Bad Time at the moment

[Becki]

Hi All,

I'm currently going through quite a bad phase at the moment, which has upset me as I thought I was slowly getting better.

I've been under quite a lot of stress at work recently and have started getting headaches, these headaches have been more or less constant now for about 4 weeks. At first I tried really hard not to think about them and tried to put them down to tension headaches. The stressful period at work has now passed but I still have these headaches!!! They feel like a pressure feeling all over my head but mostly on the top of my head. It kind of feels like I'm wearing a very tight swimming hat I also have a fullness feeling in my ears. The only time it seems to go away is when I exercise.

The longer they go on the more I worry about them being something more serious. I've now managed to convince myself that they are the result of a brain tumour. and have googled which has just added to the worry.

This brain tumour fear is a recurrent fear that I have, the last time this happened the fear consumed my whole life for about 7 months until my doctor finally convinced me it was just anxiety / tension. I'm now really worried that off down that path again and desperately want to stop it.

Just wanted to know if anyone else gets this and if you have any tips.

Thanks

Bx

[Jimbo]

Hi Becki,

Welcome to the site, there's lots of great people here who can offer you reassurance, support and advice.

Firstly, relax, your symptoms sound nothing like a brain tumour. Googling always finds the worst possible answer.

Your description of the 'swimming hat' type headache sounds exactly like a stress headache. They are usually described like a feeling of a tight band around your head. I get a lot of stress headaches and they are nothing to worry about. The fullness in your ears could also be stress / anxiety related or might be an ear infection, which can also cause headaches. If you are worried, go see your GP and get it checked out, they can have a look in your ears and check there are no problems.

Although your stressful time at work has passed and you might not feel stressed at the moment, stress can affect us more than we realise and it takes time for our mind and body to recover. Try to think about what other stress factors there are in your life and whether you can reduce them and how you could improve your lifestyle, these symptoms will pass with time.

Relaxation techniques like meditation and taking a time out is the best thing. Warm baths, lavender oil, and looking after yourself are all helpful. Make sure you are drinking lots of water and eating properly too, this can also cause headaches if you are dehydrated or not eating a good diet.

Check out the information on this site, there's lots of useful information here that will help. I'm sure there's a lot of other people with exactly the same syptoms if you search the forums.

Jim