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Key Takeaways:

• Common tic triggers include fatigue, caffeine, screens, social situations  
• Identifying subtler triggers helps anticipate and manage them proactively   
• Rather than fighting discomfort, meeting triggers with curiosity defuses intensity 

As someone who has struggled with constant motor tics for over 20 years, people often ask me about “triggers” - the situations that seem to exacerbate my tics. For a long time, I was bewildered by this concept. My tics were so frequent and uncontrollable, I couldn’t imagine identifying specific triggers amidst the chaos.

But as I’ve cultivated more mindful awareness of my body’s patterns, some clear triggers have begun to emerge. While everyone’s triggers are unique, here are a few I’ve noticed in my own journey:

- Social situations - Being around certain friends or in crowded settings often increases my urge to tic. There is a social anxiety component at play.

Key Takeaways:

• Reframing Tics as Inner Cries for Attention
• A Balancing Act of Empathy and Boundaries
• Tics as a Gateway to Self-Discovery

As someone who lived with chronic motor tics down my right arm for over 20 years, I'm often asked - why did you develop Tourette's? In the beginning, I felt confused and victimized by my condition. I'd lash out thinking, why me? Why do I have to endure this body hijacking my will?

Over time, I've made peace by reframing my Tourette's as a call from my unconscious self for attention and care. Like a crying baby flailing its arms uncontrollably, my tics signified inner parts desperately seeking nurture and acknowledgement.

I now see this sensitivity as a gift, though it took work to embrace it. I had to stop exerting rigid control while also refusing victim status. Meeting my tics with empathy while establishing healthy boundaries around them shifted everything.

I discovered each tic eruption contains a valuable message. By meeting them with...

Key Takeaways:

• Attempts to forcibly suppress tics backfire by creating inner civil war
• Establishing kind awareness of discomfort reduces its control 
• Outer storms ease as I cultivate stillness, integration within 

As someone who has struggled with constant, disruptive motor tics for over 20 years, I know how tempting it is to detach from these unwanted urges and view them as something alien, happening against my will. The flailing doesn't feel like me - I must be "possessed" by this affliction called Tourette's. 

But a comment on my YouTube channel recently gave me pause. A fellow ticcer gently challenged my insistence that these tics are not me. He reflected how when we lack bodily awareness, it's understandable to feel that disconnect. But with patience and compassion towards ourselves, we can come to recognize the tics as simply another expression of our being.

This perspective resonated with me deeply. Early on, the notion of claiming ownership of something so...

Key Takeaways:

• External distractions fragment your focus and worsen tics
• True focus lies in turning inward, not just concentrating outwardly
• Inner focus leads to self-awareness and empowers you to manage tics

As someone who has journeyed for over 20 years with Tourette’s syndrome, I’ve learned firsthand how cultivating inner focus transforms our health - physical, mental, and beyond. Like many young people today, I grew up in an age of endless digital stimulation - TV, computers, video games. My mind was constantly racing, thinking of the next thing to check or do. I could hyper-focus on screens for hours yet had no clue how to calm my own inner world.

Only through discovering mindfulness and meditation did I start to comprehend that our focus shapes our reality. When we narrowly laser in on external distraction, we energize the “monkey mind,” leaving no space for inner stillness. Getting sucked into the latest binge-worthy series may seem like good focus,...

Key Takeaways:

• Daily visualization of protective bubble reprograms neural pathways 
• Imagining safest sensations primes nervous system for real situations
• Even when overwhelmed, this inner sanctuary is always available 

As someone who's struggled with debilitating motor tics for over 20 years, I know firsthand how anxiety and lack of safety can exacerbate these disruptive urges. The more unsafe I've felt around others, the more my body has twitched and flailed uncontrollably. 

In my healing journey, I've learned the incredible power of visualization for reprogramming my deeply ingrained habits of fear and social awkwardness. By taking just a few minutes each morning to imagine a "safe bubble" around me, I've been able to dramatically reduce anxiety and ticcing.

Here's how this simple yet profound visualization practice works:

I find a quiet space to sit undisturbed, and close my eyes. I take a few deep breaths to calm my mind and body. Then I envision an invisible...

