Anxiety and chronic tension headaches

[GJPJ]

I've had anxiety and chronic tension headaches since May, not been on any medication as I'm trying to get better without if possible. My bloods have all come back ok. I have been trying the NHS CBT program as suggested by my doctor and find it pretty useless based on 5 case studies with no similarities to me. Any advice or guidance on self help CBT for chronic pain or any other help would be fab.

[ChrissieMons]

If CBT is no help, you might try talking therapies, but you will need to be very open minded about the process. If you can find the root of your anxiety, and deal with it, the headaches may lessen.

[Boeingbabe]

You need a neck mri and check for cervicogenic migraine/ occipital neuralgia/ csf leak.

[Cat00]

I found CBT utterly useless, CBT can't address core beliefs so it can only mess around with the surface of things. I was told DBT would be more effective but it is not funded by the NHS.The best thing I found was a "living with pain" course at my local buddhist centre. Mind you I didn't think it had helped at the time but realized a year or so later it had helped, just took a while to sink in.

I'm still chronically anxious but I cope with it better than I did. I do have a lot of other chronic pain conditions so I don't devote as much time to it as I should, but it still gives me somewhere to go, mentally, when I'm on a downward spiral. Mindfullness breathing when im panicking and vigorous exercise to get the tension out of my muscles.