Understanding and Diagnosing Stress Headaches: Symptoms & Relief

Tension headaches, often called stress headaches, are a common ailment. Pain or discomfort is usually not severe, but can last for several hours. While stress headaches are not completely understood, muscle contractions seem to contribute to the symptoms.

Instructions

• 1

  Locate the pain. Stress headaches can feel sore and tight in one or more spots: head, neck, jaw and scalp.

• 2

  Determine if you have any respiratory problems that might be contributing to the headache, such as a cold or allergy.

• 3

  Identify emotional triggers of stress headaches like feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, irritable or tired. Also look for physical triggers like consuming too much caffeine, consuming too much nicotine or alcohol and not eating healthily.

• 4

  Evaluate the amount of stress you are under. If you are having problems at home, going through a major life change or if you are under pressure at work, then chances are your headaches are stress related.

• 5

  Rule out other headache causes like dehydration, bad lighting, eye strain and migraines.