An Unconventional Headache Cure Using a Question Exercise

About

On this page is a very unique way to help get rid of a headache via a set of repeating questions that you ask the person with the headache. The question are about the (1) intensity, (2) location, (3) size-shape, and (4) imagined color of the headache or migraine. It's going to sound crazy, but I've used it successfully on several friends, including once over the phone. Also, you have nothing to lose by trying!

Let's dive straight into the script:

A Script to Help Alleviate a Headache

Sit down with your friend (with the headache) and here's your script to read slowly and with intention:

Are you open-minded, and willing to try an exercise to help remove or reduce your headache?

Excellent. So this exercise involves us sitting face to face, and me asking you a set of questions which you will answer slowly. After each question, I will say thank you and move on to the next. If you want you can close your eyes and we can take a deep breath before we start.

... TAKE A DEEP BREATH ...

My first question is this:

ROUND 1

1. How bad is your headache, from 0 to 10?.... where 10 would be excruciating, and 5 would be moderate? ... thank you.
2. Where is your headache located? .... tell or show me exactly where it is. ... thank you.
3. What is the size and shape of your headache? .... describe in detail. ... thank you.
4. If your headache was a color, what color would it be? ... thank you.

So those were the four starting questions. A headache is, in fact, dynamic. From one moment to the next.... it changes intensity, it moves, it changes shape. Hours from now, or mere minutes from now, this pesky headache might be gone completely. And can you have surprising control over that. So I'm going to ask you the same four questions again and again and each time, some of the answers may change, and if the answers are the same, that's great too. Let's make sure your eyes are shut to help your focus.

ROUND 2

1. How bad is your headache now, from 0 to 10? ... thank you.
2. Where is your headache located now?. ... thank you.
3. What is the size and shape of your headache now? .... feel free to trace your forehead. ... thank you.
4. If your headache was a color, what color would it be now? ... thank you.

You are doing great. As you might have guessed, I'm going to ask the same question again... and again and again. But before I go again, I want you to understand that when people have a problem, such as a headache, what do we do? We try to ignore it.. and what happens? It usually gets worse. Right now we are deliberately turning our awarenesstowards the headache so that we can monitor and control it. Depending on the type of headache, we can either bring it down to 0, reduce it, or at the very least better understand its nature.

ROUND 3 (repeat round 2)

You might think, won't repetition make this headache worse, but by focusing on the headache it's more likely to move and get weaker. It feels counterintuitive to people to draw their attention to pain of any kind. We get hopeful and think: well if we ignore this, it will go away. When we set out conscious awareness on a pain, or on a problem, we can fix it. Before we do the set of questions again, are you drinking enough water?

ROUND 4 (repeat round 2)

Thanks for being so open. I'm going to ask the set of questions again, but this time I'll add one additional question.

ROUND 5 (repeat round 2)

• Your bonus question: Do you feel like this headache controls you?

And so it repeats. I want you to double down on your internal focus on your headache.

ROUND 6 (repeat round 2)

• New bonus question: If your headache had a name, what would it be?

Okay, this is fun, we have a name for the headache now, and I think the headache is moving around because it's scared of you. As it should be.

ROUND 7 (repeat round 2)

• New bonus question: Are you prepared to make this headache your b****?

I'm happy to hear things around going well. It's only been a few minutes... but I am excited to keep asking you these same questions, and to support you in reducing you headache... or at any time if you want to end the exercise and let the headache play it's course, that is okay too.

• NOTE: If the person says the headache has gone... celebrate that and end the exercise! If it drops a point or two intensity... that's a great outcome too. If nothing happens.... well your friend will at least appreciate that you tried, and you have something amazing you bonded over.

And that's the script! I couldn't find this headache solution anywhere on the internet, but I learned it at a self-development course and saw it demonstrated on someone that had a headache. Since then I've used this technique on about seven friends and it's always helped the headache (including once at a party!), and a couple of times removed it completely. Each time I do it, I make it more my own, and that's where this script comes from.

A Deeper Dive

It's very strange this question-and-answer solution isn't featured on the internet yet, but a headache is, by definition, in your head.... and it's usually psychological. Mind over matter. So it makes sense that drawing focus inwards can help you overcome it. That said... if you have an actual serious migraine - something that is past the 7 on the pain threshold... well I've never tried that before (most of my guinea pigs were <7 on the pain scale). I have a feeling that bad migraines take more than question and answer to overcome, but I might be surprised. Touch wood I don't get migraines, and headaches for me are rare... but next time a friend has a migraine or ice-pick pain I'm oddly excited to try it out.

The different types of headaches are illustrated here:

Types of headache.

Headaches can be caused by a great many things - loud noises, strong smells, air pollution, psychological stress, physical strain, and lack of food or water. Headaches and migraines are awful, and when you get a bad one you'd do almost anything to get rid of it. If you are lucky then drinking lots of water can help. Obviously, taking an aspirin may also help, but the effect might be temporary and less dependency on drugs is always a good thing. I would say try this script in combination with water and in a quiet room and it could work wonders.

I hope this works for you and your friend. If it does work or you have suggestions message me!

Sincerely,

    Andrew Noske

Links

• Headache Wikipedia

Acknowledgements: My friend Lydia for being my motivation to write this up.. and for all the friend who let me try this technique on them as my guinea pigs to refine the process.