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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:

• Impatience and frustration with constant tics fuels anxiety cycles  
• Softening into self-compassion stills nervous system better than demands  
• Peace unlocked more healing than aggressive striving for tic elimination  

As someone who struggled with constant motor tics for over 20 years, I know how maddening it can feel when these disruptive urges won't go away. In my desperation for a quick fix, I often grew incredibly frustrated that my tics weren't instantly vanishing. But in my healing journey, I've learned that cultivating patience and slowing down has been utterly transformative.

When tics arise hundreds of times a day, it's natural to want immediate relief. But the more impatient I felt, the more my body reacted with anxiety and spasms. I was locked in a vicious cycle, demanding my nervous system relax while sending it frantic signals of stress. 

Over time, I came to accept that retraining lifelong habits requires gentleness and...

 Key Takeaways:

• Connection and Compassion Break Isolation
• Inner Work, not Quick Fixes, Leads to Lasting Change
• Embrace the Leaks, Find Wholeness in Vulnerability

I recently had the honor of connecting with a kindred spirit named Yash who has travelled a similar path of healing his Tourette’s syndrome. As someone guiding others in transforming tic disorders holistically, it filled me with hope to meet a soulmate who understands firsthand that freedom is possible without medication or invasive procedures.

We opened our hearts to candidly share vulnerabilities around living with such misunderstood conditions from early ages. I described my own struggles with suppressing urges, leading to tics spreading painfully throughout my body over years. The simplicity of just being seen and heard by another who has faced this battle awakened profound compassion in me.

Yash recounted wasted years spiraling in repetitive thought loops of judgment and shame. My heart broke open...

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:

• 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...

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....