Even if our brain itself is insensitive to pain, several parts 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 - commonly refers to any sort of pain that would appear in one or several of these sensitive parts of the skull. 

Headaches can be belong to one of two types: Primary headaches, such as stress headache, cluster headache and migraine headache, which are not caused by any illness; And Secondary headaches which are due to a disease. 

Headaches are the most frequent nervous disorder. Everyone will suffer from headache at one point in their lifetime, but for 55 million Americans, it is a common problem. According to the World Health Organization, one in 20 adult suffers from recurrent headaches, with females being more exposed than males.

Headaches can be severely disabling and are able to very negatively affect the lives of people who have to go through them. Work ability is lessened for those people, which may also negatively affect their financial situation. 

The ability to socialize is also reduced as the pain, or the fear thereof, may make people more irascible. People who suffer from migraine may even have to constantly pay attention to everything they eat, everything they see, and also everything they smell, as some strong or displeasing sensations may trigger pain. 

Because headaches are seen as such an ordinary, trivial condition, the persons who suffer from them on an everyday basis also have to endure the incomprehension of their peers. This social barrier may also deter people from seeking the attention of a doctor and looking for an appropriate treatment. However before being treated, your headache has to be "identified". 

We have already seen that there are two particular sorts of headache: Primary and Secondary, each divided in turn into many other subcategories. Their symptoms may vary as well as their causes and, naturally, the way they can be cured. That is why they have to be identified by a specialist in order to be given good treatment. 

Stress headache, also known as tension headache, is the most usual type of primary headache and is the cause for almost 90% of headaches. It is traditionally considered to be related to stress or related to muscular and skeletal problems in the area of the neck.

Tension headache is in almost all cases episodic and may last from several minutes to several hours, but might last for many days in the most acute cases. It is commonly described as a strong steady 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 cause. Migraines happen when the brain releases substances that cause pain, that spread to the nerves and vessels in the head. Migraine typically occurs on a monthly basis and persists for a few hours, with corollary symptoms like nausea and intolerance of regular levels of light and noise. 

Cluster headaches generally happen frequently and do not last long. They are also extremely painful. They happen in clusters of 6 to 12 weeks every one or two years, commonly at the same time of the year. The pain is incredibly strong and affects the entire head, very often starting with the eye, and then affecting the forehead, nose and mouth. It is much less common than some other types of headache and mostly affects men. 

Headaches are usually cured with over-the-counter pain killers such as aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol. A doctor could also advise to avoid some common causes of headaches like noise or some kinds of foods.

Caffeine, Magnesium and Vitamin B2 have also been regarded as effective in the treatment of migraine. Drugs however are costly and may have undesired side effects, particularly for people who must use them on an everyday basis. That is why you may want to think about a different way of avoiding the numerous types of headache. 

Hypnosis and NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) have indeed proven to be effective and can help you to eliminate pain anywhere in your body, including the head, as well as trying to be more relaxed meanwhile. Stress is one of the first causes of headache, and adequate hypnotic techniques exist to eliminate both stress and headaches quickly. 

People who suffer from migraine or cluster headache are often able to feel the first symptoms before it actually occurs, and could learn self-hypnosis techniques to abort them before they get too painful. Hypnotists who understand how disabling a headache can be have designed these techniques. 

Hypnotherapy is a drug free method of treatment and will help you find the relief you have been looking for. Headache is a serious affliction with various forms, affecting millions of people worldwide. Learn to overcome it and to relax with the appeasing method of self hypnosis.

Alan B. Densky is an NGH certified Hypnotherapist. He has developed a very     effective migraine and headache relief self hypnosis program. His self-hypnosis site also offers a free video self-hypnosis blog, Free MP3's, and a comprehensive hypnosis article repository.

This document may NOT be re-printed. All Rights Reserved. However . . .

Unique "spun" versions of my hypnosis articles are available for publication directly on your website without charge, as long as the byline and the links back to Neuro-VISION are kept intact.