Even though our brain itself does not have nerves to feel pain, many parts of the skull such as the scalp, face, mouth and throat have nerve fibers that are sensitive to pain and which can ache. Headache - or cephalgia - usually refers to any type of pain that would appear in these sensitive parts of the skull.

Headaches can be split into two categories: Primary headaches, such as stress headache, cluster headache and migraine headache, which are not associated with any other condition; And Secondary headaches which are associated with an illness.

Headaches are the most ordinary nervous affection. Everyone will be affected by them at least once , but for 55 million Americans, it is a recurring thing. According to the World Health Organization, one in every 20 adult suffers from recurring headaches, with females being more exposed than males.

Headaches can be extremely handicapping and may be detrimental to the lives of individuals who experience them. Work ability is reduced for those individuals, which can negatively affect their financial situation.

Social skills are also lessened as the pain, or the fear thereof, can make people more tense. Some people with migraine even have to constantly pay attention to what they eat, what they see, and last but not least what they smell, because some strong or disagreeable sensations may be hurtful.

Because headaches are seen as such a common, trivial disease, people who experience them on a regular basis also have to deal with the incomprehension of their friends and relatives. This social barrier may also hold people back from getting the attention of a doctor and looking for a proper treatment. However before being treated, a headache needs to be "identified".

We have seen before that there are two major categories of headache: Primary and Secondary, each divided in turn into numerous different subtypes. Their symptoms may differ as well as what causes them and, obviously, how they should be treated. This is the reason why they need to be effectively identified by a doctor so that you can be given an adequate treatment.

Stress headache, also known as tension headache, is the most usual kind of primary headache and is responsible for approximately ninety percent of headaches. It is generally considered to be related to stress or related to muscular and skeletal problems in the neck.

Tension headache is in almost all cases incidental and may persist from a few minutes to a few hours, but may last for several days in the most severe cases. It is generally described as a constant pressure, usually on each side of the head, or spreading around it, sometimes also extending to the neck.

Migraine is a little bit different and is believed to almost certainly have a genetic cause. Migraines are caused by the release by the brain of pain causing inflammatory substances, that spread around the nerves and vessels of the head. Migraine usually happens once a month and lasts for a few hours, with other symptoms such as nausea and intolerance of regular degrees of light and noise.

Cluster headaches often occur frequently and do not last long. They are also extremely painful. They occur in clusters of six to twelve weeks and every one or two years, generally at the same time of the year. The pain is excessively severe and affects the whole head, generally beginning with the eye, and then spreading to the forehead, nose and mouth. It is much rarer than other kinds of headache and primarily affects men.

Headaches are usually cured with over-the-counter analgesic drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol. A doctor may also tell you to avoid some common triggers such as noise or some sorts of foods.

Caffeine, Magnesium and Vitamin B2 have also been regarded as effective in order to treat migraine. Drugs are however not cheap and may have undesired side effects, particularly for people who must use them on an everyday basis. This is the reason why you might want to consider another way of avoiding the several kinds of headache.

Hypnosis and NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) have indeed shown to be effective and will help you to eliminate pain in any part of your body, including the head, as well as trying to be more relaxed meanwhile. Stress is one of the first causes of headache, and specific hypnotic techniques have been developed to eliminate both stress and headaches in a few seconds.

People who have migraine or cluster headache can generally feel the first symptoms before it really occurs, and may learn self-hypnosis techniques to get rid of them before they become too painful. Hypnotists who understand how handicapping a headache can be have designed these therapeutic methods.

Hypnosis is a drug free modality that will help you find the relief you have been looking for. Headache is a grave affliction with various forms, affecting millions of people throughout the world. Learn to fight it and to relax with the appeasing method of self hypnosis.