Emotional and Mental Causes |
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Tension headaches and headaches of
emotional origin are extremely common, probably constituting the most
usual cause of headache observed by physicians. They occur in so-called
normal persons as well as those afflicted by emotional problems, and
they differ in the same person on different occasions. In many
instances the emotional difficulty is unknown. A considerable time may
ensue between a siege of worries, anxieties, and fatigue and the actual
appearance of headache. Headache will sometimes persist long after the
emotional state subsides. Nor is it necessary for a person to undergo a
period of emotional upheaval to bring on headaches. The chronic
wear-and-tear of everyday living is enough to tax a person and produce
his headache. Headaches that occur at regular
intervals in everyday life are likely to be mental in origin.
Overly-conscientious professional men and women, business executives,
and white-collar workers are especially vulnerable to such headaches at
the end of a trying, demanding day. Since the causes are often
deep-seated and difficult to recognize, emotional or mental headaches
account for many headaches dismissed casually as being "nervous" in
origin. The suffering that follows can sometimes be as real and intense
as headaches that are produced by organic disease. Headache victims with emotional problems are best
treated in the doctor's office. One of his main tasks is to understand
the origin and development of the complaint in relation to the
patient's work, social position, and family attachments. By uncovering
the patient's hopes, fears, frustrations, anxieties, and ambitions, the
doctor often can match up the onset of headaches with periods of
particular emotional stress in the patient's life. Psychotherapy is an important factor in the treatment of emotional
headaches. Patients who are given insight into their own reactions
understanding and compassion on the part of the doctor helps many
sufferers from tension headache lead healthier, happier lives. |
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