Even if our brain itself is not sensitive to pain, several areas of the skull such as the scalp, face, mouth and throat have nerve fibers that are sensitive to pain and which can hurt. Headache - or cephalgia - ordinarily means any kind of pain that would be felt in those sensitive areas of the skull.

Headaches can be put into two groups: Primary headaches, such as stress headache, cluster headache and migraine headache, which are not caused by any disease; And Secondary headaches which are due to a disease.

Headaches are the most frequent nervous disorder. Everyone will be affected by them at one point , but for 55 million Americans, it is an everyday thing. The World Health Organization claims that one in 20 adult suffers from frequent headaches, with females being more exposed than males.

Headaches can be highly handicapping and are able to very negatively affect the individuals who suffer from them. Work ability is reduced for those individuals, which may also be detrimental to their economic situation.

Social skills are also reduced as the pain, or the fear thereof, sometimes makes people more irascible. Some people who have migraine may even have to consistently be careful about the things they eat, the things they see, and last but not least the things they smell, because certain strong or unpleasant sensations may be hurtful.

Since headaches are perceived as such an usual, minor condition, the persons who experience them on an everyday basis also have to face the incomprehension of their peers. This social barrier may also hold people back from trying to get medical attention and looking for an appropriate treatment. But before being treated, your headache needs to be "identified".

We have seen before that there were two main types of headache: Primary and Secondary, each divided in turn into a lot of different subtypes. Their symptoms may differ as well as their causes and, naturally, the way they can be treated. This is why they have to be diagnosed by a doctor so that you can receive proper treatment.

Stress headache, also known as tension headache, is the most common sort of primary headache and is the cause for approximately 90 percent of headaches. It is traditionally seen as stress-related or related to muscular and skeletal problems in the neck.

Tension headache is mostly episodic and may last from a few minutes to a few hours, but might persist for numerous days in the most acute cases. It is typically described as a constant pressure, usually on each side of the head, or spreading around it, sometimes also affecting the neck.

Migraine is kind of different and is reckoned to almost certainly have a genetic origin. Migraines occur when the brain releases painful substances, which spread to the nerves and vessels in the head. Migraine typically happens on a monthly basis and lasts for a few hours, accompanied by symptoms like nausea and intolerance of regular degrees of light and sound.

Cluster headaches generally happen frequently and do not last long. They are also very painful. They happen in clusters of six to twelve weeks and every 1 or 2 years, very often at the same period of the year. The pain is extraordinarily severe and affects all of the head, generally beginning in the eye, and then affecting the forehead, nose and mouth. It is much more uncommon than other sorts of headache and primarily affects men.

Headaches are usually cured using over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol. A physician may also advise to avoid some typical triggers like noise or some kinds of foods.

Caffeine, Magnesium and Vitamin B2 have also proven useful in order to treat migraine. Drugs are however costly and sometimes have undesired side effects, particularly for people who have to use them on an everyday basis. This is why you may want to think about another way of preventing and fighting the several sorts of headache.

Hypnosis and NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) were indeed proven to be effective and can help you to release pain in any part of your body, including the head, as well as becoming more relaxed meanwhile. Stress is one of the first causes of headache, and specific hypnotic methods have been developed to release both stress and headaches within seconds.

People who have migraine or cluster headache can usually feel the first symptoms before the pain actually happens, and may learn self-hypnosis techniques to get rid of them before they get too painful. Hypnotists who understand how handicapping a headache can be have invented these therapeutic methods.

Hypnotherapy is a drug free modality and will help you find the liberation you are looking for. Headache is a serious condition with numerous variations, affecting millions of people worldwide. Learn to overcome it and to relax with the soothing method of self hypnosis.

About the Author

Alan B. Densky, CH has created a very effective migraine treatment hypnosis program. His Neuro-VISION hypnosis site also offers a free video hypnosis blog, Free MP3's, and a comprehensive hypnosis article library.