Everyone, let me introduce you to my stress headaches, stress headaches, this is everyone.
Now my doctor calls them cluster headaches. Basically one step below a migraine (Except I still get one or two good migraines a year. Okay, good is a poor choice of wording for a migraine). I call them clusterfucks.
Now I know what you're thinking, "Tommy, what are you so stressed about?"
To tell the truth, virtually nothing.
What happens is tiny, incredibly non-important things work their way into my head and start to pile up.
Things like: I have bills that need to be paid, my bank account is looking a little bit skimpy this paycheck maybe spending 50 bucks at Barnes and Noble wasn't such a good idea, did I remember to grab my work badge off of my dresser?, I didn't leave my journal on my desk at work did I?, I need to start taking more notes for my novel, I need to revise and re-write 15 of my stories before November, I need to quit skipping lunch, I need to start getting up before lunch, my friend owes me $500 and the likelihood of him paying up anytime soon is slim-to-none.....
And so on and so forth. I don't notice it until I feel a gentle tug at the back of my eyes, it feels like my brain is trying to pull them back into my head. Fluorescent lights make me squint, it feels like everyone is yelling in my ears at once.
I'm not a huge fan of Tylenol and Advil because I don't want to build up some sort of resistance so when I'm 60 and have a headache I'm shit out of luck. I go somewhere and close my eyes. I turn out the lights. No television, maybe some light music (Right now it's Calexico). Caffeine is a must, I just had a glass of Coke and my head is starting to return to normal.
Luckily these headaches come and go, and are strangely never triggered by anything big. I could lose my job, have my car stolen, anything that would create a huge stress, and I'd be fine. No single event can trigger it, but a whole landslide of petty problems starts the ball rolling.
On that note my head is starting to calm itself down and I should try to get some shut eye. Maybe wake up a decent hour. Maybe, just maybe.
It's been swell, but the swelling has gone down.
Now my doctor calls them cluster headaches. Basically one step below a migraine (Except I still get one or two good migraines a year. Okay, good is a poor choice of wording for a migraine). I call them clusterfucks.
Now I know what you're thinking, "Tommy, what are you so stressed about?"
To tell the truth, virtually nothing.
What happens is tiny, incredibly non-important things work their way into my head and start to pile up.
Things like: I have bills that need to be paid, my bank account is looking a little bit skimpy this paycheck maybe spending 50 bucks at Barnes and Noble wasn't such a good idea, did I remember to grab my work badge off of my dresser?, I didn't leave my journal on my desk at work did I?, I need to start taking more notes for my novel, I need to revise and re-write 15 of my stories before November, I need to quit skipping lunch, I need to start getting up before lunch, my friend owes me $500 and the likelihood of him paying up anytime soon is slim-to-none.....
And so on and so forth. I don't notice it until I feel a gentle tug at the back of my eyes, it feels like my brain is trying to pull them back into my head. Fluorescent lights make me squint, it feels like everyone is yelling in my ears at once.
I'm not a huge fan of Tylenol and Advil because I don't want to build up some sort of resistance so when I'm 60 and have a headache I'm shit out of luck. I go somewhere and close my eyes. I turn out the lights. No television, maybe some light music (Right now it's Calexico). Caffeine is a must, I just had a glass of Coke and my head is starting to return to normal.
Luckily these headaches come and go, and are strangely never triggered by anything big. I could lose my job, have my car stolen, anything that would create a huge stress, and I'd be fine. No single event can trigger it, but a whole landslide of petty problems starts the ball rolling.
On that note my head is starting to calm itself down and I should try to get some shut eye. Maybe wake up a decent hour. Maybe, just maybe.
It's been swell, but the swelling has gone down.