Penn Jillette had a headache. A raging headache. But he couldn’t figure out why.

The magician/comedian, famous for his work with “silent” partner Teller, explained to Rolling Stone magazine that he’d studied the physics before introducing the trick—and was convinced smashing a concrete block on his head with a sledgehammer would have no ill effects. So he kept doing it despite the pain. “I did a lot of shows before I realized I was just hitting myself in the head with a hammer!”

For many of us, the stresses of economic, family, relationship, and health issues have the same impact as Jillette’s hammer: They give us raging headaches. But we don’t have the option to just stop pounding ourselves in the skull. Fortunately, though, we can try a few other low-cost, drug-free remedies. Some suggestions:

• Answer the call. Pain isn’t incidental. It’s a text message from your body saying “sumthng’s wrong w/me.” Make certain you’re having tension headaches and not experiencing anything more serious. If your pain is debilitating, persists over a long period, is accompanied by other symptoms, and doesn’t respond to home-treatment efforts, schedule a checkup.

• Just breathe. The first step to relieving a tension headache is relieving some of your pent-up tension. Try belly-breathing. Get into a comfortable position, relax your limbs, inhale deeply through your nose, filling your stomach with air. Hold the breath a few seconds, then exhale slowly through your mouth, deflating your belly. As you breathe out, imagine the tension exiting your body.

• Go hot or cold. When the first signs of dull throbbing begin, grab an icy bag of vegetables from the freezer and plop them on your forehead, atop your head, or on the back of your neck. A well-timed brain-freeze can short-circuit your headache before the pain becomes unbearable. Another option is to go in the opposite direction. Take a hot shower, concentrating the water on your neck. Or put a heating pad or hot-water bottle on your head or neck. Applying heat can increase blood flow, relieving tension and pain.

• Dim all the lights. Stress headaches can be aggravated by eye strain, so taking care of your eyes can reduce symptoms. If you’re working long hours on the computer, keep artificial tears on hand so your eyes remain lubricated. Try to take a 10-minute break every hour. Spend a few minutes looking into the distance, away from the computer screen. Remove your contacts or glasses, press the heels of your hands to your eyes for about 30 seconds, then remove them and slowly open your eyes. If possible, take longer breaks every few hours, get away from the computer, and spend some quiet time in a darkened space.

• Imaginary soup for you. Tension headaches are caused by constricted blood vessels, so you can relieve them by getting blood to flow to another part of your body—for instance, your hands. Imagine you’re carrying a steaming hot bowl of soup in both hands. The bowl is hot and it’s making your hands hot. The better you become at visualizing yourself with that hot bowl of soup, the more your hands will start to feel hot—directing blood to flow away from tense areas in your head and neck, and toward your extremities. Your headache should soon flow with it.