Oct 31, 2024
A Tic is an involuntary movement or vocalization that occurs suddenly and without pattern or purpose. (This distinguishes it from a compulsion, a common behavioral pattern found in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.) Tics are often associated with Tourette Syndrome (TS), but they can be found in other mental and physical health issues as well.
One mental health concern tics are commonly found in is anxiety disorders. An Anxiety Tic occurs in stressful situations, when anxiety is high, or during an anxiety attack. Anxiety tics are, like all tics, involuntary and sudden.
Anxiety tics can range from mildly annoying to intrusive and debilitating. The best way to treat them is to treat the underlying anxiety. This blog article will tell you how to identify anxiety tics and the best treatment options for them.
What are Anxiety Tics?
Anxiety tics occur in response to extreme stress, pressure, or anxiety. They usually only last a few seconds but can stretch into a couple of minutes. There are two main types of tics: vocal tics and physical tics. Both can arise as a physical response to internal anxiety.
Can you have tics without having Tourette Syndrome?
Yes! Tourette Syndrome can only be diagnosed with the presence of chronic vocal or physical tics. Although factors like stress and sleep deprivation can exacerbate Tourrets’ tics, the tics will be present in all environments.
There are other tic disorders in addition to anxiety tics. These tic disorders are often shorter lasting (less than a year) or in response to specific stimuli only. Tic disorders include:
- Transient Tic Disorder
- Chronic Motor Disorder
- Facial Tic Disorder
- Tourette Syndrome
Anxiety tics are not an official diagnosis, as they are likely symptoms of an underlying anxiety disorder such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, OCD, PTSD, specific phobias, social anxiety, or other types.
Can you develop Tourette Syndrome from anxiety?
No, Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder that begins in childhood and is caused by genetics, environmental factors, and brain structure. Anxiety is not a recognized cause for Tourettes. If you have been experiencing anxiety tics, it is more likely that your body is reacting to an influx of stress hormones and is coping with it however it can.
Anxiety Tics Symptoms
You’ll know you’re having an anxiety tic if you experience a sudden, involuntary vocal or physical behavior in response to an increase in stress or anxiety. Let’s look at some examples of anxiety tics.
Physical Tics
Examples of physical anxiety tics include:
- Blinking: Rapidly blinking your eyes.
- Tightening facial muscles: Rapidly clenching and unclenching muscles in the forehead, nose, or mouth area.
- Jaw clenching: Tightening your jaw or grinding your teeth together
- Head jerking: nodding or shaking your head from side to side
- Finger tapping/snapping: Tapping fingers against surfaces or snapping them repeatedly.
- Shoulder shrugging: Repeatedly lifting the shoulders up and down or rolling them back.
Vocal tics
Examples of vocal anxiety tics include:
- Clearing your throat: Persistent and not related to illness.
- Grunting: Small, involuntary noises.
- Sighing: Expelling breath through audible, persistent sighs.
- Sniffing: Sharp intake of breath through the nose, even if you’re not out of breath.
- Echolalia: Repeating words or phrases spoken by others.
Many anxiety tics have self-soothing properties. Sighing, for example, is your body’s attempt to self-regulate. Tapping fingers could be a method of self-soothing. Whatever the secondary purpose of these tics is, they are always involuntary and arise out of heightened stress and anxiety.
How to get rid of anxiety tics
Although most anxiety tics will pass when the anxiety does, they can be disruptive and uncomfortable, especially if you are in a social situation. For example, if you have a fear of public speaking and have to present a project to your coworkers, being able to control or prevent anxiety tics can be beneficial.
Also, anxiety tics serve as a warning: you’re stressed out and your body is trying to regulate. Instead of just ignoring these tics, address the anxiety that is lying underneath to prevent it from becoming a bigger problem like burnout or exhaustion.
How do you stop anxiety tics? Here are a few tips to address the stress and anxiety and stop having anxiety tics:
- Breathing Exercises: Breathing exercises like the 3-3-3 rule or box breathing work to calm your nervous system. Your nervous system is in charge of alerting your body to danger and is highly elevated in times of stress and anxiety. Breathing exercises help your nervous system realize it is not in danger.
- Color scanning: A common mindfulness technique to ground yourself and stop feeling overly stressed. Scan your space from left to right. Notice all instances of the color red. Do it again for the color orange, then yellow, green, blue, and purple.
- Move your body: Some anxiety tics are ways to get anxious energy out of your body. Help the process along by going for a walk, shaking your legs and arms, or doing some quick squats or other exercises.
- Talk it out: If you are anxious about a situation, talking with someone can help. Grab a friend or trust coworker and ask if it’s okay to rant to them about something that’s stressing you out. Try to find a solution or rationalize the situation if you can. (Worried you’re trauma dumping? Here’s the difference between trauma dumping and venting.)
- Remove yourself from the stressful situation: If you’re able, give yourself physical distance from whatever it is that is stressing you out. This may not always be possible, and if it’s not, try one of the other coping mechanisms listed here.
- Distraction: Although distracting yourself from anxiety doesn’t always work, and can result in stored anxiety and stress in your body, it can help you get through a stressful experience. Play a game, listen to music, or make something with your hands.
If you still experience anxiety and high volumes, therapy can help. You might be struggling with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are hard to treat on your own, but therapy is highly effective at treating them.
If anxiety tics are taking up too much space in your life, reach out to Lifebulb Counseling and Therapy to schedule your first appointment with an anxiety therapist near you.
