by Declan Twohig and Chet Day
Excerpt from The Rea Centre Collection: A Work in Progress

Headaches can be defined into some specific group types that are quite characteristic.  

Chronic tension headaches can come from an  overload of stress or from being fatigued,  but more often they come from physical  problems, from psychological and emotional  issues, or from depression.

Cluster headaches come in groups of 1-4 a day  in a set cluster period that may be a matter  of days but can extend to months.

Hormonal headaches have a similarity to  migraines in that they affect only one side of the head and frequently are accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to lights and noise.

Sinus headaches can be experienced after a cold or condition that causes a sinus  infection.

And the rarest are the organic headaches stemming from a skull or brain abnormality -- benign or malignant tumors, aneurisms, meningitis, brain abscess, infection, or encephalitis.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a good way of relieving headaches. So too is the imaging of colors and temperatures.

Here's how to do it: Imagine yourself in a bubble of light:
purple, violet, or blue are good ones to experiment with, and then simply imagine that the light can seep through the skin into the cells of the whole body, lifting away the pain, and changing temperature to suit the occasion, either an experience of warmth or cold.

Next. You simply imagine your right hand placed in a bucket of ice water. Really cold ice water, so of course it will feel as though it has lost all sensation and gone numb -- without the painful bit of an actual pail of ice.

When the hand is completely anaesthetized, simply rub it over the affected headache area and feel the numbing effect transferring from hand to pain, and the numbed hand restored to normal. This normally works well with one application, but there is nothing to stop you repeating it.

This "cold hand" is one of the simplest of pain control techniques and is good for minor cramps, bumps, and bruises as well.

There's a variant called the "inner pharmacy" that works brilliantly for some willing to play what seems to be a nonsense game.

To do this one, imagine going into an old fashioned pharmacy of the mind where your subconscious stores all its remedies.

Visualize a gorgeous, old-fashioned, dark place that smells wonderful and has those old mahogany drawers and counter tops and shelves of brown, blue and green bottles containing different draughts or pills.

You just look over the shelves and pick the bottle that starts twinkling like a Christmas tree light. Either swallow one -- only one -- of the tablets inside or pour a liquid dose into the medicine glass thoughtfully left on the counter for you. You can even visualize a water bottle there for those who need liquid to swallow a pill.

Your subconscious can't tell the difference, so the imaged medication will frequently work much faster and more effectively than a pharmaceutical with no side effects.

How about another ancient pain control technique?

Relaxation techniques are often useful, especially if you can get hold of one of those little biofeedback meters that tells you when you're "stressed" or "relaxed" so you get to feel the difference.

Additionally, you may need to eat something, or get some sleep, or check your posture and the chairs you are sitting on for extended periods.

It may sound like a ghastly idea, but a few swift minutes of vigorous exercise can set up enough biochemical changes to erase a simple headache.

From:   [http://chetday.com]