Hii

I've learned recentlyish that tics disorders and autism correlate, a little. According to this random article: Link its something like 9-12%.

I myself have had tics since I was maybe 10. My tics are only motor: a quiet grunt, eye blinks, and neck tensing. Somtimes they all sort of occur with each other. For example right now all three are happening one after the other (neck tense, eye blink and grunt)

The tics also come in an out of my life. I can spend months not having a single tic.

I writing this because my tics were going CRAZY yesterday. Like my neck is quite sore after a whole day of continous neck tensing (the other 2 arent painful)

My tics occur more when I:

1. Think about the tics/remember I have them: for example its happening maybe every 5-10 seconds atm as I write this.
2. The classic stress / anxiety. I was quite stressed yesterday and in general and hence the tic spree has been happening

For those that dont have tics, it feels like this (at least for me):

A build up of a sort of itch located at where the tics is. By itch I mean a strong compulsion to do it, and also a sort of acknolwegement if I give in, it will feel good. Tics actually feel good to do in the moment for me.

My current strategies are:

1. Literally just forget I have tics. This doesnt bring the tics to 0 at all when im stressed, but its a good thing to do when im having a "tic spree" (not an official word, idk what u would call it). I forget I have tics by just focusing on something else, like a video for example.
2. And of course, reducing stress in someway to hopefully reduce the tics overall.

Do you have tics?

"Tic attack" is pretty fun to say, though probably not to experience.

Small tics still come and go but they where pretty bad when i was a child. Its definitly stress/copeing related.

Yeah that sounds more fun. And yes absolutely not fun to experience

I know an ASD person with tics, but it's from PTSD/CPTSD. They described it like you do. The urge to do the movement and worse with anxiety. Their tics are vocal and motor. E.g We call one "snake": 😬🫱 flat hand in front of face while making a "Sss" sound.

They also have been sore after long sessions. What helped for very temporary relief was massaging the back of their head. Particularly in the middle back at the height of the ears. It's very temporary though, only lasting for as long as it is getting messaged.

Yeah I occasionally have to like forcefully blink. And also look to the left sometimes. It doesn’t bother me but I know it looks weird so I try to mask it when looked at.

Im undiagnosed, I dont have tics.
My partner is diagnosed, they do have tics. Their tics remind me of someone with tourettes, but unlike a person with tourists, their tics aren't random.

I had a big problem with tics in my teenage years. I couldn't keep my neck still long enough to take a picture. My graduation picture was taken mid tensing. It went away out of nowhere one day, replaced by another tic with my nose that is generally more discreet and doesn't annoy others as much - this one I've been carrying for two decades but it comes and goes.

When I was a kid, yeah. They kind of get shamed out of you.

I do but they’re related to specific intense feelings or emotions. When I think of specific gross and scary things I do the move like flicking water off your hands a few times, if the subject doesn’t change I need to keep doing it until it does. I make an S shape with my head when I’m physically uncomfortable from thinking about specific gross and scary things, if it gets too much I feel like I need to take my shirt off and start tugging at the neckline of my top, this is an especially problematic one for obvious reasons but also because I’m a woman. If I remember specific things that were super embarrassing I repeat a phrase in my head over and over again for a while, it’s not a very nice phrase to say to yourself so this one worries me a bit but I try not to be judgmental about it and just let it pass through me as much as possible.

Sorry your going throught that, its sounds tiring and stressful.

Im not an expert, but I have recently been considering if I have OCD, as I have similarish instrusive thoughts. Not the grows ones, but mainly the embarrassment one, where I may, well, call myself the r word over and over again. Yes I have bad internalised ableism that im working on. I also have instrusive thoughts about being creepy (look at my post history to see descriptions)

Ive really started thinking I have OCD because a friend with similar thoughts to me (well he didnt tell me exactly, since they're of course so personal) is now being screened.

So yeah just pointing that out. I cant say of course if these things really are OCD, im learning about it all myself.

I hope theres a day you dont have to deal with these thoughts ❤️

Yes! They started after a nervous breakdown and have been a part of me since. Verbal chirps and torettes type swearing or saying things. Diagnosed autistic in my mid 30s 5 years or so ago.

Also clapping and jazz hands and body jolt type moves.