Blog

Key Takeaways:

• The Illusion of the Tic
• Connecting with Calm
• The Journey Inward

Hey everyone, it’s Darren here, and it feels great to reconnect with you all. Today, let’s delve into a perspective that might shift how you view your experience with motor tics—a journey towards understanding and, hopefully, finding peace.

Let’s play with the idea that the tic is an illusion. It’s a persistent one, yes, but it’s not your constant reality. Think back to moments when you weren’t ticking much or at all. Remember how it felt during those times of calm and relaxation? Those moments are real, and they remind us that the tic doesn’t define us constantly.

From my experience working with hundreds of individuals dealing with ticks, I’ve observed a common thread: ticks lessen when we are calmer. Whether it’s during downtime, vacations, or simply moments of deep relaxation, our bodies find respite. It’s crucial to tune into...

A self-care journal is more than just a diary. It’s a focused tool where you can track your symptoms, emotional state, and the effectiveness of various management strategies. It also serves as a therapeutic outlet to express feelings, which might be difficult to articulate otherwise.

Benefits of Keeping a Self-Care Journal

Keeping a self-care journal offers several benefits:

•  Enhanced Awareness: Regularly writing in your journal helps you become more attuned to the patterns and triggers of your tics. This awareness is key to managing symptoms more proactively.
•  Stress Reduction: Journaling can be a great way to relieve stress. Getting your thoughts and feelings out on paper can reduce the intensity of emotions, clearing your mind and easing your body.
•  Better Management of Tics: By tracking what works and what doesn’t, a self-care journal can guide you to more effective strategies for managing your tics. Over time, this can lead to better overall control....

 Key Takeaways:

• Motor Tics as Signals
• Self-Awareness and Healing
• Shift in Perspective

Now, you might be thinking, "How can a motor tic possibly be a compass?" Trust me, I used to think the same thing. But hear me out. Think of your motor tic as a signal—a signal that something isn't quite right in your environment, your thoughts, or your emotions. It's like an internal alarm system, guiding you to pay attention to what's happening within and around you.

I've found that tuning into my motor tic patterns has been instrumental in my healing process. By becoming more aware of when I tic more or less, I've gained valuable insights into my own inner workings. You see, motor tics are often just a symptom of deeper issues bubbling beneath the surface—issues that we may have been ignoring or suppressing for years.

In my case, I discovered that my motor tics were closely tied to my emotional state. The more I pushed down my feelings or avoided confronting difficult...

Key Takeaways:

• The Cycle of Frustration and Tics
• The Importance of Emotional Neutrality and Release
• Integration of Physical, Emotional, and Energetic Dimensions in Healing

My battle with motor tics wasn't just physical; it was deeply emotional. The involuntary movements—be it a twitch of the arm or an unexpected jerk of the neck—were as much a part of me as they were foreign. The frustration that came with these uninvited guests was palpable. Each tic felt like a betrayal by my own body, a relentless reminder of a battle I felt I was losing.

But here's the pivotal realization that changed everything: the frustration, the anger, and the annoyance I felt towards myself and my tics were fueling them. It was a cycle—my emotional turmoil fed the tics, and the tics, in turn, deepened my emotional turmoil.

I want to share something crucial with you, something I wish I had understood earlier: feeling frustrated with your tics, while a natural response, is...

Key Takeaways:

• Bringing kind awareness to epicenter of tics releases accumulated tension
• Anchoring in body sensations of stability ripples calm upwards   
• Discovering stillness living within the chaos brings unexpected relief

As someone who has struggled with constant shoulder and arm tics for over 20 years, I know all too well the sense of inner agitation that drives these involuntary urges. It often feels like there is a part deep inside that is never fully settled in my body – a part always needing to jerk, flap, and spasm without my consent.

In my healing journey, I’ve found meditation focused specifically on the areas where I tic can help immensely. By guiding my awareness into the tics’ origin points with compassion, true relaxation emerges.

Recently, I led myself through a simple 15-minute grounding exercise for my shoulder tic. Sitting quietly with eyes closed, I first directed my full attention to the source of the spasms. Exploring the...