For weeks, I experienced strange headaches.

Of course, when this happens, most people fear the worst possible scenario. Brain tumor?

I thought it may be a sinus problem so I took sinus pills. They worked. But the headaches would return as soon as the pills wore off.

“What is going on?” I wondered.

Then, while working at the computer, I noticed something.

I was all tensed up. My face was contorted. I was frowning. I was stressed.

Racing through my mind were statements such as: “This person needs that from me, this other person needs this other thing. I gotta get this done before it’s too late.”

I am almost always stressed. In fact, so much so that it is just normal for me now.

I recalled my doctor telling me a year ago that stress will create not only headaches but a myriad of pains, ailments and mysterious happenings. At the time, I did not heed his advice.

Mindful of my heightened state of alert, I deliberately relaxed myself. I took the frown off (it wasn’t easy), decided to breathe more deeply and evenly,  and entered a state of neutrality. I told my head, neck and shoulders to completely let go.

In effect, I meditated for about a minute, and tried to think of nothing.

Oh. My. Goodness.

The headaches vanished.

And they did so almost instantly!

This is too good to be true, I thought. So I went back to being the maniac I always am at the keyboard. Yes, the headaches came back.

I relaxed again and they went away.

In our modern world, we have changed our body to be on alert at all times. Many of us are in a never-ending state of high anxiety, leading to sleepless nights, bad moods and unexplained pain.

We have no idea what is wrong since the state of stress has made itself “normal”.

Let us be mindful this week of how we’re feeling and what is happening to our minds and bodies – and adjust accordingly.