Got myself in a fit over headaches

[ChildOfTheKing]

Hello all,

For the last week or so I've had headaches on and off sometimes they'll last all day and sometimes they'll come and go. It feels like someone wrapped a belt around my head and is pulling tightly. It is usually around my head and then to the back and down my neck. The pain is also sometimes on the top of my head where I bumped it a few days ago but I am not sure that's really related to what I've been feeling, tho that had me in a panic too. My ears will also sometimes feel full and pop randomly. when I blow my nose (I have allergies that make me cough and sneeze and feel stuffy) my ears will clog up. This is very distressing and I get lightheaded which happens a lot with my anxiety but I get freaked out even more.

I made the HUGE mistake of consulting Dr. Google last night as I was laying in bed and read about aneurysms, brain bleeds/injuries and CSF leaks and basically the worst case scenarios. This had me worked up and I started getting sharp pain at the bottom of my ribs which got me even more worked up but I did finally fall asleep because I was too tired.

A couple of months ago early in the year I was getting pretty terrible headaches and had a CT scan and MRI and it was all clear. Surely nothing could've changed drastically even with some head bumps?

This is a big step back for me as I have been making good progress in my anxiety and had stopped feeling like I can't breathe the entire day, instead it was only sporadic, lowering my general anxiety levels, etc. But now I'm really worked up! And I don't want to just go running to the doctor, as it is I have a follow up this week related to blood work (was a bit anemic early in the year nothing drastic). Very frustrating! My counselor will not be happy that's for sure.

[florida94]

It's good to always read up and research what the problem is, but sometimes we take the "symptoms" we read about and we stress ourselves over things that aren't what we think they are. The key is to make sure that you strive to do what you can to eliminate the issue instead of researching why it is happening.

In terms of what you were doing, you went straight to the worst case scenario. You didn't research how to remove the headache but instead researched what could be wrong with you, which is fine tbh but you don't want to go straight to th worst possible scenario. You need to stay calm, especially when you know how genuinely nervous and anxious you get.

While this post won't necessarily cure your anxiety issues, I hope that you take it with a genuine grain of salt. You can do this.

I too get headaches and know what you mean. Drink lots of water, and by lots I genuinely mean lots and lots of water. Chug multiple cups down throughout the day. It's only going to help clear out your sinuses and give your body the boost it needs. Eat fruits like oranges to help with that as well.

Try to get active and do things. Exercising has helped me get rid of slight nausea oftentimes caused just by being nervous and anxious.

[ChildOfTheKing]

It's good to always read up and research what the problem is, but sometimes we take the "symptoms" we read about and we stress ourselves over things that aren't what we think they are. The key is to make sure that you strive to do what you can to eliminate the issue instead of researching why it is happening.

In terms of what you were doing, you went straight to the worst case scenario. You didn't research how to remove the headache but instead researched what could be wrong with you, which is fine tbh but you don't want to go straight to th worst possible scenario. You need to stay calm, especially when you know how genuinely nervous and anxious you get.

While this post won't necessarily cure your anxiety issues, I hope that you take it with a genuine grain of salt. You can do this.

I too get headaches and know what you mean. Drink lots of water, and by lots I genuinely mean lots and lots of water. Chug multiple cups down throughout the day. It's only going to help clear out your sinuses and give your body the boost it needs. Eat fruits like oranges to help with that as well.

Try to get active and do things. Exercising has helped me get rid of slight nausea oftentimes caused just by being nervous and anxious.

Thank you and you are very right. I jumped to the worst case scenarios because the headache is driving me crazy and I'm anxious. I'm definitely drinking more water, do exercise about 5 days out of the week but haven't today or yesterday.

Perhaps me being distressed is whats prolonging the headache as well.

[ChildOfTheKing]

Well this morning woke up and felt a mild dull tension on the sides of my head like the temple muscles were tired or something. Thought well that's better than last night when I went to sleep, it felt like the sides of my head were having muscles spasms or throbbing. Then I started dreading, "what if my headache comes back? What if it gets worse?" And lo and behold I started getting a headache again. Began to panic more as my right eye was tearing up for a bit and thought that was associated with my headache until I looked in the mirror and realized there was an eyelash stuck in the corner. Once I pulled it out it hasn't been irritated since but the headache is driving me crazy again! And I go into a panic thinking the worst, which makes me feel fuzzy and lightheaded and that puts me in a bigger cycle! I could cry. Going to the gym to try to forget this because I feel stupid.