No More HeadachesEliminate headaches without medication

The most important skill to learn in headache management is the ability to quiet the mind. When it becomes possible for you to separate from your thoughts and make choices, you gain power over yourself. The skill of thought separation takes awareness and practice. I will attempt to explain, but it is up to you to develop the skill.

For most people the mind is constantly working. We evaluate everything in our lives, from our environment and interactions to future potential and past stories. At any moment our attention can be in many places. While we focus on the world at hand, we often spend a lot of time thinking about other things. Sometimes we analyze past events to extreme detail; other times we consider all the potential occurrences in the future. Usually we are trying to figure out what we have done and what we should do. 

It may not be easy, but it is important to recognize that your thoughts are only part of you. When you are at rest with no thoughts, your body naturally moves into a state conducive to the environment. If surroundings are calm, the body will move into a state of peace. Once you exist in this state of peace without thought, even for a moment, it becomes easy to recognize how thoughts change feelings. Through persistent effort and personal experimentation, the ability to achieve ‘no-mind’ becomes as easy as snapping your fingers. Just take a deep breath, relax, eliminate thought and move into balance. 

As the mind works, emotions come to the surface. Certain memories have a direct effect on how we feel, and as those memories appear so do the associated feelings. Past events become incredible tools for the creation of emotions. As we relive our experiences we imprint ways to revive the emotions that we felt at the time. In the long run, the feelings evoked by thought can surpass the emotions felt at the time of the event.

Feelings are real. The emotions that we feel reflect our interpretation of events in our lives. These interpretations are based on many factors and assumptions. As we feel our way through life we do the best we can with what we know. Our emotions tend to act as guides, leading us towards things that feel good and away from things that feel bad.

Unfortunately, most people tend to get the feelings mixed up. We may have a tendency to reinforce bad feelings; to continually bring to the surface thoughts that lead us towards doubt or worry or anger or frustration or fear. We reinforce these feelings trying to figure out a way to change them. Unfortunately the feelings are self-serving and more thought simply increases negative vibration.

The key to learning balance is to recognize that thoughts are not necessarily real. They are creations of your mind. Though what you know as fact may be provable, most thoughts are based on personal interpretation. For example, if you see someone looking at you from across the room, you may make assumptions about that person. Why is he looking at me? What does he want? In this situation we project our internal feelings onto a stranger without really knowing anything about him.

When people experience migraine headaches, thought is the driving force. Often the headache begins during times when thought is creating stress. During the buildup phase fear and expectation increase the pain. During the peak phase we often increase the pain through thoughts that create doubt or internal conflict. By learning how to quiet the mind and manage your thoughts, the entire headache cycle can be diminished.

The first step in thought management is learning the check-in procedure. Over the next few minutes I would like you to dismiss any thoughts about the external world. Nothing from the past matters. Nothing in the future needs to be dealt with. For ten minutes allow yourself to disconnect from anything but yourself and your current state of being. If you cannot dedicate the time at the present, set aside ten minutes for later and come back.

I am going to ask you to read the next section slowly. Stop after reading each sentence and think about it for a moment. Become aware of the thoughts and feelings that are triggered by each sentence.

Begin the check in exercise by sitting in a straight back chair with both feet on the floor. It is important to make full connection with the ground through your feet. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and spend the next few seconds relaxing.

As you relax, pay attention to your breathing. Attempt to take a long deep breath followed by long slow exhalation. As you breathe deeper your body begins to relax. Deeper breath also carries more oxygen to your system. People with migraines tend to breathe shallow, decreasing oxygen and increasing pain. Instead, by pairing deep breathing with relaxation you can supplement the oxygen in your body, reducing chances of a headache.

Begin to evaluate the condition of your body at this moment. It helps to start from the feet and work upwards, shifting your focus to each different part of your body as you evaluate. If you find areas that are tense or feel imbalanced, take another deep breath and allow that part to move back into equilibrium. This is easier said than done, especially if you carry muscle tension. However through deep breathing and intentional relaxation, progress can be made.

During this exercise it is essential to keep your thoughts in the present. No matter what thoughts come to the surface, dismiss them until the exercise is over. If you remember, you set aside ten minutes to focus on yourself. There is nothing else that needs to be dealt with right away. Simply dismiss thoughts and analysis of past or future until after the exercise.

I remember one weekend I was driving to the cottage with my sister. I was in a very stressful job and carried a lot of it with me. My sister was talking to me and suddenly stopped, realizing that I was not paying attention. She asked where I was, and I responded ‘At work’. I realized that I needed to reduce my internal stress and decided to not think about work again until Monday.

For the next couple of days, I tried to stop thinking about work. Every time I realized I was running a story about the office in my head, I turned it off and restated my intention to not think about work. A half hour later, I would become aware that I was thinking about work again and would repeat the rebalancing exercise. Over the weekend I caught myself thinking about work about two hundred times. When we feel stress there is a tendency to keep thinking about what is causing the stress.

Each time a story enters our thoughts, emotions are involved. Continually thinking about something will continually trigger the same emotions. Only when we separate from the thoughts do we realize how much control we have over ourselves. Once we can move into a moment where nothing else matters except our own balance, we begin to understand more about how our body works. Through intentional shifting of thought, it is possible to manage headaches, reduce stress and achieve a higher level of self-empowerment.

Transformational Exercises

1. Find or buy a countdown timer. 2. Set the timer for three minutes. During the three-minutes, practice the check-in exercise, including deep breathing and ‘no-mind’. 3. Repeat several times a day until the skill of quieting the mind becomes easy.

Copyright 2008 Glenn Stewart Coles