 This article is in response to a number of questions I am asked concerning Headaches. So often DID clients and friends have asked why their pain medication does not seem to touch the headaches that come with different levels of intensity, from mild to excruciating, head-exploding ferocity. Working with Mutliples I have noticed that Headaches occur from the following causes. Heachaches are not limited to these, but the most common to crop up are as follows: ** Memories and flashbacks the host is experiencing. ** Memories and flashbacks the insiders are experiencing. I have found that when a memory or flashback is remembered, talked about and accepted along with the feelings connected to it,the headache fades. I have observed another phenomenon that occurs with this, namely that body memories presenting in rashes, hives, weals or other physical evidence tend to completely disappear as the memory is worked through. Thus, for example, trying to treat a rash as an allergy and taking Benadryl,is useless since the origin is not physiological but psychological ** Conflicts going on between insiders or between the host and their insiders. Headaches tend to be more severe where the system has not reached a level of co-operation and cohesiveness where there can be discussion between conflicting insiders, and troubles can be problem-solved. There are MANY reasons for system conflicts that might be Teens rebelling to community rules; Littles acting out; crying and terrified; hostile, cult loyal insiders intimidating other alters; many causes too numerous to list.. One way to lessen such headaches is for insiders to set up a Safety Committee comprised of the most stable personalities. A good idea is to meet together every day to talk over what is needed and discusss problems and problem solving. It is best where there is co-consciousness, for the host to be in the loop in these meetings so his or her input is given and they can know what is going on. It is not necessarily the oldest who are the most wise, nor is it necessarily the youngest who will behave the most immaturely. Where there is a large community wth many groups it is good if someone from each group is on the Safety Committee as a representative of that group. One who can be relied on to not be disruptive. All present need to listen respectfully and give feedback as needed. ** Someone inside wants to come out very badly but cannot, for whatever reason, This might be due to it being an inappropriate place and time, or would be harmful to the body, (wanting to self-injure, but they are stopped), Littles want to come out to play, someone wants to say something but is prevented. There are MANY reasons, but the energy required to prevent someone having executive control of the body will result in a headache. It is often NOT an aprropriate time for someone to come out and interact with the outside. This sometimes applies to Littles who want to come out to play when the host is at work and has job responsibilites, or fun loving teens want to flirt, or an angy insider has been provoked by a situation. This is an issue to be raised in the daily meetings where suggestions on how to deal with what might arise can be offered and a concensus reached. Perhaps times can be arranged for Littles to have play time after work hours when they are back at home, or on the way home if there is a park to visit with a pond that has ducks to feed. Teens,if they agree not to embarass the host by flirting, (or worse, go off with a stranger), might agree to be given the choice of a movie to watch that would not be triggering to anyone. If someone wants to self-harm then they need to be able to talk about it, both inside and if there is a good support system, with a friend, or their therapist, to find out what is going on that has created the urge to do this. When folk are triggered into coming out - for example, there is real or perceived danger to the body and inside protectors will immediately come up front to protect. This could be seen as aggressive and inappropriate behavior by those who do not understand or know about the history of abuse where staying safe and staying alive is the moment by moment way of living. ** Continuous or rapid switching will create a splitting headache and pounding head. A helpful way to lessen this kind of headache was shared with me that would be a good habit to get into. When someone wishes to switch with someone else, that instead of just popping out without any notice, whoever is out STAYS there till the one coming out has arrived, then wait a moment or two and THEN the one who is out can then step back and the new person step out. The reason there is a headache is because each insider and the host has a DIFFERENT physiology, so if there is no transition time between switching, the brain is suddenly catapulted into a different place and space and it would be like someone unplugging some wires and without waiting, plug into a completley different frequency and voltage. This would create jumbled currents - and translated into this picture, create one massive headache. So I think of it being like a mike where one speaker is up front speaking through it to the outside audience, and whoever is next steps up and stands BESIDE them for a moment to make the transition. Then the first person steps back and the new one steps forward. I have found giving this illustration has helped folk lessen switching headaches quite successfully. Because Littles especially, are impulsive and want things RAT NOW and will pop out suddenly, it might be helpful to count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 while side by side and BEFORE changing places. This helps to not create headaches. ** System chaos due to disorganization inside with no cohesivness amongst the parts. This is especially prevalent in those newly diagnosed with DID who are unaware of even HAVING internal personalities, or where a trigger sets off terror and panic that has a devastating effect on one or more in the system. As addressed above, the solution to this lies in the ability to work together as a TEAM - something I strive for from the first session where co-consciousness and triggers are discussed, with ideas of how to accomplish and manage these. It is good to remember that thought is energy and energy spreads, so just as fear will spread if one or more are feeling it, so will humor and positive feelings - and if even ONE person can keep calm, this will spread throughout the system as they affect the one next to them and so on. ** New insiders are wanting to make themselves known who have been hiding for various lengths of time. Sometimes there are insiders of varying ages and different gender who choose to stay hidden for various reasons, such as staying safe, fear, or because