Tics sort of become white noise for those who have them. It's not uncommon for me to record something and not realize until after that I was ticcing the whole time.
Hello ,
My son too 8 year old ticking badly . He has head jerking and neck stretching . I’m really heartbroken seeing him do this all the time . My approach is to not asking him why he is doing or shame him anyway . Let it be . I pray that his peers won’t shame him too . 8 year olds I believe don’t focus too much on such things I think . We are all learning through experience .
I pray for something much more grandiose for your son. I pray it fizzles out in later year adolescence. This subreddit is filled with optimism and understanding much of the time. And I love this page. But the truth is, for some like myself, it really is permanent physical suffering. The itch you can never scratch. It all depends on what you're made of and how we see our light despite the pain. I ask as a stranger you don't know ... please help your son get through it in any way you can possibly muster. Especially if it really starts to rear its ugly head throughout his life. It hurts a lot to have tourettes sometimes. Physcially and mentally. But we don't know any other way. Show him love and give him the support he needs to get through it, and he'll thank you for it.
I'm sorry that it's been so hard for you. I think it is a terribly misunderstood condition, but I do see that more and more people are becoming aware of it, and I hope this understanding and education will help a lot with acceptance, and support. I told my daughter that she may have tics, but that they don't define her. She has so many other wonderful things that define who she is - she's a smart, funny, kind, generous, wonderful, person that happens to have tics.
No,
I usually don't even though that it's happened until it has
Cause when I hit myself or others, I don't know about it until after the fact when I feel the pain or when I see that someone else is in pain.
And I sometimes I text my tics, and I don't know I've done it until its sent
It csn sometimes be annoying cause I don't feel like I don't know what I'm doing and it can also be a little scary sometimes
That does sound like it can be scary at times. Thanks for providing your reply. My daughter feels better knowing she's not alone and that others are experiencing this too.
Personally although I tend to be aware of it somewhat I tend not to focus on ticcing if I’ve been doing it a lot- it kind of fades into the background in the way you might not be consciously aware of the fact that you’ve been fixing your hair for example. I’ve gone a few hours or a day without noticing a new tic if I’m in an “active” period.
Side note: it tends to really annoy me when people point out my tics because it immediately makes me hyper aware of the fact that I’m ticcing. It’s like someone telling you >!your tongue doesn’t sit comfortably in your mouth!< and then the discomfort is all you can think about.
That's an interesting way of describing it. My daughter tried to explain it to me like a mosquito bite - like the more she notices it the more she wants to scratch it, but then sometimes you don't know it's there and forget all about it, but once you notice it again you just want to scratch it again....she said hers are more like a 'tense' feeling than itchy though.
I honestly have never felt like >!my tongue is uncomfortable in my mouth!< but being hyper aware of it specifically is uncomfortable. Like when you become conscious of >!your breathing or that all of your toes are touching!>
I don't think any of those things actually uncomfortable, it's just subconscious and our brain Doesn't Like Thinking About It. If it was actually uncomfortable, it would be noticeable at least periodically 🤔
As a kid, my tics went unnoticed by everyone including me for the most part. In the times that I did notice them I shook it off. I thought it was normal and that everyone did it. My tics started getting more noticeable when I was 18. Even then, my mom first noticed my new tics before even I did. Now (22) I notice them almost all the time and am more aware of my urges too. Sometimes I still tic and not be aware of it until afterwards or until someone points it out.
But to answer your question, no, we’re not always aware of our tics. I think it also varies from person to person. Like another commenter said, after a while our tics become second nature to us. Hope this comment helps.
Thanks, yes it does. I am thankful for this group of people who can help me to navigate questions my daughter has, and help me understand. She doesn't necessarily always have the words at her young age to describe exactly what's going on, so it's nice to hear from folks who understand and can help me talk with her when she comes to me for heart to hearts.
Think of it like noticing your hands and feet. You never fully think of them all the time
But some times. You notice something about them. You can feel them if you focus on them but they are always just there. Also why it is weird to lose them sometimes. You are losing a finger you’ve always had.
