The Bioenergetics of Headaches

The Bioenergetics of Headaches

             Headaches, like all physical conditions, have a component which is not simply physical or mechanical, but emotional. All of us have, not only physical postures, but emotional postures, long-held emotional patterns of restricted feelings in our characters, which become “structured into” the body as patterns of chronic muscular tension and reduced breathing levels. This is the somato-emotional, or Bioenergetic, view of the body, and understanding it can be a key towards healing your headache problems.

             Tension headaches, suffered by millions of Americans daily, are often relieved by gently massaging the tense muscles at the base of the skull. Most patients tell me they are very tense here, even when this is not the reason for their visit. I work at the base of the skull, the frontal lobe area, and on the top of the scalp, using both Deep Myofascial Release and Manual Lymph Therapy. These areas help me to “unscrew the tight lid” on the patient’s head. But why is this “lid” so tight, anyway? And why do people say to “keep a lid on it” or “keep your head”?

             The tension at the base of the skull begins with our need to maintain control. The dictum “don’t lose your head” comes to mind. That really means “don’t let your feelings get out of control”. Most of us are quite committed to control, whether we think so or not. It is how we are raised, and our culture reinforces it. In a culture that places so much emphasis on success and achievement, it is hard to feel spontaneously, to “let down” occasionally. The level of stress, and the fear of failure, keeps us from emotional freedom and surrender. This, in turn, makes us “uptight”. 

             The movement of emotions (“e-motion = energy in motion”), energetically speaking, is up through the neck, into the head. In the front, the energy of an emotion moves up and forward into the mouth, the teeth and the eyes. In the back of the head, it moves up and over the top of the head, and forward and down to the eyes, and then to the mouth. You can imagine your own strong feelings, and how they quickly become either words of anger or hurt, with a matching look in your eyes, and perhaps even a facial expression, like a sneer, a scowl or a frown and “looks that could kill”. All this happen spontaneously when feelings are engaged.

             This flow carries the aggressive aspect of all feelings. Aggressive here is not a negative term, since it denotes assertive actions such as looking out at the world, and speaking out. When we “put a lid on it”, on this aggressive energy, pressure builds up against the lid, creating a headache. This headache may be experienced mainly around the base of the skull, over the back and top of the head, around the forehead, or over the entire head.

             In the case of headaches over the front of the forehead, the culprit is often feelings which have been repressed by being overly analytical. The unreleased emotions build up in the forehead. This is particularly true of unexpressed anger. In this case, raging in a safe setting, and “blowing your top” can be useful for venting the anger, and reducing the number, intensity and frequency of frontal headaches. 

             I mentioned treating headaches by massaging areas of muscular tension around the head, or using manual lymph therapy to reduce the swelling of muscle spasm. Another way to end the headache is to express the blocked feelings which caused the headache. The problem is, people usually do not know what is actually bothering them, as the cause is unconscious blocked emotions. Headaches can then become chronic, without ever being successfully treated- and headaches are often hard to treat to begin with. This is why techniques like deep myofascial release and Body-Centered Psych/Therapy techniques are so valuable in identifying- and releasing safely- the feelings which are blocked. Body-Centered Psych/Therapy, which uses mindfulness to bring unconscious thoughts and feelings to the surface, can be extremely helpful in creating new choices, including headache relief.

             Let’s take a look at migraine headaches, those often-crippling headaches that can last for days, send you to bed in a darkened, quiet room, and wanting to be untouched. In terms of emotional anatomy, migraine headaches stem from blocked feelings of longing. This feeling is carried especially through the arteries. Why? Because erotic love flows from the heart, through the blood, to our eyes, our mouths and our genitals. It literally makes our heart pound, and drives us to express our love physically with our loved one. 

             In migraine headache, the arteries of the head are constricted, causing intense pain in the head. The erotic feeling of longing moves, not only through the arteries, but energetically upward into the eyes, the mouth and the arms, which all reach out for contact. Blocking this energy, the headache forms and grips one, like a vise.

             Migraine often responds to therapy, especially body-centered forms of therapy. Feelings of longing may be released through crying or screaming, in a safe, controlled setting. A patient will usually have difficulty expressing the desire for closeness or contact. Gentle forms of contact may be embarrassing or even frightening. Eye contact with others may be poor, and the voice is often weak.  It is not unusual for the original longing to be with one of the patient’s parents, who may have been distant or abusive. As a result, the tender side of the patient’s sexuality may be inhibited. Feelings of tenderness may “go to one’s head” (the Romantic as repression?) rather than one’s genitals, where they can be released. For this reason, crying or screaming become useful outlets.

             A second aspect of migraine headaches is that of grounding, and a lack of it. The fear of “letting down”, into one’s natural sexuality, goes with a fear of falling. This accounts for the nausea which often accompanies migraine headaches, beginning with a tight diaphragm, which won’t “let down”. In this case, treating the lower torso with deep myofascial release and manual lymph therapy, and adding grounding exercises for home use, are useful treatment modalities.

             Treating headache successfully involves first understanding the problem, not only in its physical manifestations, but its emotional underpinnings. Without the latter, the use of medications, physical therapies or herbal supplements will be necessarily short-sighted, and less likely to be valuable in the long term. When I treat headache, I combine Deep Myofascial Release, chiropractic manipulation and manual lymph therapy with herbal supplementation, grounding exercises, visualization exercises and Body-Centered Psych/Therapy. I use myofascial release on the head, neck jaw and upper back, along with other areas, depending on what I am finding with each patient (the individualized traits of each headache patient are crucial, as no two people will respond to the same treatment the same way; treatment must be individuated and organic in its design). The areas being worked on need to be flexible and energetically “flowing”. Chiropractic adjustments and manual lymph therapy add to this flowing quality and relaxation. Body-Centered Psych/Therapy is used to access, identify and release blocked emotions, safely, to treat the cause of the headache. A home program of stretching, herbal supplementation and visualization exercise brings greater flexibility, and some patient tools to use oneself, all making headaches less likely in the future.

             The result is an increased awareness of the body, more spontaneous emotional expression, movement and feeling, increased well-being, and no more headaches!