they are totally unaware there ARE any others present in the body. I have known Littles, Teens and Adults who wait years before they show themselves. Their coming forward is also caused by different reasons. Some have told me they have been watching how I work wtih my clients and like my approach, feeling it to be safe for them to come out and share their stories. Others are triggered out by certain events or happenings e.g. the death of a perpetrator or return of one. Whatever the reason whether intentional or trigger-propelled to come out, the change in equilibrium can result in unrecognized headaches with the host wondering what is going on. They feel movement and changes but are unable to identify or connect them to what is already known. There is work to be done from without via the listening, intuitive therapist, and inside from those who are primary personsalities to ensure the new one(s)( not necessarily new in terms of presence, for some might have been there from the begining of the child's abuse, and others more recently created) become oriented to the new environment and other parts.. ** Aftermath of Night Terrors. Headaches are common with sleep deprivation due to working at night, partying at night, up with children (inside or outside) wanting or needing attention, but night terrors bring their own brand of headache as unbelievable horrors are relived in the dream state. Sadly, far too often, the Multiple has NO ONE to ground and reorient them after such night terrors due to the shame and guilt that arise from fearing they might disturb someone, or ever talking about what has happened, and more often than not, will fight tooth and nail NOT to sleep so they are not overcome and overwhelmed by such terror. If there are those who are blessed with understanding spouses or friends who are able to prevent the suvrivor from going into a full blown night terror, this can also help ease the subsequent headache. More often than not sufferers are alone,lost in the scenes, too vividly throwing them back into tortuous reliving of their private hells and can only VERY gradually and painfully, surface from these alone. The headache only being eased as this progresses. ** Emotional mood swings unrelated to BiPolar diagnosis. It is not uncommon for Mutliples to recount emotional swings that they cannot explain. " I found msyelf with tears running down my face and yet I dont' feel sad ", "I feel so angry and there's nothing to be angry at,I am so confused", " All I know is there is this fear, terror, really, that I can't explain except it feels something really bad is going to happen and I want to run away and hide". Along with the emotional roller coaster is the headache caused by those who are actually feeling what the host is experiencing. It is helpful for the host, to check inside and ask if there is one or more who is feeling angry,sad, afraid, resentful,lonely, or whatever is being felt that is confusing to him or her. Stress headaches are well known. Stuffing emotions uses huge amounts of energy to suppress them and this in turn puts great stressors on the body to keep them out of sight and and stopped from being released - hence the headache - cause by holding in the pain. This can be relieved by tracking the source of the feeling and asking the one holding it if they can share what is troubling them. If they are able to release the emotion the energy used to stuff it is released, easing tension starting with the head. The released energy can also be used in more beneficial ways. ** Remote Electronic assaults for those still used by, and harrassed by, governemnt and/or organized cult groups I do not know yet of what can help the debilitating, excruciatingly painful headaches caused from remote control devices that are deliberately targetted. This requires knowledge of advancecd technology that is beyond the scope of most Therapists . There are articles availble for the public that speak to remote mind control that can be read by using search engines on the internet. ** MISmedication and treatment given by uniformed physicians. Examples of this being Antipsychotic drugs, Major Tranquilizers given for perceived auditory hallucinations, ( hearing voices). Uninformed physicians who do not understand that in DID the voices are those of INSIDE personalities talking amongst themselves as opposed to the OUTSIDE voices of the psychotic person whose voices are giving commands to kill or behave in a certain way and are disconnected to reality. This is a MAJOR error in medicating Multiples that can result in many other physical conditons besides headaches. ( see my article DID and Medication at: http//:www.goessoftlyishere.com). It is one of the most common errors for misdiagnosis. Ordering ECTs for the purpose of ridding a person of assumed auditory hallucinations or to stop what is seen to be bizzrarre behaviors (which, in fact, is when swtiching occurs) is blatant retraumatization and a potential physical danger on the part of the uninformed professional. ** Programming ( Mind Control) Headaches will present when the cult, mind control or occult abused client in therapy starts to share long held "secrets" with the therapist. This activates programming to sabotage the therapy and punish the client for breaking the "NO TALK" rule - this will more often than not start the head spinning, and result in confusion, floaty feeling and/or splitting headache. Fighting or seeking to undo the messages creates severe headaches which are exacerbated when one progam is undone but activates another in the doing. Undoing programming is a specialized work and NOT to be experimented with. This is a subject that does not belong in detail for discussing headaches but is relevant never-the-less. Conclusion: Being able to distinguish between the causes of headaches can go far in avoding prolonged suffering because of not understanding possible causes and possibly mistreating them. First and foremost, it is always good to rule out a physiological cause and in this, should there be evidence of previous head injury, to also rule out that the cause was unrelated to an abuse situation no matter how long ago. In fact, the earlier the injury, given the absence of an accident, the greater possibility it could have been caused from abuse. One can also keep in mind and rule out that headaches are not the result of withdrawal from medication, street drugs, caffeine Etc. Correctly assessing the cause of a headache is priority in determining its treatment. Hopefully this article will offer some insight into some of the causes of the nearly constant headaches suffered by Multiples. Goessoftly Retired therapist. Permission for reprints is required. http://www.goessoftlyishere.com  
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