Headaches, Psychotherapy and Counselling

Headache series 2

How Psychotherapy and Counselling can help with Headache?

Did you know that more than 10 million adults suffer with headaches, which account for as many as 1 in 25 GP consultations? In fact up to 1 in 50 people may suffer headache from medication overuse. The highest risk is from those taking paracetamol, aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, either alone or in combination, and for 15 days a month or more.

For some migraine sufferers identifying triggers can be helpful in reducing episodes.

Some Triggers of Migraine:

Relaxation after stress, especially at weekends or on holiday
Other changes in habit such as missing meals, missing sleep, lying in late and long distance travel
Bright lights and loud noise (both perhaps stress inducing)
Some dietary inputs such as alcohol or cheese
Unaccustomed strenuous exercise

However they are generally less important than is commonly supposed as many attacks have no identifiable trigger (British Association for the Study of Headache), with dietary triggers affecting no more than 20% of sufferers.

Leading Factors that Predispose to Migraine:

Stress
Depression anxiety

If you suspect stress or depression anxiety are contributing then we recommend that a counsellor or psychotherapist could support you.

Areas a Counsellor or Psychotherapist can Support:

Helping you to identify causes of stress
Creating positive change to eliminate unhealthy habits such as skipping meals or sleep
Assist you in understanding how to manage yourself or environments that aggravate your migraines
Identify how cravings or addictions might trigger migraines or headaches and establish healthy alternatives
Help you create a balanced approach to life that supports good habits and reduces bad ones such as heavy reliance on painkillers or anti-inflammatories

If you wish to read more on this subject, here are links to previous posts on our headache series. Can osteopathy help manage your headache? Treatments for headache