Dealing With Headaches

Heck, you can pray to these Saints even if you’re not Catholic. You need all the help you can get. At least you’ll have the satisfaction of being listened to by someone who knows exactly what you are going through, well before Excedrin was ever invented. Images of these saints can be found in religious supply stores, online and sometimes in dollar stores or flea markets. You don’t need to make a shrine in your home to them. Just talk to them, whether out loud or in your head. Even if you don’t believe in prayer or saints, it’s good to:

a) complain
b) get your thoughts sorted out to better explain to your doctor just what you are going through

Canon Fodder

These are the major canonized Catholic Saints who can be petitioned to ease any kind of head pain:

• St Teresa of Avila:This famous Spanish nun had a lot going on in her head, which may explain why she suffered from debilitating migraines most of her life. She is considered one of the most original of mystics, detailing in The Interior Castle her visions of the soul, the search for God and a bit about her headaches.
• Acacius of Byzantium:A centurion in the Roman Army who was tortured and beheaded in the second century CE for being a Christian. In the early Catholic church, loosing your head gave you an automatic right to cure headaches.
• Bibiana: Also known as Viviana, she had a particularly grim life where death was a relief. Click on the link for the gory details. However, over her grave grew an herb (Lemon geodorum) that was reputedly good for bad headaches and epliepsy.
• Gerard of Lunel: Born into a noble Frech family in the 1200’s, he and his brother decided to really annoy their parents by living in caves as hermits as a career. They did pretty good for themselves, though — this is a saint who reprtedly cured bad headaches when still alive, let alone when petitioned to after death. The reason for his death? Not a beheading, but to escape the crush of patients, decided to make a pilgrimage to Jersulaem and died on the way, most likely from exhaustion. Which goes to show, when you are a good healer, you should never run out of patience. Technically, he’s not a fully canonized Saint yet, but when you have a migraine, are you gonna quibble about titles?

And, When All Else Fails…

You can pray to St Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. Believe me, he’s heard it all. He’s a hard-working saint, so give him a laugh by petitioning to him.

Whatever your spirituality, it is good to talk with someone or something that understands your chronic pain. This can give you comfort, help you relax, which can help ease your current headache.

Hope this helps.