Key Takeaways:

• Experimented extensively with magnesium supplements to no avail
• Desperately hoped nutrients alone could resolve such complex condition 
• Real healing required deep mental, emotional, and spiritual self-work

As someone with chronic motor tics, I'm always on the lookout for natural supplements that could help quiet these disruptive urges. In my desperation, I tried everything from vitamins to herbal remedies. One supplement I see mentioned a lot online for Tourette's is magnesium. But in my experience, magnesium for tics turned out to be a dead end.

I gave magnesium glycinate a solid try, taking the maximum recommended dosage for several months. I was hopeful, since magnesium plays roles in muscle and nerve functioning. But honestly? I saw zero reduction in my tics. If anything, they got worse due to the added stress of constantly tracking symptoms. 

While magnesium supplements may work for some, it did absolutely nothing for my particular case. My mistake...

Key Takeaways:

• Mindfulness exercises create oases of calm amid ticcing episodes  
• Returning to the breath builds capacity for equanimity in discomfort
• Regular practice reduces control tics have, though they still arise

As someone who has struggled with debilitating motor tics for over 20 years, I know firsthand how an anxious, overactive mind can drive these involuntary urges. When my thoughts are racing and my nerves are frayed, the ticks ramp up like a storm raging inside me. 

In my healing journey, I've learned just how powerful meditation can be for quieting the mind and body. Even short periods of conscious breathing create moments of stillness that offer refuge. 

I'd like to share a simple mindfulness exercise that has brought me back to tranquility during difficult ticcing episodes. 

Finding a comfortable seat, I close my eyes and start taking slow, full breaths. But not just shallow chest breathing - I direct each inhalation down into my belly....

Key Takeaways:

• Judgment from others increased self-blame and perfectionism
• Pushing down nose tic just spread it; fighting made issue worse
• Self-acceptance regardless of others' opinions brought freedom

I was just entering my teens when the nose tic first appeared. Out of nowhere, my nose would violently twitch upwards hundreds of times a day. At first, it didn't bother me much. But when classmates started pointing it out, I became deeply self-conscious. Their judgment and shame quickly became my own. 

I desperately tried hiding the embarrassing tic, using every ounce of willpower to resist those urges. But the more I fought it, the more the urge would build until my nose erupted like a sneeze I couldn't hold back. What was once an unconscious impulse now felt like a personal failing because of how others reacted to it.

The nose tic eventually spread to other parts of my body. I now realize I had been unintentionally driving it inward by resisting those urges so forcefully. My...

Key Takeaways:

• Visualization reveals tics as exiled parts of self needing acceptance
• Listening to tics with compassion rather than resisting transforms them
• Self-compassion meditation can gradually reduce tic intensity

As someone who has struggled with debilitating motor tics for decades, I've tried just about every conventional treatment out there to no avail. Medications masked the symptoms but brought brutal side effects. Therapy helped me manage my feelings about the tics, but didn't stop them. I felt utterly powerless against the urges overtaking my body hundreds of times a day.

In desperation, I recently started experimenting with guided visualization and meditation specifically focused on connecting with the tics at their source. What I discovered astonished me.

Sitting still and tuning into my breath, I began asking inward questions like: "If this tic had a shape, what would it be?" "What color is it?" "If it had a voice, what would it say?" I let the answers flow...

Key Takeaways:

• Gently lean into urge to tic; find "edge" area where tension accumulates
• Breathe deeply into neck instead of tensing against sensations 
• Befriending discomfort this way eases intensity over time

For over 20 years, I've had an uncontrollable neck tic that has caused me great distress. Out of the blue, my neck starts violently jerking over and over, like I'm uncontrollably headbanging at a rock concert. It's distracting, painful, and isolating. I've tried desperately to stop it or hide it out of embarrassment, but these neck tics have a force of their own. 

Like many with Tourette's syndrome, I used to berate myself for these tics, as if I could willpower them away through frustration alone. But of course that only heightens the tension driving these impulses. I'm now learning the power of cultivating compassionate awareness of the tics rather than judging them. 

One mindfulness exercise that has been profoundly healing is to lean gently into the urge...