How I Fixed my Headaches

Not medical advice

Some things are pleasurable and make you a more effective person. Reducing pain is one of those things. One such pain was mild headaches I used to get throughout the day. These were so common that I didn’t realise them until I started finding ways to alleviate them.

Here are some things I’ve tried.

In the mornings, I would have a dull ache in my temples. But a few years ago I went to a dentist, who pointed out that I was grinding my teeth. I had trouble chewing, so it checked out. To fix this I got a thick acrylic mouthguard fitted, which cost around three hundred pounds. And just like that, this weird type of dull ache that I would get in the mornings reduced significantly.

But headaches in the mornings would still come periodically. I realised that this was me feeling shitty from lack of sleep. The biggest fix was an eye mask that Amelia bought me at Boots. I also bought 3M foam earplugs. I shifted my sleep schedule to go to sleep before 10pm so that I could wake up without an alarm. I stopped drinking coffee after 2pm as well.

Soon enough, my ‘sleepiness headaches’ were less frequent.

The third reason for headaches seemed to be dehydration. My fix is to now carry a big water bottle around to inhale as much water as I can. The psychological ‘game’ I try to play is making my pee clear every time.

The fourth reason for my headaches is motion sickness on the bus. So I try to cycle or walk everywhere I can.

I also realised that my headaches would reduce if I spent less time on screens. So during the evenings, I try to avoid screens. The main way is through an internet block on all types of social media or unintentional sources of information. I do this through modifying my etc/hosts on mac. This forces me to read books, and write with a pen during the evenings. I also put my phone in a drawer so I’m not looking at it. For emergencies, I’m thinking of getting a second Nokia phone that people can call me on.

The reduction in headaches has conditioned me in a Pavlovian way to continue these behaviours. I don’t need to remind myself to read at night or drink water. Rather, I do those things to manage unwanted pain. It could all be placebo too, but I don’t mind since all of these behaviours are pure upside.