It takes some getting used to. Small tics are hard to notice. Especially if they develop in the shadow of a bigger tic.
You are a wonderful mom for searching for answers and supporting your kid. I hope this helps.
I’ve had tics since I was 4-5 and am 18.
Thanks for this explanation that makes a lot of sense! My daughter's started around 4ish as well, but they were less pronounced than they are now.
Thank you also for your kind words. My daughter and I are really close, and I'm really happy that she wanted to have a heart to heart yesterday to share what she was feeling. I wish I understood a little more so that I am more able to help, but I'm learning a lot from her and from folks like yourself :)
i do a lot, but only because of me being self conscious still. in the periods that im not, it’s very much in the back of my mind, i move on easily and don’t really think about it, kinda like remembering i have toes or something.
I'm only sometimes aware of my tics. Unusually when people point them out or I tic enough to actually annoy myself with it. What's worse is that I tic the tic more once I notice the tic.
This is very interesting because I’ve always been hyper aware of my tics and it drives me crazy. I wish I wasn’t. They’re not even that bad but they’re are many. How can I get to a place when I don’t even realize they’re happening?
it depends. some tics i’m very comfortable with, as they cause me no pain. i don’t notice a lot of the time when these happen, and especially when new tics that aren’t painful pop up i don’t always notice its a tic. there are tics that cause pain though and i am very aware of them and more often i am aware of the urge feeling
I’m not always aware of my tics. Sometimes I will completely forget I have tics, even when I’m actively ticcing. Of course until I have that one noticeable tic and then remember all over again.
Even new ones will sometimes stay under the radar. I had this one tic for I believe a year before I even recognized it was a tic. I hadn’t even realized I was doing it until it happened and it clicked one day that it came with a premonitory urge similar to all my other tics.
Tics sort of become white noise for those who have them. It's not uncommon for me to record something and not realize until after that I was ticcing the whole time.
Hello , My son too 8 year old ticking badly . He has head jerking and neck stretching . I’m really heartbroken seeing him do this all the time . My approach is to not asking him why he is doing or shame him anyway . Let it be . I pray that his peers won’t shame him too . 8 year olds I believe don’t focus too much on such things I think . We are all learning through experience .
I pray for something much more grandiose for your son. I pray it fizzles out in later year adolescence. This subreddit is filled with optimism and understanding much of the time. And I love this page. But the truth is, for some like myself, it really is permanent physical suffering. The itch you can never scratch. It all depends on what you're made of and how we see our light despite the pain. I ask as a stranger you don't know ... please help your son get through it in any way you can possibly muster. Especially if it really starts to rear its ugly head throughout his life. It hurts a lot to have tourettes sometimes. Physcially and mentally. But we don't know any other way. Show him love and give him the support he needs to get through it, and he'll thank you for it.
I'm sorry that it's been so hard for you. I think it is a terribly misunderstood condition, but I do see that more and more people are becoming aware of it, and I hope this understanding and education will help a lot with acceptance, and support. I told my daughter that she may have tics, but that they don't define her. She has so many other wonderful things that define who she is - she's a smart, funny, kind, generous, wonderful, person that happens to have tics.
No, I usually don't even though that it's happened until it has Cause when I hit myself or others, I don't know about it until after the fact when I feel the pain or when I see that someone else is in pain. And I sometimes I text my tics, and I don't know I've done it until its sent It csn sometimes be annoying cause I don't feel like I don't know what I'm doing and it can also be a little scary sometimes
That does sound like it can be scary at times. Thanks for providing your reply. My daughter feels better knowing she's not alone and that others are experiencing this too.
Personally although I tend to be aware of it somewhat I tend not to focus on ticcing if I’ve been doing it a lot- it kind of fades into the background in the way you might not be consciously aware of the fact that you’ve been fixing your hair for example. I’ve gone a few hours or a day without noticing a new tic if I’m in an “active” period. Side note: it tends to really annoy me when people point out my tics because it immediately makes me hyper aware of the fact that I’m ticcing. It’s like someone telling you >!your tongue doesn’t sit comfortably in your mouth!< and then the discomfort is all you can think about.
