Anxiety, tension, and stress have unfortunately become a part of modern life. Stress can affect your health causing different problems including a headache.
An anxiety headache can be in the form of a tension headache, a cluster headache, or a migraine. Thankfully treatment options are available for these headaches.
Emotional stress headache location
Emotional or stress-related headaches can occur in different parts of the head. The location of the headache depends on the headache type.
A tension headache is like a band around the head. As the headache increases, there is a sensation of a band tightening around the head.
Emotional stress can be a trigger for a migraine attack. It can cause throbbing pain across the head.
A cluster headache usually is located around the eyes. The pain in burning in nature.
What does an anxiety headache feel like?
An anxiety headache occurs when people suffer from anxiety or are under stress. The headache manifests itself in different forms.
The most common form is a tension headache. It feels like a tight band around the head.
There can also be tightness in the neck and shoulders. The pain is usually mild to moderate.
In the case of a cluster headache, the pain is intense and burning in nature. It occurs behind the eyes, usually on one side.
Migraine can be triggered by stress. The pain is severe and throbbing or pulsating in nature.
Apart from pain in the head, other migraine symptoms include sensitivity to light and sound, blurred vision, nausea, and vomiting.
Anxiety headache everyday
Anxiety can occur anytime. People who are too sensitive or worry a lot are more prone to anxiety attacks.
They could experience a headache every time they suffer from anxiety. The headache can be a tension headache or could even be a migraine.
Anxiety sufferers can develop chronic headache. This can make them experience a headache almost every single day.
How do you know your headache is from anxiety?
You can know you have an anxiety headache based on the symptoms of the headache:
- Feeling tension in the muscles around the head and neck.
- Pain that ranges from mild to moderate in nature.
- A sensation of a band tightening around the head.
- Pain that is dull and aching in nature.
- Tenderness in the shoulders and neck.
You can get a migraine attack from anxiety. When that happens, you will experience severe pain that is throbbing in nature.
The pain is usually on side of the head. You may experience visual distortions (known as aura).
How to get rid of anxiety head pressure?
Anxiety can cause a headache leading to pressure in the head region. Most commonly, anxiety causes a tension headache that leads to tightening of muscles.
If you experience anxiety head pressure, then here are some measures that can help you:
- Ensure you are well hydrated by drinking sufficient water. This can prevent worsening of symptoms.
- Stretching exercises would help relax the muscles that are tightened. This can help in reducing symptoms.
- Breathing exercises can help you calm down. It would help you feel relaxed and reduces the pain symptoms.
How do I know if my headache is from stress?
If you are suffering from stress, then it can cause tightening or contracting of muscles in the neck and scalp.
This tightening of muscles causes increased pain. If the pain is dull or aching and you feel pressure in the head, then it is indicative of a tension headache due to stress.
Anxiety headache treatment
If you are suffering from anxiety headaches, then you need to see a doctor. There are different anxiety headache treatment options that the doctor would suggest:
- If you experience a mild headache, you would be prescribed medications. These pain relief medications usually offer immediate relief from pain.
- If you have migraine, then there are other medications like triptans that may be prescribed to help you get relief.
- Where required, the doctor may prescribe medicines to help you feel relaxed. These anti-anxiety medicines would relax the muscles and help in chronic headaches.
- Therapy may be helpful for chronic anxiety headache sufferers. CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy can help in improving both physical and mental symptoms.
- Apart from conventional treatment options, alternative remedies like acupuncture can be helpful for some people.
Can anxiety and stress cause constant headaches?
Everyone would suffer from anxiety and stress at some point of time. The anxiety can lead to a headache with or without other symptoms.
People who are overly sensitive or highly prone to stress can suffer from anxiety symptoms every day. This can cause regular headaches.
They may suffer from headaches every day and soon it may become a regular feature. They would experience chronic headaches that can be debilitating and affect their quality of life.
Can anxiety cause headaches and dizziness?
Anxiety can lead to various problems. Apart from a headache, anxiety can also cause dizziness.
Anxiety can lead to sudden changes in blood pressure. This can make you feel light headed leading to dizziness.
The dizziness can also be caused by other reasons that may be neurological or psychological in nature.
How do I stop anxiety headaches?
You can stop or prevent anxiety headaches by taking certain measures. These include:
- Identifying triggers for the headache is important. If you find out what is causing your headache you can avoid the trigger and prevent the headache.
- Maintaining proper posture while sitting and sleeping is important. This prevents pressure on the spine and neck and thus prevents headaches from occurring.
- Regular stretching exercises can help prevent anxiety headaches. Being physically active throughout the day and avoiding sitting for too long is recommended.
- Try meditation or breathing exercises to reduce your stress levels.
- Get your eyes tested. Something as simple as wearing glasses to correct a vision problem can prevent a headache for some people.
Anxiety headache behind eyes
If you are experiencing anxiety headache behind the eyes, then you are probably having a cluster headache. The headache comes in a cluster with many episodes spreading across a few days.
The pain would usually be located behind the eye and is throbbing in nature. Apart from the ache, you may also experience a runny nose or flushing.
Anxiety head pressure every day
Anxiety can cause head pressure that feels like heaviness in the head. This occurs due to the tightening of muscles and is known as a tension headache.
If you suffer from chronic tension headache, then you may experience head pressure every day.
Can stress cause headaches everyday?
If you experience stress on an everyday basis, then the chances of getting a stress headache daily is high.
You can experience chronic headaches either as tension headaches or as migraines. The headache can occur on a daily basis causing a lot of problems.
FAQs relating to anxiety and stress headaches
If you or someone known to you is suffering from anxiety and stress headaches, go through this FAQ. It will help you understand more about this condition.
How do you stop stress headaches?
The root cause of a stress headache is stress. You need to try and avoid being exposed to stressful situations to prevent stress headaches.
It is important to learn to remain calm and relaxed, so you can avoid getting stressed. Practicing breathing exercises and other relaxation techniques would be very useful in helping you manage stress better.
Avoiding stressful situations and being able to cope with stress will help you stop stress headaches.
Can stress cause headaches everyday?
Stress can occur everyday due to various reasons. If you are not able to manage your stress levels, then you may experience a stress headache everyday.
Stress headache can manifest itself as a tension headache with mild to moderate pain. This occurs due to muscle tightness.
A more serious headache is a migraine. The pain would usually be severe and accompanied by other symptoms.
Stress can trigger a migraine attack that can be debilitating. It is important to learn how to manage stress, so you can avoid daily headaches.
Why do I keep getting tension headaches everyday?
If you suffer from tension or anxiety daily, then you are at risk of getting a headache everyday.
You must know it is not normal to get tension headaches daily. Apart from anxiety, there could be other triggers causing the headache.
This may include eye strain, overuse of caffeine or alcohol, and fatigue. Avoiding these triggers can help prevent chronic tension headaches.
How long do stress headaches last?
A stress or tension headache on average lasts usually for around 30 minutes. But it possible that the headache can last for a longer duration.
Some people may suffer from headache for many hours. In some cases, people may suffer from the headache for many days.
People who get a cluster headache experience multiple episodes of headache. An episode can last for anywhere from 15 minutes to up to 3 hours.
The headache can occur for many days or even for weeks together.
