headaches and possibly your stress (depending on how much you like Star Wars.)

You can get professional guided imagry tapes, CDs or downloads. There are also clinics or classes that teach you the basics. This can help relax people who might be worried that they are “doing it wrong”. But basically, you imagine yourself getting better or relaxing in any way that appeals to you. You might want to:

• Imagine some Good Guys in your body getting rid of the Bad Guys.
• Imagine yourself in a cozy hot bath or on your own private island without a care in the world.
• Imagine yourself surrounded by healing white light (or whatever color you want).

Like anything else, it takes practice to reduce headaches with guided imagery. At least there are no known side effects to worry about.

Hope this helps.