Do they stick around or just hit for a few seconds? I sometimes have these EXCRUCIATING stabbing pains to one of my temples that lasts for a few seconds & then goes away.

Definitely sounds stress related. I'd take some melatonin to help you sleep along with maybe a nighttime ritual of hot tea (a sleep blend like something with camomille) or a hot aromotherapy bath with lit scented candles. I'd also recommend doing some sort of stress relieving activity like massage or qigong. Not to mention backing off whatever it is that is stressing you out. :)

Taaj
www.taaj.org

Well it could be a migraine or a cluster headache. Or the sign of something much more serious like an aneurysm. I'd get to a doctor and get a diagnosis and not wait.

Could just be a tension thing, but go to your doctor. This could be a symptom of something much worse. Of course, a massage couldn't hurt and may help a lot. =)

They sound kind of odd. They don't sound like migraines, because those don't go away as quickly as the ones that you've described yourself having.

It might be just tension-related, and if so the ideas for stress relief that others suggested should be fine.

However...

I'm not accustomed to tension headaches being excruciating. I think I'd go to my doctor for an opinion. If the doctor thinks they're just tension headaches, then fine, try the suggestions here. If it were me, I'd start keeping a "headache diary" logging what I ate within the 24 hours before the headache, which time of my monthly cycle they occurred, whether they seemed related to any specific physical activity, etc. If they keep happening, I'd get a second opinion.

The overwhelming majority of headaches are just tension headaches and migraines. However, there are some really severe things that can cause headaches such as brain tumors and aneurysms, which is why I think it's a good idea to consult your doctor and provide as much specific detail as you can.

i get those at the top of my head too. it's where your jaw muscle connects, so it is from clenching your teeth, and probably stress related.
alternate nostril breathing helps for calming down when you actually notice that you are stressed. (if ur like me, you don't notice though....)
take your index finger, and close your right nostril, breath in your nose, out your nose, for 3 breaths, let that nostril open and close the left, take another 3 breaths, then 3 breaths with both open.
another, less healthy way, that i used to deal with stress (and the scale showed it.....) is i would sit down, and have a cookie. for the time i was eating that cookie, no school work, or anything else. just a few minutes to relax. maybe replace it with another kind of short activity, and it could become something that you can use.

The only thing worse than a migraine is a tension/stress headache because of the suddenness and severity of the pain. I get them too. Not much over the last 8 years but I used to get killers... sometimes they'd only last 5-15 minutes.

About 32 years ago I had to have jaw reconstruction surgery to correct a major TMJ problem caused by over-stress, severe anxiety, grinding my teeth at night and constantly clenching my jaw throughout the day.

Go to a doctor and get a nighttime bite plate to avoid damaging both your teeth and your jaw.