When people experience frequent head pain, some simply aim to weather through it and continue their daily lives. However, what do headaches say about mental health and your overall wellness? Take those sudden discomforts as a sign to assess your health and lifestyle.
Are Frequent Headaches Normal?
Frequent headaches are not normal. A sudden one is a stressful endeavor, but it’s relatively normal to experience. However, there are several headache disorders. Migraines are one of the more popular ones, known for their longer duration and stronger intensity.
Other headache disorders include tension-type headaches. People who experience these recurrent conditions may have episodes fewer than 15 days every month. However, those with chronic tension-type pains may experience it more often.
Another form of recurring headache is the cluster headache. These episodes occur several times throughout a single day and are much more severe. There are also chronic cluster headaches that can impede one’s quality of life.
What Frequent Headaches Mean
Tension-type headaches can stem from a variety of health and lifestyle problems you need to address. Assess your quality of life objectively and aim to remedy the aspects that worsen it.
1. Depression
Depression is a long-term mental health condition that affects your everyday functioning. One of its symptoms involves untreatable headaches. However, you can focus on treating it to get rid of the frequent pain. Once you’ve treated depression, headaches will naturally disappear.
Talking to loved ones and professionals like a mental health counselor helps you navigate your feelings better. There’s also medication for those depressive episodes, which can inadvertently lessen headaches.
2. Anxiety
Another mental health condition to look out for is anxiety. It increases the chances of getting headaches more often and can even translate into migraines later on. You may then end up losing sleep and worrying over things that trigger those episodes.
Treating anxiety headaches takes plenty of time. Therapy is particularly effective since it gives you more awareness of your thoughts and behaviors. Medication can ease your pain, as well. You should also make an effort to reduce stress.
3. Chronic Stress
Frequent headaches may also come from a stressful lifestyle. Whether it’s from school, work, your personal life or more, there’s just too much pressure. It’s even worse when you feel stress pulling you in several directions.
Try to seek stress-relief methods to ease the strain on your health. For example, meditation helps you work on mindfulness. People who get massages have more headache-free days and experience better moods since it helps them relax, too.
4. Hidden Pain Problems
Frequent headaches will mainly feel like the pain is coming from your forehead and temples. However, it may have been triggered by pain in other parts of your body you have yet to address. Here are a few examples:
- Eyestrain: Does everything seem out of focus? Some headaches are caused by vision problems like eye fatigue and irritation. Set up an appointment to get yours checked. You may need glasses or eyedrops to lessen the strain.
- Tooth pain: Tooth pain is often very prominent, but it fades into a dull ache after a while. However, you must avoid being complacent and still see a dentist. You may have to remedy teeth grinding or get a wisdom tooth removal to relieve the pain.
- Intestinal problems: Your gut could be causing you headaches. Studies have shown people who experience gastrointestinal symptoms like constipation are more likely to get headaches than people who don’t. You may need medication to fix it.
- Hormonal imbalances: Many women get headaches right before their menstruation. Some also experience them when ovulating. Consult your doctor regarding these hormonal shifts to gauge what can be done about your frequent head pains.
5. Harmful Environment
Frequent headaches may indicate you’re living in an unhealthy environment. An area with low air quality and flickering lights is less than comfortable, so invest in improvements like a purifier and newer bulbs.
Another aspect of harmful surroundings is noise. Many people are sensitive to sound, so frequent disturbances cause recurring headaches. Consider insulating your space to block out unwanted audio. You can also get quality earplugs to protect your hearing.
6. Lack of Basic Necessities
It’s understandable to get swept up in the unpredictability of everyday life. Nevertheless, you should always prioritize your basic necessities. Here are the aspects you may forget to prioritize:
- Food: Hunger headaches can make you angry, so avoid them by giving yourself the right sustenance. A balanced diet with fruits and vegetables is a must. Do yourself a favor and set a proper eating schedule, too, to avoid sudden head pains.
- Water: Dehydration headaches occur when you haven’t had enough fluids. Luckily, they should go away in an hour or two after drinking 32 ounces of water. Make sure you have a refillable bottle by your side at all times to stay hydrated.
- Exercise: Get rid of lingering tensions that manifest into a headache by exercising. Choose physical activities you enjoy to make the time fly by. It will also entice you to do it regularly.
- Rest: Even if you don’t feel stressed or overwhelmed, remember to give yourself downtime. Take breaks throughout the day to just take a deep breath. You should also get an optimal amount of sleep to feel energized.
7. Unhealthy Habits
Frequent headaches may also stem from unhealthy habits. Drinking liquor often can cause you to have long hangovers. It may also condition you to seek alcohol and get irritated when you are unable to obtain it. Limit your intake as much as possible.
Drinking coffee regularly is also a culprit. Caffeine’s effects — such as narrowing blood vessels around the brain and triggering headaches — last up to 12 hours or so. Try to regulate how much you drink and opt for water during the latter parts of the day.
8. Medication Overuse
Medication is a powerful tool for managing many health conditions. However, certain pain relievers and antibiotics have strong side effects, and some of them may just lead to frequent headaches.
In these cases, it’s important to talk with your doctor to adjust the dosage. You can also explore lifestyle changes and alternative forms of treatment to avoid reliance on the medicine. That way, you could still get treated without recurring head pains.
Protect Your Health from Headaches
You shouldn’t brush off frequent headaches or accept them as a part of your daily routine. Assessing and changing your lifestyle can do wonders for your health, which inevitably protects you from head pains.
This is a collaborative post supporting our Peace In Peace Out initiative.