If you experience headaches, don’t forget to look at the psychological aspects of your pain. Some headaches stem from psychogenic issues such as depression, anxiety or stress.
If you are experiencing a vascular headache, it will more likely be eliminated with the use of over the counter analgesics. A headache caused by psychogenic issues can be more difficult to find relief from the pain. This can cause excessive intake of painkillers; whose effect is little more than “mind-numbing” if this is the case.
If the type of headache you have has emotional causes attached, rather than trying to get rid of it with over-the-counter products – that probably won’t help much – you will probably find better relief from using herbs.
Whether your headache is caused from emotional stress or physical stress, it is always better to opt for natural remedies first, as taking medications only masks the pain, rather than treating the underlying cause.
The following herbs will prove to be helpful for people who are prone to headache pain, including migraine headaches.
White Willow Bark
The ability of white willow bark in providing relief for headaches started back as early as the 1800s. Its active ingredient is salicin. Today, there is a synthetic version of salicin, known as salicylic acid. This product we all know, is aspirin.
This synthetic version of salicin has been found to be irritating to the lining of the stomach, which is why many people still turn to the original willow herb for treating their headaches.
It has been proven to be extremely effective against pain and fever, which is why they found a synthetic version in the first place! So this herb provides the pain-reducing effect of aspirin, without the negative side effects.
Butterbur
This herb is commonly used for treating the symptoms of migraine. Its effectiveness in relieving migraine headaches has been documented in headache journals.
One of butterburs great benefits, besides being good for treating current headaches, is that it also works to prevent the recurrence of future migraine attacks. Studies have also shown butterbur to be effective in treating cluster headaches.
One clinical trial conducted by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine had 245 migraine sufferers as their study participants. The results showed that 68% of these participants experienced a 50% reduction in their symptoms after using butterbur.
Feverfew
Its active compounds called parthenolide have been found to provide anti-inflammatory effects, which also prevents the production of chemicals that cause spasms in the blood vessels.
A study headed showed that feverfew helps reduce pain and light sensitivity while also alleviating nausea. For these reasons, many people also use it as a preventative medicine for migraine attacks.
Passionflower
Passionflower is famous for its calming and pain-killing properties. By soothing the nervous system, it calms emotion and helps lower anxiety levels which can trigger headache pain. The ability of passionflower to relax the mind keeps symptoms of headaches at bay.
Drinking a cup of passionflower tea before bedtime will ease headache pain and bring on a more restful state, to allow better quality sleep.
