Dealing With Headaches

Tension headaches are perhaps the most common headache type in the world. Fortunately, they are also one of the most treatable types of headaches in the world. The best self help for tension headaches is to avoid anything that can make you tense, but that’s probably not going to happen in this lifetime. But there are still things you can do.

Tighten And Release Your Jaw

Tension headaches are often caused or aggravated by clenching your jaw. We all subconsciously clench our jaws when we are angry or stressed out. We often can clench our jaws and keep them clenched without even realizing it. So relaxing our jaws can easily be self help for tension headaches.

The best way to relax your jaw muscles is, oddly enough, to tighten then as much as you can, and THEN let relax them. This seems to give a deeper relaxation response. Try it to see if it works for you. Periodically, check your jaw to see if it is clenched.

Deep Breathing

Another way to quickly relax the muscles that contribute to tension headaches is to take a few deep breaths. We often “heave a huge sigh” at the end of a stressful incident — we really should get in the habit of heaving a huge sigh DURING a stressful incident. It would help not only keep our muscles relaxed, but help give our brains more oxygen in order to concentrate and problem-solve.

One of the reasons why biofeedback is used to ease tension headaches is that it can help you learn how to control some of your body parts so you can relax and get on with life. Once you learn it, you don’t need to rely on the complicated-looking biofeedback training machines or computer programs.

Aromatherapy

The only problem with this form of self help for tension headches is that you have to remember to go get the essential oils, or a tissue doused in essential oils. There are essential oils that make your muscles relax whether you like it or not. One of the most powerful is frankinsence (which is one of the reasons why it is used in religious ceremonies.) Other oils include:

• lavender
• peppermint
• rosemary (although it doesn’t work for me, it has helped others)
• marjoram
• chamomile (but it is VERY expensive!)

Neck Massage

A lot of people’s favorite way to ease tension headaches is to get their necks masaged, or to massage their own necks. You don’t need to know any particular moves — just let your instinct guide you and you should be okay.

Of course, taking over the counter medicines often help for tension headaches, as well, but they often take a while to kick in or perhaps you don’t have access to them all off the time. Some people report that they only need a half dose of over the counter medication when they also use relaxation techniques.

Hope this helps. Have a pain free weekend.