These pills, however, are not without cost. If you experience headaches, your body is already telling you it is burdened in some way. To add synthetic substances to an already burdened body only adds to the problem, but needing quick relief, we often do it anyway.

From a holistic perspective, any type of pain is a message directly from our wisest self. Head pain tells a story of a life out of balance. It says a great deal about our society as a whole when almost everyone owns pain pills. Knowing various solutions to our ailments empowers us to step away from the madness and back toward the balance point.

The first thing to consider when you have headaches is whether you are constipated. Taboo subject, I realize, but relevant because your bowels must keep moving. Next, is your blood sugar balanced, are you hydrated properly, and is your liver functioning well? Take care of these and you’ll see your head pain decrease dramatically. Keep in mind, you have control over all of these. They are directly related to your own actions: what you eat and drink.

Other contributing factors include eye strain, chemical exposure, allergies, hormone fluctuations, structural misalignment, worry, muscle tension, and general stress. Your headaches are most likely a combination of several interrelated things. So what more can you do if you want to help your body come back into balance and live a more holistic lifestyle?

Begin by listening to your headaches as your wise messenger. What are they telling you? Are you eating too much sugar, drinking too much alcohol, having allergies to certain foods, or simply not nourishing yourself? Are you allowing yourself enough time in the day to sit back, rest your eyes, and relax? Is your liver overburdened so it cannot process toxins through you? Is your mind carried away with worries and frightening thoughts? Has your upper body become tight and tense due to the workaday world?

I am fairly certain you might say, “All of the above.” This is why we have painkillers within an arm’s reach. But there are many things you can do so your headaches become a condition of the past. Some of them work slowly which is a drawback for the fast-paced among us. For example, burdock is not a quick fix, but it will powerfully heal you from the inside out over time.

There are numerous effective remedies. I offer ten here to get your started. The tinctures, teas, and essential oils can be found at natural food markets or purchased online. For essential oils, be strict about only using the highest quality, pure oils.

Ten simple, inexpensive remedies to ease headache pain.

If any of the herbs appeal to you, inquire with your naturopath, herbalist, acupuncturist, or holistic doctor as to which would be best for you, especially if you have a medical condition or take medication.

The trick to treating headaches is to know what kind of headache you have. There are many kinds of headache such as from sun exposure, stress, poor posture, neck strain et etc.

For simplicity we can reduce the headache categories to three kinds. Hot headaches, cold headaches and hot/cold headaches.

• A hot headache is one that responds to heat.

If your neck muscles are strained and in spasm then we know that heat is the solution. A hot pack applied to your neck will reduce the spasm and therefore remove the trigger of your headache.

Another hot headache example: You fall asleep on the couch and wake with a jinked neck which becomes a headache. Again apply the heat pack, but first you will want to do some gentle stretching and perhaps lie down for a while with your neck in a comfortable position.

• A classic cold headache is:

you spend a few hours in the hot sun playing sport, working or gardening. This type will respond to a cold application. The best thing is to have 2 or 3 cold packs in your freezer. You need at least 2 as these cold packs become ineffective once they thaw out. You may need to apply the cold pack to both your foreword and your neck.

Another cold headache type is from glare> the surf, working on outdoor concrete surfaces, sailing, driving etc. A cold pack on your forehead will get the best result.

• The third type is a hot/cold headache.

Basically you have two things happening at once. Your neck might be spasming which requires a hot pack but you are experiencing cold symptoms which will also require a cold pack on your foreword.

As you can see this is not rocket science, but you do need to get it right. If you do it back to front you will aggravate your headache.

So you can elect to take the painkillers but apply the hot or cold packs as well, or just use the hot or cold packs.

Some self massage and relaxing your head and being in a quiet and darkened space will enhance your speed of recovery.

The main thing to remember is to get started with the packs as soon as possible after the onset of the headache. Many headache sufferers know their own patterns well. So you may elect to use the packs as a preventative even if you don’t feel the headache coming on yet.