No More HeadachesEliminate headaches without medication

I consider myself very lucky. For me, twenty-two years of migraines ended with an instant of enlightenment. When I realized that I had the power to alter my headache cycle, I began to alter the cycle. When I became aware that internal expectations fueled my pain, I changed my expectations and the pain subsided. In one brief moment of clarity, an internal power shift occurred. My headaches were no longer in charge.

In retrospect, I had made many adjustments to my lifestyle prior to this milestone. It also took me a few more years and numerous cluster headaches to finally overcome the condition. This document is the latest attempt to understand the transformation. While it took a lot of effort to make the changes required to eliminate migraines, the true breakthrough took place in an instant.

I don’t remember the exact day, though I know it was sometime in 1998. I was at the office, alone and working on the computer. I felt pain shoot up the back of my head, a common signal for the onset of another migraine. In that moment, everything changed. I gained power over my headaches.

When I felt the pain in my neck, I realized that headaches were no longer a regular part of my life. My immediate thought was ‘hey, I don’t get headaches anymore’. As I felt the pain begin to grow in my head, I realized that the pain was no longer familiar. I become aware that there were no pills in my pocket and it had been months since my last headache.

When my thoughts did not support a migraine, the headache began to subside. Instead of continuing to grow into severe pain, the realization of unfamiliarity was enough to end the headache cycle. Instead of panicking because I did not have medication with me, I took a deep breath and wondered when I had last taken a painkiller. As my headache diminished I decided that searching for medication was unnecessary. I could already feel that this headache would not escalate.

Being the analytical type, I started writing and questioning why this change had occurred. I realized that many aspects of my life were different. I was working in a new job, enjoying every day, financially successful and happy with my role. Primarily I was comfortable with my life. I had been studying tai chi and meditation and learning much about stress management. I had also been studying holistic healing, which changed my perception of my health and myself.

While each of the skills that I had learned over the previous years contributed to headache reduction, the key change was internal. My vibration had changed and headaches were not compatible with my new life. My perceptions had changed and I was content and happy with just about everything. Ultimately my awareness changed and I reached a level of self-empowerment that allowed me to stop having headaches.

I came to a realization that fear and expectation played huge roles in the development of my migraines. Knowing that I now had the ability to stop migraine pain, I became acutely aware of my reactions. When the first sign of headache appeared I immediately responded with thoughts that increased the pain. ‘Oh no, here comes another one’. Based on previous experience, I had expectation that the pain would build into a severe migraine episode. I also felt fear, as I could remember what the pain had felt like.

Once I became empowered I was capable of dismissing the fear and expectations. By choosing to focus on my positive experiences, the feeling of easily reducing migraine pain was high in my memory. Under different circumstances, memory of previous episodes had stimulated thoughts about the pain becoming severe. In either case the pain response is directly influenced by thoughts. Creating a portfolio of positive empowering ideas helped reduce my headache buildup.

Relief from migraines lasted for about two years. Then they came back with a vengeance. I went to a rustic cottage for a weekend with some friends. The first night I had a few too many drinks and woke up the next morning feeling hung over. My sinuses were stuffed up and I began blowing my nose. The more I blew my nose the more my sinuses filled. Soon I had a major migraine headache that lasted for three days.

During that weekend episode, the pain was the worst I could remember. My thoughts were fueled by conflict since I had not had migraines for two years. I was doing everything right in my life and suddenly I was faced with this curse again. For the next six weeks I experienced cluster headaches. I started taking painkillers again but they made me nauseous. I was back in hell and didn’t know what to do.

I began to apply some of the things I had learned. I recognized that my life had become quite stressful, primarily due to responsibilities at work. I had also been neglecting my health, eating fast foods and staying up late. I was also feeling internal conflict about my work and role in life. My mind was constantly working. I was overwhelmed and my body responded with headaches.

After a few weeks of headaches, the pain began to subside. Once I had identified the key elements contributing to my headaches I began to make changes. I externalized my work conflicts by writing down lists of pros and cons and making decisions. Though major changes required a few months of effort, the simple act of taking progressive steps to resolve internal conflicts helped alleviate pressure.

Eventually the migraines stopped and I enjoyed another year of pain-free life. I began to write about my experiences and started developing the ‘No More Headaches’ workshop. Then the headaches came again. This time they began arriving at night while I slept. I would wake up in agony, too far past the pain threshold to apply prevention techniques. Instead I spent the dark hours in agony, waking up night after night with pounding headaches while the rest of the household slept.

Except for one brief episode I had been migraine-free for three years. Now they were back again. Because I had gone so long without headache pain, my resolve to overcome them was strong. I refused to fall back into my regular routine. I chose to deeply understand my situation and to eliminate headaches once and for all.

As the cluster headaches began, I decided not to take medication. I realized that dependency on a pill was only masking what was going on inside me. Instead of looking for drugs to numb the pain I chose to apply relaxation techniques. It was not easy but I was stubborn. Choosing to not take painkillers was a critical step in self-empowerment.

I became aware that my mid-night headaches were paired with a sore jaw. I was clenching and grinding my teeth at night. The pressure created by my jaw was enough to initiate a severe headache, and by the time I woke up the pain level was extreme. I realized that alleviating the jaw pressure was critical and began specific relaxation exercises prior to bedtime. In addition I addressed the stress that stimulated jaw clenching. Soon the headaches went away.

Since that last episode in 2004, I have not had a headache. I have not taken any painkillers or received any special treatments. There is still stress in my life, though I deal with it differently. My life is not perfect, but living without migraines is WONDERFUL! My biggest hope is to share this blessing so that others can achieve the same relief.

Learning how to intentionally diminish headache pain is a skill much like riding a bicycle. It is difficult to describe, but once you do it you will always know how. The key shift involves a realization of personal power. It is possible to learn how to eliminate headaches without medications or external supplements.

Transformation Exercises

If you are currently experiencing migraines or repetitive headaches, write down the story of everything that is happening in your life. Describe areas where you are happy and unhappy.

Begin making a list of progressive steps taken towards headache elimination. Turn this list into a portfolio of positive statements to recall during headache buildup. Examples include ‘I am learning more about myself with each headache’ and ‘I am gaining control over my reaction to headaches’.

Make a list of all the things you can be grateful for.

Copyright 2008 Glenn Stewart Coles