The importance of incorporating faith and spirituality issues in the care of patients with chronic daily headache.

Patients with chronic daily headache are difficult and often frustrating to treat. They are in many ways similar to chronic pain patients and patients with other chronic serious illnesses that have come to alter many aspects of their life, affecting their physical and emotional well-being, their ability to work, and their family and social relationships. The best treatment strategies for patients with chronic disease combine pharmacologic and behavioral strategies with the behavioral strategies incorporating body, mind, spirit, and social interactions. Numerous studies have demonstrated a positive association between being religious or spiritual and improved health, both in response to acute events and in chronic disease. Because religion is so positively associated with improved outcomes, it is important for physicians to recognize this aspect of a patient's life and try to encourage positive use of the patient's belief system as an adjunct in treatment.