Facial Tics - Symptoms And How To Deal With Them

Facial tics are characterized by rapid, apparently involuntary muscle contractions of muscle groups in the face and neck region.  These contractions are frequently recurring in nature, and appear to have no actual point.  Most tics are exaggerated eye blinking, squinting, nose wrinkling, facial grimacing or even vocalizations such as grunting or throat clearing.  Tics often show up during childhood, and usually resolve as a child ages.  This is not always the case, though, and many people continue to suffer from tics as they enter adulthood.

Tics often increase in occurance as an individual feels tension or discomfort.  People who suffer from tics report they are often aware of an impending tic. It's often described as an overwhelming feeling of tension and the compulsion to engage the tic to break the tension; somewhat akin to the approaching urge to yawn or sneeze which relieves the victim.  Trying to control a tic can cause tension, which can lead to the onset of another tic.  Tics are often described as being uncontrolled but research and reports from victims indicates they are indeed voluntary motions that can be controlled by the victim.

A tic can be seen as a simple tic, as in facial grimaces, mouth twitches or grunting or can be more complex such as is seen a lot in Tourette syndrome.  Simple tics are more common than complex tics, but they can be just as upsetting to the sufferer; while a facial tic does not cause physical pain to the victim, it often triggers mental distress or social problems. 

Children, in particular, can have a difficult time dealing with a tic because of mocking from other students, or teachers that don't fully understand the difficult situation the child is in.  While tics are often described as not being totally involuntary, control of a tic can be quite difficult to establish, especially in children.  Children often do not establish the skills to recognize a tic onset as well as an adult.

Adults can also face serious trouble in their lives when dealing with a facial tic.  Social problems are very common, and even when tics are generally controlled the adult can become very worn out by the frequent need to identify the onset of and control the tic impulse.  Adults and children alike may suffer from self-worth or self-esteem issues due to their continual suffering from a disease that often causes them to become social outcasts.

Relieving an individual from the anxiety of a facial tic can be a life-changing experience.  Self-confidence generally improves, and social anxiety is no longer an issue holding an individual back from experiencing a full life.  In children, relieving a tic may let the child develop with less tension while he/she has a happier childhood.

Over the years, many treatments for tics have been applied with varying degrees of achievement.  Psychotherapy or counseling can help uncover the emotional causes of a tic, and may help an individual understand better how to combat the urge to do their tic.  Sedatives and other forms of medication are sometimes successful in cases of simple tics.  These meds often come saddled with unwanted side effects, so many people want alternative treatments.

Hypnotherapy and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) methods have been created specifically for the purpose of overcoming facial tics.  Since facial tics are not firmly unconscious in nature, these treatments aim to change the sufferer's unconscious response to the onset of a tic episode such as throat clearing or facial grimacing.  In a large number of cases this can be done by allowing the unconscious mind to abort the onset of the tic.  In some extreme cases, however, the sufferer's response will be redirected to some innocuous portion of the body such as twitching a toe instead of facial muscles. 

Facial tics can be an awkward life-affecting problem. Children and adults alike can suffer greatly from the existence of a facial tic such as eye blinking, squinting, mouth twitches, facial grimaces, nose wrinkling, or grunting.  Eliminating a facial tic can prove very valuable to the victim on an emotional level. 

Although several treatments have been created to thwart facial tics, Self-hypnosis and NLP aim to utilize natural unconscious methods of redirecting the tic response.  This type of help has great benefit over other methods such as counseling, which may not help the tic behavior at all, or attempt to modify the conscious feeling about tic behavior.  

Self-hypnosis and NLP also do not suffer from the unwanted side effects of drugs.  This beneficial method of treatment can also diminish tension and concern in the sufferer's life, thereby both reducing the impulse to form a tic and proving an advantage in everyday life.  Due to these factors, Self-hypnosis and NLP are often the safest, most preferred methods of treatment for tic sufferers.