NO MORE HEADACHES: Practical, Effective Methods for Relief

by Alan C. Turin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 25, 1981

A psychologist sorts out headache treatments (both traditional and alternative), with special emphasis on psychotherapy and his own relaxation training program. Turin's approach is sensible: headaches often have more than one cause, and thus require a combination of remedies; it often takes a long time to find the remedies, and for them to work; and while one primary physician is needed, responsibility and initiative for treatment lie with the sufferer. This effort starts with self-education, so Turin explains the known causes of headaches--hypoglycemia and food allergies are possibilities, while strictly medical conditions (e.g., brain tumors) are probably the rarest. He spends most of his time, however, on treatments--from the medically traditional to self-help programs and highly specific therapies (such as correction of jaw misalignments). Turin is fair in presenting each of these varied treatments, always recommending a check with the primary physician to make sure there's no medical risk from non-medical treatment. Without any ballyhoo, he devotes a section to his Comprehensive Relaxation Training (exercises for lessening muscle tension, meditation techniques) and another to psychotherapy. While behavioral therapy or long-term analysis can be helpful, Turin notes, sufferers should always first consider simpler, less costly and time-consuming approaches. A comprehensive, trustworthy examination of possible headache therapies, then, and complementary to the two other good headache books of recent years--Saper and Magee's Freedom from Headaches (1979), which focuses on causes, and Ehrmantraut's Headaches: How Never to Have Another One (1980), in which a particular program is spelled out in detail.

Pub Date: Nov. 25, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1981

Categories: NONFICTION