What does it feel like to have a tourettes 'tic' ?!

It varies from person to person.

For some people, it's completely unexpected, can just happen all of a sudden without any warning whatsoever. It can be very startling, obviously, if your body suddenly jerks without you knowing this was about to happen. Think of this like a sudden sneeze you did not feel coming.

For others with tics, there is a distinct sensation in their body that may be described as tightness, an instinctive need to move, or a sort of localized discomfort that can't be described. People who feel this urge may realize it comes before a tic and be able to accordingly prepare for whatever tic they correlate that particular urge with. This can be helpful, say, if you have a feeling in your throat or in your body that warns you you're about to make a loud noise or a large movement, it can be helpful as you may be able t find somewhere to tic that will be more comfortable.

As for trying to stop tics...well, there are several potential approaches to this. Some individuals, particularly those who can recognize when a tic is about to occur, may be capable of delaying the movement or sound by simply telling their body not to do this. Often this is highly uncomfortable as the urge may grow and even become painful. Also, one stops trying to suppress tics, they often become more severe temporarily, and all come out at once, so to speak.

Another way people may suppress or try to stop tics is to perform voluntary movements or exercises like deep breathing in the instance of vocal tics, that make it difficult or physically impossible for the tic to occur uninterrupted, such as pressing down one's shoulders when having a tic to shrug. For some, this may actually be effective at cammoflaging or stopping tics. This is called a competing response.

In other instances, though, especially if the competing response isn't initiated before the tic begins, it can result in a physical tug of war between the tic movement and the competing response.

As for the actual occurence of a tic, well, it feels like any other movement you'd make. Sometimes they're painful, other times it's almost relaxing to get rid of the urge that precedes them.

For someone with tics, the movement or sound of a tic itself feels no different to them than it would to someone who was making the movement or sound voluntarily. The only difference is the person with a tic has limited to no control at all over the movement or sound in question.

The length of time a person can keep their tics from occurring is basically according to how severe their tics are; milder cases people may be able to hold in (most of) their tics for up to a few hours. Or, in my case, with disabling and very forceful tics, I can delay their occurrence by a few seconds at most, although when they do come out, it is often even more forceful than it would have been if I hadn't tried to stop them at all.


On a final note, you may wonder what it would feel like for someone with tics to be physically restrained. Well, this has happened to me...and the muscles still contract, only they strain against whatever is stopping the movement. It hurts. Very badly.

The forcefulness of the movement in a motor tic or the loudness of a vocal tic (sound) will vary from person to person. (more forceful being more severe) One person's arm may fly out and smack into a wall and break their hand. Another might have the same tic but be able to direct their army away from the wall or slow their movement so that they didn't get hurt.

That's the thing about tics in Tourette Syndrome; they're highly variable, and frequently changing in number, type, volume and forcefulness. They can be physically and socially disabling or barely noticeable.

Nobody with Tourette or tics will ever have exactly the same symptoms as someone else; our brains are all a bit different, chemically, and so are our tics.


Note: this information comes from various online sources, books and medical professionals, as well as extensive personal experience; I've had tics since early childhood and was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome six years ago.

Tourette Syndrome Association www.tsa-usa.org

Wemove.org www.wemove.org

National Institute on Stroke and Neurological Disorders www.ninds.org or .gov (I can't remember which...it is...)

Tourette syndrome is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. This causes mixed signals to be sent to the body telling it to make an unnecessary movement or sound (tics).

Before you do a tic, you get a sensation in the area which you need to move. It feels really uncomfortable, kind of like the area is contracted (its really hard to explain to someone who doesnt have tourettes). If you think of it like an itch or breathing or sneezing, its something your brain tells you to do.

The more you hold in a tic, the stronger the feeling gets. Eventually it will get to a point where it just does it by itself. Try not blinking for as long as possible. This building sensation making you blink is similar to having a tic.

Like I said, it's impossible to understand if you dont have tourette syndrome.

I have tourette syndrome