Healing from Headaches

There are moments when I get slight headaches from time to time. Maybe a couple of times a week. You know a lemon juicer? Inside my head it feels like that with the slightest pressure as the juice flows out, only the pressure is from the middle of my forehead to the right side of my nose. More like a dull ache than a sharp throbbing pain.  

According to the World Health Organization, headache on 15 or more days every month affects 1.7 to 4 percent of the world’s adult population. Even more, half to three quarters of adults aged 18–65 years in the world have had headache in the last year and, among those people, 30 percent or more have reported migraine.

Tension headaches (mild to moderate pain in your head) are more common than migraines (some forms of migraines include nausea, vomiting, and visual disturbances in addition to a chronic headache). Women are more often affected than men.

Some studies have shown that a low-fat diet may reduce headache frequency, intensity, and duration, with lowered medication use. And certain foods may trigger headaches such as chocolate, cheese, citrus, alcohol, and coffee. For instance, some meats and cheeses are high in tyramine (an amino acid found in certain foods), which has been associated with migraines.

What I usually do is take some Motrin and wait it out. Not natural at all (okay the wait part might be). I did look into herbal remedies but since I take medication that might not be the safest route right now. Meditation and deep breathing are some complimentary alternatives to herbal remedies.

I may reduce taking Motrin and see if the headaches disappear on its own. It is frustrating because the condition pops out of nowhere. At the very least, I want to reduce the frequency of headaches. Hopefully, it will be a rough patch that is part of my past.