Getting Ahead: Tips for Fighting Chronic Headaches

For moms, there is no end to the list of things that might trigger a headache: the kids having a shouting match over the iPad, the virtual vitriol on the Facebook mom group page, or—even more frustrating—seemingly nothing at all. Next thing you know, it feels like someone’s playing a drum solo in your skull, and all you want to do is bury your head under the covers.

Unfortunately, that’s not always an option for us as moms. But that doesn’t mean we’re helpless against the drummer in our brains. These tips for fighting chronic headaches will help relieve your pain.

Adjust Your Diet

Although headache triggers vary from person to person, many triggers relate to what we eat or don’t. For example, you might be drinking too little water or too much caffeine. (Or, paradoxically, you might get a headache from not getting enough caffeine because you’re withdrawing from it.)

Here are a few foods that may address some of those triggers and help stop a headache:

• Water

• Berries

• Bananas

• Herbal teas

• Nuts

• Leafy greens

• Watermelon

• Chocolate (yes, really)

Pro tip

Sometimes, something in your diet is triggering migraines without you realizing it. To deduce the cause of the problem, try an elimination diet. Eliminate common migraine triggering foods, such as caffeine, alcohol, cheese, nuts, or citrus-heavy foods, from your diet one at a time to see how each influences your headaches.

Try CBD

CBD is just about everywhere nowadays, and many people who love it turn to it to help relieve chronic pain. But not everyone realizes that that extends to the pain in your skull. Along with reducing the pain itself, it can also potentially address related symptoms, such as:

• Nausea

• Muscle tension

• Stress

• Lack of sleep

For the best results, you can either take CBD proactively throughout the day or take a dose sublingually when a headache strikes.

Get a Massage

We typically think of a massage more as a luxurious splurge than a medical treatment. But massages offer several genuine health benefits, and those benefits target many of the potential triggers for headaches. Some of these benefits include:

• Reduced muscle tension

• Enhanced blood flow

• Decreased heart rate

• Improved sleep

• Improved mood

Even if you can’t get to your local massage parlor, you can always try sinking into the massage chair at the local mall or have someone close to you massage your shoulders for a few minutes.

Journal Your Headaches

While journaling about your migraine isn’t going to offer instantaneous relief, it’s a great way to fight chronic headaches in the long run. Get a notebook or start a document on your computer, and every time you get a headache, record information like:

• The date of the headache

• Any additional symptoms you have (example: fatigue, nausea, auras)

• The duration of the headache

• Weather patterns

• What you ate

• How much water you drank

This information can help you better identify triggers for your headaches and track what remedies work. That way, you’ll have the tools to kick your headache and get back to your life.