Posted by pinksharkmark (196.3.74.236) on October 11, 2000 at 02:02:17:
In Reply to: Clarification.... posted by Q on October 11, 2000 at 01:10:38:
You are saying, in so many words, that the cause of cluster headaches is psychological rather than physiological -- i.e. that it is a psychosomatic illness. That we can cure them by thinking differently, albeit at a subconscious level. This theory is indefensible in so many ways that I hardly know where to begin. Here's a few questions to chew on, just off the top of my head:
Why would a psychological condition respond to oxygen?
Why do very young children who have not yet had time to develop much of a subconscious, let alone a faulty subconscious, get cluster headaches?
Why do the hallucinogens work at such borderline levels -- levels that are not even CLOSE to being potent enough to produce a change in thought patterns?
Why are most of us episodic? Does our subconscious "change its mind" every now and then, often on an extremely regular basis?
Why do certain foods, or even aromas, work as triggers?
Why does a change in altitude almost always trigger a headache?
Why does nerve surgery work?
and...
here is the deal-breaker...
are you ready?
WHY IS PSYCHOTHERAPY COMPLETELY USELESS IN TREATING IT?
If I thought about it for a while longer, I'm sure I could come up with a dozen more, but I'm tired, and I think these will do for starters.
Sorry, Q. I am an open-minded person, and I respect your obvious intelligence, but I must say you are WAY off-base with this theory.
Why do so many people feel that these headaches are a punishment for something they are not doing right? "I must be eating wrong" -- "I must be not getting enough exercise" -- "I must be subjecting myself to too much stress" -- "I must be smoking too much" -- "I must resolve my subconscious conflicts".
Wake up and smell the coffee, folks... this a DISEASE. It responds to medication, just as asthma and diabetes do. You didn't do anything to deserve it, it just happened to you.
Sheesh!
pinky