What is the spiritual meaning of headaches and migraines?
Facts
Headaches are unpleasant pains in your head that can cause aching and pressure.
The pain can range from mild to severe, and they commonly occur on both sides of your head.
Migraines are pulsating headaches, usually on one side of the head.
Migraine attacks can cause considerable pain for a few hours or days and can be so severe that the pain is disabling.
About 37 million people in the US suffer from this condition, and it affects 300 percent more women than men, according to the National Headache Foundation.
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Causes
Medications & Smoking
Prescription medicines, like – hormone replacement and birth control therapies, can trigger a migraine.
Smoking and second-hand smoke can also trigger this condition.
It is thought that the nicotine in cigarettes constricts blood vessels, causing headaches. Another possibility is that smoking irritates the lining of the nose and throat, leading to inflammation and pain.
Depression
Depression is a mental condition that is described by protracted feelings of hopelessness and sadness, which can affect one’s daily activities, social and work life, eating habits, and sleeping.
It affects over 15 million American adults in a given year.
Moderate or severe depression increases the risk of episodic migraines becoming chronic, according to a 2010 study done at the American Academy of Neurology.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that affects a person’s capacity to stay alert, pay attention, and think fast.
It is usually found in coffee, chocolate, energy drinks, and green tea.
Excessive caffeine consumption (more than 300 mg per day) can cause headaches.
Moreover, withdrawal from caffeine can cause this condition since caffeine is addictive. Therefore, withdrawal symptoms usually occur if its consumption is stopped abruptly.
It is recommended to discontinue use gradually.
Alcohol
Consuming alcoholic beverages can lead to a delayed hangover headache and an attack within a few hours.
Alcohol is a vasodilator, meaning that it widens blood vessels. This can lead to increased blood flow and inflammation, both of which can contribute to headaches.
Additionally, alcohol contains a chemical called histamine, and it spurs your immune system to make more. This increases the inflammation level throughout your physical body.
Hormonal Imbalances
Another cause of headaches is the normal hormone fluctuations that occur with regular menstrual cycles.
Hormonal headaches are often linked to changes in estrogen levels, which can occur during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. However, they can also be caused by conditions that affect the pituitary gland or adrenal glands.
Furthermore, food additives (like – nitrates found in hot dogs, pepperoni, and luncheon meats), foods (especially aged cheese), and monosodium glutamate (found in Chinese food and some soft drinks) may be responsible for triggering up to one-third of migraines.
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Spiritual Meaning And Causes of Headaches & Migraines
Headaches may signal a resistance to lifestream or to the purpose of one’s incarnation; resistance to change; sometimes self-criticism and self-denigration. Also, the lack of self-love or strong anger towards a person leads to an energetic blockage in the head area and can cause headaches.
The remedy is changing the thought of hatred into peace and adopting an attitude of positive thinking.
You will regain your health by restoring the law of love through forgiveness.
In addition, spiritual awakening can cause headaches due to an excessive amount of energy flowing through one’s body. This energy can create tension in the head and neck area, resulting in headaches.
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Symptoms
- pain in the temples;
- mood changes, from depression to euphoria;
- pain behind one eye or ear;
- junk food cravings;
- increased sensitivity to sound and light. This is the main reason why many patients with this condition want to rest in a quiet, dark room;
- neck stiffness;
- severe pain, commonly on one side of the head, which some people describe as “pounding;”
- increased urination and thirst.
Note – migraines can be preceded by an aura (visual disturbances like – flashing lights, bright zigzag lines, blind spots, and difficulty focusing, which lasts approximately half an hour) of sensory disturbances followed by a severe, usually one-sided headache.
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Prevention
Reduce Your Stress Levels
While it is unlikely that most individuals can live stress-free lives, many can notably lower their stress and avoid these symptoms by using relaxation techniques, such as meditation.
There are many different types of meditation (including transcendental meditation, mindfulness meditation, vipassana meditation, or Zen meditation).
In general, scientists have been studying the benefits of mindfulness meditation, in which you bring awareness to what you are directly experiencing via your senses.
Deep Breathing Exercises
Deep breathing exercise is one of the best methods to lower stress in the physical and emotional body.
This is because when you breathe from your diaphragm, it sends a powerful message to your brain to calm down and relax.
More importantly, this exercise increases the supply of oxygen to your brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (a division of the autonomic nervous system), promoting a state of calmness.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep deprivation (less than 7 hours per night) is frequently reported as a trigger for this condition, according to research conducted at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Also, going to bed and rising at the same time every day helps build a more restful sleep habit.
Nutrition
Avoid processed meats since they contain high levels of nitrates and nitrites that may be highly predictable migraine triggers.
Also, don’t eat leftovers because they have more histamine, another important cause of headaches.
Eat foods high in magnesium because they can help reduce the frequency of headaches and migraines.
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- About the Author
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Irina is a co-founder and author at AwakeningState.com, an online magazine launched in 2016 that aims to expand consciousness every day. Offering eye-opening articles on a range of topics, Irina strives to provide unique insights into personal growth, covering areas such as spiritual awakening, health, lifestyle, nature, and science.