Why do you really have a headache?

Finding the head pain of your no more suffering in silence.

-  JO HARTLEY

It's been a busy day, you're juggling a million things and your head is banging. But the show must go on. You pop a painkiller and carry on regardless. Sound familiar? You're not alone.

Headaches are one of the most common neurological diseases globally, with an estimated 50 per cent of the adult population suffering at least one headache in the past year.

Headaches are categorised as tension, cluster or migraine, and migraines significantly affect more women than men.

It's estimated one in 10 New Zealanders suffers from migranes at some point in their lives.

Yet, headaches remain one of the most underestimated, underrecognised and under-treated disorders throughout the world. But have we contributed to this? Are we so desensitised to pain that we're dismissive of our suffering?

"When it comes to pain, many women have grown up with the attitude to just deal with it'," says Associate Professor Lauren Sanders, a neurologist and the Australian and New Zealand Headache Society co-secretary. "Our experiences of pain have been downplayed, and often this has been perpetuated by society. It's common for women with headache and migraine to also have menstrual problems, and it's disheartening how many women haven't even considered that it could be better." Professor Sanders notes it's common for women to refer to their headaches as "normal"; however, this can backfire and exacerbate the underlying condition.

"Headaches may be the result of a night out or a stressful day, but they indicate that your body's out of balance and needs attention," she says.

For people with a primary headache disorder such as migraine, physiological, mental or emotional stress will increase the chance of the body responding with a headache.