Hi - I'm writing this in hopes that someone else may have experienced this and can provide feedback.

2 1/2 years ago I had a nervous breakdown and had a partial memory of abuse. During that memory I felt as if I tapped into the most extreme emotional pain imaginable. I immediately pulled myself out of the memory as it was too much to bear.

During the breakdown started headaches that move from the left side of my head to the right side of my head and then fall away. I have had these headaches since then daily for 2 1/2 years. My general impression of these headaches is that they are part of the healing process for me. My instinct tells me that my mind is filtering out the immense emotional pain in small doses and the headaches are the physical manifestation of this. Slowly I am becoming more connected to my feelings and body. I used to be very uptight and now am becoming more and more relaxed.

All of this would be fine except the headaches everyday and all day are a struggle to deal with. I do see a therapist and he agrees that it is part of the healing process, however he has never heard of anyone having these symptoms. I'm willing to put up with it because I keep telling myself that there is an end to these headaches and I am feeling better (albeit slowly). I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this or has heard of this happening. I trust my instinct, however I need some reassurance that someday it will be over.

-Thanks

I dont know about the cause behind your headaches, but I wanted to say that I DO understand how painful and disruptive daily headaches can be. I have had weekly (sometimes up to 3 times a week) migraines since I was 15, and dealing with them has been..well..a struggle for lack of a better word. Sometimes it is unbearable..and I am very sorry you are going through this :(

I wish I knew the answer to this one.. I too have had daily headaches. I've had migraines since my teens, but then I get these daily things too. I've never thought to connect it to healing.. I just always thought it was due to the stress. I'll have to ask the Doc about that when I see her again.

Thanks for everyone's response. I just wish I knew the answer to this. I don't think there is any medication I can take for it. I could be wrong however. Maybe tapping into the trauma again will help. I can't do it since my breakdown even though I have tried. Anyone try Extasy (MDMA) to help with that? I was reading several studies that involve this and they sound promising. Although maybe not knowing is better than knowing.

Goodguy, could these headaches be body memories? Where you hit in the head repeatedly? I don't know what your abuse was, but when my memories started to surface, I experienced the physical pain of the abuse like it was happening again. The only way I made them go away is to tackle the memory head on and very intensive therapy. Keep hacking away at that emotional memory a little bit at a time.

Headaches, migraines, etc... all common and caused by stress more often than not. PTSD = stress on the body.

Hi Goodguy,

I have just responded to a similar post about headaches further up. I'm so sorry that you suffer with this. I also suffer with migraine and headaches at times of stress, that have been diagnosed as stress-related. I do believe that physical pain can be triggered by emotional pain and memories. It could well be because of the intensity of the emotion. I have also had a similar experience to you, in remembering a partial memory of abuse. When the memory gets too close to me and starts swallowing me I am overcome with nausea, and that progresses into a migraine. So you are not alone. It doesn't happen every time, and I get migraines when I am generally stressed also. But I am sure that with me it is emotional stress.

Have you ever held in tears, and found that brings on a headache and pressure in the head? It is another example of physical pain through tension at blocking emotionally, and psychologically.

I mentioned in the other post deep relaxation and imagery techniques to try to reduce the intensity of the pain at the time, physically anyway. Have you tried these?

Good luck

Lisa.

Its 3 months later, the headaches still persist although they are weakening. They are a daily occurance. Sometimes I will get a break and think that they are over with, but a few hours later or the next day more of the headache will come.

Its been 2 1/2 years having them every day all day for the most part. I want to keep writing updates about them so if someone else has similar headaches they can see that there is hope. I've looked everywhere and no one I can find has these symptoms and at times I lost hope. I really do think an end is near to them. Maybe in six months they will stop.

The best way for me to think about these things is that there is this "trapped energy" in my head. My nervous system is letting it out very slowly, but I can feel myself becomming more connected to my body and emotions about every 2 weeks. I feel subtle changes in my thought patterns, body movements ect... I used to be uptight and uncoordinated and now I am much more relaxed and even starting to feel athletic. I feel like once these headaches are gone life will be really good for me.

Anyways signing off for now. Maybe will update in another 2 months or so- maybe next time they will be gone (wishfull thinking:).

You need to learn how to lower your stress in order to rid the headaches... trust me, I know all to well as you are experiencing now, and when stressed even today, I get a headache that no pain killer can cure, only reducing the stress and the headache goes away. Simple as that... don't try and treat the symptom, treat the cause.

I agree. I have a few illnesses diagnosed by specialists as stress related - all were pretty much totally resistent to medication. I had headaches, daily, for years and years in my childhood an adolescence. I still suffer, but it is better than it used to be. Instead, I seem to have swapped one health problem for another, with severe IBS through late teens up until I was 20. Again, diagnosed as stress related, and treatment only helped a little. This is now under better control, though I still suffer... literally as that became less severe, my sleep problems (which have been around for years too) have become severe. Again, a stress related problem. Currently, I'm trying to work on my PTSD to rid myself of physical stress as well as mental. I think until I do that... I will move from one to another severe health problem, or end up with multiple.

It's awful. But your body is telling you something. It may be that the trauma is coming out in the headaches, I agree.... but I'm not sure I agree that the headaches are filtering out the problem in their own way, as some sort of pressure release...I think it is more that it is pressure overload. Finding solace and peace from your trauma whatever way you need to will probably solve the problem. Easier said than done... my god I know...! But a fact.