Headaches refer to a band or pressure point of pain that is uncomfortable but not debilitating, whereas migraines tend to manifest as a throbbing pain on one side of the head and is so severe it interrupts your daily life. More than ‘just a bad headache’, it is a disorder of central nervous system dysregulation. Sufferers also experience nausea, sensitivity to light or noises and visual disturbances, such as black spots, that combine to make the pain even worse. So why do we get them?

Headaches themselves are somewhat inevitable, regardless of gender. As Dr Mark Weatherall, a consultant neurologist and author of Living With Headaches explains, all of us will experience a mild, featureless tension-type headache at some point in our lives. “However, it’s when these pains go from minor inconveniences to something pathological and problematic that there is cause for concern,” he tells Strong Women. In the worst cases, chronic headaches and migraines can take over your entire life. “For patients with headache disorders, even at low frequency, their headaches can cause unpredictable interruptions,” Weatherall adds. Not only is there a lot of pain, but people can feel like they’ve lost control of their body: plans have to be adjusted at the last minute and alternative environments created in order for them to attempt to function normally. But why is it that women tend to suffer from these issues more?

Always getting bad headaches? A neurologist explains why so many women get migraines (and why they need treatment)