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Up to 25 percent of all children suffer from the embarrassing annoyance of facial tics. This condition can best be explained as a repeatedly occurring spasm that affects both facial and eye muscles. The true cause is usually undefined, but research shows a significant connection between stressful events and an increase in severity of symptoms.

An alternate explanation for the manifestation of tics is a lack of essential vitamins or minerals, including magnesium. In some cases, facial tics are manifestations of disorders of the nervous system, including Tourette syndrome, a health condition arising from a dysfunction of the nervous system. This health condition is believed to contain a hereditary component as well.

Some examples of a facial tic are rapid eye movements or eye blinking, squinting, mouth or nose wrinkeling, twitching, grunting, mouth twitches, facial grimacing, facial twitches, and throat clearing. A tic often originates in childhood, and may last for merely weeks, months, or even years. Sometimes, the tic lasts even after a child reaches adulthood.

Facial tics can perpetuate and potentiate anxiety-related behaviors in a child whose stress levels are already high because of the disorder itself. Children's playmates often can be very cruel, making fun of the child's problem. Further, teachers who fail to understand and are unable to aid fellow classmates to empathize and assist the child in overcoming his difficulty can can create a devastatingly negative effect on a child's self-esteem.

The problem, however, is not confined to the experience of the afflicted child. Adults who are affected by a facial tic find this extremely difficult to manage. These individuals often struggle with overwhelming social difficulties. In some instances, a person can develop the ability to identify the onset and supersede the spasm that results in the facial tic. Even this, however, can result in intense emotional and physical energy drains. Low self-esteem is often a major issue with which these people wrestle. Often, these individuals struggle with low self-esteem.

Adults who obtain relief from the painful effects of facial grimaces and other tics can experience social rebirth. Their concept of themselves changes, and they no longer fear to experience the fullness of life. Young people who overcome the effects of this condition can be freed from the overwhelming emotional pain that cripples their social lives, and encounter with joy instead of psychic pain.

Sometimes, medications, such as mildly sedating drugs, can help treat this condition. Even though the medications may lessen the frequency or severity of these symptoms, the medications themselves can often cause undesired side effects. For this reason, persons sometimes rely on alternative treatments to assist them in treating their condition.

Two alternative therapies that have shown exciting potential in assisting individuals to control facial tics are hypnotherapy and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). These therapies capitalize on the strengths of the individual's subconscious to assist them manage the repetitive behavior. Since these treatments are concerned with the source of the difficulty by intervening in the unconscious where the problem originates, they are significantly more beneficial than traditional therapy approaches that merely attempt to control eye blinking, mouth twitches, squinting, facial grimacing, facial twitches, grunting, or other types of impulsive behavior.

Hypnosis allows the client to reach a restful altered state and receive suggestions that allow them to expel stress. Since tics are caused by suppressed stress within a person's body, release of the tension helps them to successfully manage the impulse. After several sessions, the client ought to be capable of experience the ability to handle tension successfully.

Alternatively, therapists who employ NLP assist the client to focus his or her conscious will to utilize stressful stimuli as triggers for relaxing thoughts. Additionally, the person is taught to use an unrelated part of the body, such as a toe, to rechannel the anxiety that would otherwise be manifested by the facial tic. This also allows individuals to overcome tension without resorting to the embarrassing behavior.

Another advantage of both these is that the person being treated is not subjected to adverse effects from medication type therapies. For this reason, both hypnotherapy and NLP are typically considered to be the primary treatment for individuals who suffer from tics, such as nose wrinkeling, or throat clearing, because these interventions do not have unwanted side effects. This relieves significant pain and distress for the affected person.

Summary: Facial tics are often socially destructive and may yield harmful consequences. Boys are most likely to experience this difficulty, which can persist into adulthood; however girls may also have difficulties with tics. Although several treatment methods are available, hypnosis and NLP appear to be the safest treatments, because they do not cause negative side effects and are very efficacious.

Alan B. Densky, CH offers facial tic hypnotherapy CDs as well as a large variety of popular titles for all stress related symptoms. For delight and learning visit his Free video hypnotherapy library at his Neuro-VISION hypnotherapy website. http://www.neuro-vision.us/