What Are the Causes of Anxiety & Headache?

Anxiety is a heightened sense of fear that occurs in response to external factors or underlying anxiety disorders. Headache and anxiety share many potential causes, such as allergies, high blood pressure or stress.

Significance

• According to the National Institutes of Health's website, anxiety disorders affect nearly 40 million American adults each year and according to WrongDiagnosis.com, approximately 45 million Americans suffer recurrent headaches.

External Triggers

• In many instances, anxiety is triggered by an outside event perceived as dangerous or intimidating. Common anxiety triggers include public speaking, flying and contact with poisonous animals such as snakes or spiders. Chronic stress can also contribute to anxiety and nervousness.

Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety that occurs independently of external influences may be caused by an underlying anxiety disorder. Post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive and generalized anxiety disorders are among the most common manifestations of anxiety.

Primary Headache

• Types of primary headaches include migraines, cluster headaches and tension headaches. While the cause of primary headaches are not known, many possible triggers have been proposed, some of which include negative reactions to caffeine, chocolate or environmental chemicals.

Secondary Headache

• Secondary headaches are caused by physiological conditions such as high blood pressure, dehydration or sinus infection. In some instances, secondary headaches may signal a serious health condition like aneurism or brain tumor.