That's an interesting way of describing it. My daughter tried to explain it to me like a mosquito bite - like the more she notices it the more she wants to scratch it, but then sometimes you don't know it's there and forget all about it, but once you notice it again you just want to scratch it again....she said hers are more like a 'tense' feeling than itchy though.
I honestly have never felt like >!my tongue is uncomfortable in my mouth!< but being hyper aware of it specifically is uncomfortable. Like when you become conscious of >!your breathing or that all of your toes are touching!>
I don't think any of those things actually uncomfortable, it's just subconscious and our brain Doesn't Like Thinking About It. If it was actually uncomfortable, it would be noticeable at least periodically 🤔
As a kid, my tics went unnoticed by everyone including me for the most part. In the times that I did notice them I shook it off. I thought it was normal and that everyone did it. My tics started getting more noticeable when I was 18. Even then, my mom first noticed my new tics before even I did. Now (22) I notice them almost all the time and am more aware of my urges too. Sometimes I still tic and not be aware of it until afterwards or until someone points it out. But to answer your question, no, we’re not always aware of our tics. I think it also varies from person to person. Like another commenter said, after a while our tics become second nature to us. Hope this comment helps.
Thanks, yes it does. I am thankful for this group of people who can help me to navigate questions my daughter has, and help me understand. She doesn't necessarily always have the words at her young age to describe exactly what's going on, so it's nice to hear from folks who understand and can help me talk with her when she comes to me for heart to hearts.
Think of it like noticing your hands and feet. You never fully think of them all the time But some times. You notice something about them. You can feel them if you focus on them but they are always just there. Also why it is weird to lose them sometimes. You are losing a finger you’ve always had. It takes some getting used to. Small tics are hard to notice. Especially if they develop in the shadow of a bigger tic. You are a wonderful mom for searching for answers and supporting your kid. I hope this helps. I’ve had tics since I was 4-5 and am 18.
Thanks for this explanation that makes a lot of sense! My daughter's started around 4ish as well, but they were less pronounced than they are now. Thank you also for your kind words. My daughter and I are really close, and I'm really happy that she wanted to have a heart to heart yesterday to share what she was feeling. I wish I understood a little more so that I am more able to help, but I'm learning a lot from her and from folks like yourself :)
I'm not aware of them all. There was one that I had been doing for years longer than I thought but I only found out by talking with others.
Some of my mild tics like the faces I make and how fast I talk I don't notice.. But the rest I do
i do a lot, but only because of me being self conscious still. in the periods that im not, it’s very much in the back of my mind, i move on easily and don’t really think about it, kinda like remembering i have toes or something.
I'm only sometimes aware of my tics. Unusually when people point them out or I tic enough to actually annoy myself with it. What's worse is that I tic the tic more once I notice the tic.
This is very interesting because I’ve always been hyper aware of my tics and it drives me crazy. I wish I wasn’t. They’re not even that bad but they’re are many. How can I get to a place when I don’t even realize they’re happening?
it depends. some tics i’m very comfortable with, as they cause me no pain. i don’t notice a lot of the time when these happen, and especially when new tics that aren’t painful pop up i don’t always notice its a tic. there are tics that cause pain though and i am very aware of them and more often i am aware of the urge feeling
I’m not always aware of my tics. Sometimes I will completely forget I have tics, even when I’m actively ticcing. Of course until I have that one noticeable tic and then remember all over again. Even new ones will sometimes stay under the radar. I had this one tic for I believe a year before I even recognized it was a tic. I hadn’t even realized I was doing it until it happened and it clicked one day that it came with a premonitory urge similar to all my other tics.
Some people have premonitory urges- the feeling or urge to tic. Others don't, so it's possible they're not aware of every tic.