Blog

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 protective...

Key Takeaways:

• Healing tic disorders requires open exploration, not suppression
• Our tics are "wise soul messengers" guiding us back to wholeness
• Change comes through self-compassion and new actions

As someone who has intimately experienced and now guides others in healing tic disorders, I wanted to share some personal reflections. I recently had an illuminating conversation with a mother and daughter who spoke with profound grace about the daughter’s condition. Their loving openness and willingness to explore the inner roots behind outward ticks showed me how much hope exists on this path.

I highlighted how shame dangerously festers around tic disorders - preventing the space needed for healing. Yet suppression serves no one. For truly, our outer spasms manifest from unconscious inner control patterns rooted in avoiding difficult emotions. We don’t wake up and think “I will stop my feelings by flinching.” But subtle childhood conditioning leads our bodies to hold back what our...

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 was be...

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. Focusing on the rise a...

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 in...

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 to tic, rat...

Tics were the first noticable sign that I was living with Anxiety. 

And still to this day, I realise I used the physical effects of the Tic as a way to see that I was uncomfortable in the world I was living. 

Anxiety and tics are related in that anxiety can sometimes cause tics, and tics can sometimes cause anxiety.

Tics are sudden, repetitive movements or vocalizations that are typically involuntary and difficult to control. They can be simple, such as eye blinking or throat clearing, or more complex, such as facial grimacing or hand gesturing. Tics are often associated with conditions such as Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder.

Anxiety is a common cause of tics. People with anxiety may develop tics as a way of coping with or expressing their stress and nervousness. In some cases, tics may be more noticeable or frequent when a person is feeling anxious or stressed. On the other hand, tics can also cause anxiety, especially if they are severe or socially embarrassing. Peopl...