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Many people may wonder if headaches are a direct result of stress. The answer is yes, no, and maybe.

While some headaches are blamed entirely on stress, there can be other factors at play as well; likewise, some headaches can be blamed on a predisposition to headaches when stress can be a primary trigger. In all cases, it helps to understand more about the nature of the headaches you are experiencing and their relationship to stress.

Types of Headaches That May Be Caused By Stress

The Link Between Stress and Migraines

Managing and Preventing Headaches

Some examples of headache-reducing stress management techniques are:

Additionally, because stress can make migraine sufferers more susceptible to their migraine triggers, stress relief techniques can help avoid many of these severe headaches as well.

When to See a Doctor

Aside from the use of stress management techniques, many people find that over-the-counter stress relievers are also very helpful. However, particularly with migraines, heavier medications may prove to be more useful.

Some headaches can be associated with more serious health conditions, so it’s important to see a doctor if you have severe headaches or if you just suspect that something may be significantly wrong.

How Chronic Stress Impacts Your Health

4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.When Headaches are More than a Pain. Harvard Medical School. March 2019.Tension Type Headaches. Cleveland Clinic. July 2014.Migraine. US National Library of Medicine. September 2019.Headache: When to worry, what to do. Harvard Medical School. February 2019.Additional ReadingFumal A, Schoenen J. Tension-type headache: current research and clinical management.Lancet Neurology. January, 2008.Lee, Dennis, M.D.Headache Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment on MedicineNet.com. 2007Schwartz BS, Stewart WF, Simon D, Lipton RB. Epidemiology of tension-type headache..JAMA, February, 1998.

4 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.When Headaches are More than a Pain. Harvard Medical School. March 2019.Tension Type Headaches. Cleveland Clinic. July 2014.Migraine. US National Library of Medicine. September 2019.Headache: When to worry, what to do. Harvard Medical School. February 2019.Additional ReadingFumal A, Schoenen J. Tension-type headache: current research and clinical management.Lancet Neurology. January, 2008.Lee, Dennis, M.D.Headache Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment on MedicineNet.com. 2007Schwartz BS, Stewart WF, Simon D, Lipton RB. Epidemiology of tension-type headache..JAMA, February, 1998.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

When Headaches are More than a Pain. Harvard Medical School. March 2019.Tension Type Headaches. Cleveland Clinic. July 2014.Migraine. US National Library of Medicine. September 2019.Headache: When to worry, what to do. Harvard Medical School. February 2019.

When Headaches are More than a Pain. Harvard Medical School. March 2019.

Tension Type Headaches. Cleveland Clinic. July 2014.

Migraine. US National Library of Medicine. September 2019.

Headache: When to worry, what to do. Harvard Medical School. February 2019.

Fumal A, Schoenen J. Tension-type headache: current research and clinical management.Lancet Neurology. January, 2008.Lee, Dennis, M.D.Headache Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment on MedicineNet.com. 2007Schwartz BS, Stewart WF, Simon D, Lipton RB. Epidemiology of tension-type headache..JAMA, February, 1998.

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