Aspiring Spirit

Facial tics are characterized by rapid, seemingly involuntary muscle contractions of muscle groups in the face and neck region. These contractions are often repetitive in nature, and appear to have no real purpose. Common tics are exaggerated eye blinking, squinting, nose wrinkling, facial grimacing or even vocalizations such as grunting or throat clearing. Tics often manifest themselves during childhood, and usually resolve as a child ages. This is not always the case, though, and many people continue to exhibit tics as they enter adulthood.

Tics often increase in rate as an individual feels stress or discomfort. People who suffer from tics report they are able to feel a tic approach. It’s often described as an overwhelming feeling of tension and the wish to engage the tic to break the tension; somewhat akin to the approaching urge to yawn or sneeze which relieves the sufferer. Controlling a tic can trigger stress, which can lead to the trigger of another tic. Tics are often described as being unconscious but research and reports from sufferers indicates they are indeed voluntary motions that can be controlled by the victim.

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

Children, in particular, can have a difficult time dealing with a tic because of mocking from other kids, or teachers who don’t fully recognize 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 for children. Children often do not establish the skills to recognize a tic onset as well as an adult.

Adults can also face grave problems 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 quite fatigued by the persistent 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 continuous suffering from a disease that often causes them to become social outcasts.

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

Over the years, many treatments for tics have been applied with varying degrees of success. Counseling or psychotherapy can help uncover the emotional causes of a tic, and may help an individual better understand how to fight the urge to perform their tic. Sedatives and other forms of medication are sometimes successful in cases of simple tics. These medications often come saddled with negative side effects, so many people want alternative treatments.

Hypnosis and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) methods have been developed particularly for the purpose of dealing with facial tics. Since facial tics are not strictly involuntary in nature, these treatments aim to change the sufferer’s unconscious response to the onset of a tic episode such as facial grimacing or throat clearing. In most cases this can be done by allowing the unconscious mind to stop the onset of the tic. In some extreme cases, however, the victim’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 uncomfortable life-affecting trouble. Children and adults alike can suffer a lot from the incidence of a facial tic such as eye blinking, squinting, mouth twitches, facial grimaces, nose wrinkling, or grunting. Eliminating a facial tic can prove very beneficial to the victim on an emotional level.

Although several treatments have been developed to fight against facial tics, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Hypnotherapy aim to utilize natural unconscious methods of redirecting the tic response. This type of treatment has great benefit over other methods such as counseling, which may not treat the tic behavior at all, or attempt to modify the conscious feeling about tic behavior.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Hypnotherapy also do not experience the unwanted side effects of drugs. This beneficial method of treatment can also cut tension and anxiety in the victim’s life, thereby both reducing the impulse to form a tic and proving an advantage in everyday life. Due to these factors, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Hypnotherapy are often the safest, most preferred methods of treatment for tic sufferers.

Alan B. Densky, CH offers facial ticks hypnotherapy CD’s as well as a wide assortment of popular titles for all stress related problems. For entertainment and instruction visit his Free video hypnotherapy library at his Neuro-VISION NLP website.

- Alan B. Densky, CH