I was wondering if it is common for tourette patients to have sexually overt behavior, not verbal tic wise. I work with a gentleman who is very touchy feely and I wonder if it may be because of his tourette’s, he does not have obvious tics but the behavior is concerning is not from his illness.

Tourette syndrome has nothing to do with that. Tourette’s is a tic disorder. That’s all. Nothing else. Common tics are things like nodding, shrugging, blinking, weird faces, grunting, coughing, humming, and so on. It’s nothing sexual.

Has anyone ever been to Health Retreat Australia?…here’s the link http://www.healthretreataustralia.com/emotional_wellness_retreat.html

If so what was it like and did you find it helpful? If not do you know of any other health retreats somewhere? In my research this was the best I could find for what I am looking for. Problem is it’s far away and expensive. Although I’ve always wanted to go to Australia. Haha. I think it would be cool if I could find a retreat like one in Aussie that lasts like a month or two! I’d love that.

Anyways, here’s what I am looking for. I am 24 and trying to finish up college. I’m almost done but second guessing my major and career choice. I feel a little lost in pretty much every aspect of life and I feel a little scattered. I feel like I could use a mental health retreat to just get away from things, as well as, to be some place where people can help me figure things out.

Anyone been in this position? Have suggestions or resources?

intuitivementoring.com they are doing a retreat in colorado that sounds like it is just what you need, and it is affordable. YOu can stay for one day or the weekend.

When I was about 7 I had quite a few tics but was never diagnosed with anything because no one ever did anything about it. They were mostly motor tics besides sniffing/inhaling sharply and the noise when you exhale through your mouth just after you swallow/open you’re throat.

I was teased about the tics almost daily but it only lasted for roughly a year and never really appeared again until now. Im 17 now and the tics have been happening daily for almost a year now.

So can transient tic disorder come back/come and go throughout life or does it just occur once during childhood? Could this be turning into tourettes syndrome?

What should I do?

I am not a doctor, but by your description of having both movements and noises, you had Tourette Syndrome for years already.

That’s all that Tourette Syndrome is, a tic disorder with both movements and sounds. That’s it.

As for your question, can it become worse? Absolutely.

According to studies, the mean age of worst tics is eight to twelve, but mine became quite severe at age fourteen (I’m fifteen now and still disabled by them) and I’ve met many people who continue to have tics later in life, even middle aged adults.

The course of symptoms in an individual with Tourette will vary from person to person.

You my friend, need to see a neurologist.

Be forewarned, however, there is no cure for Tourette Syndrome or tic disorder, and treatment is strictly symptomatic. It will take time and effort to find the right combination of medication and behavioral/psychological therapy to help you manage your tics.

Best of luck!

-Melody

I am a 16 year old female

Hiccups almost ever day multiple times for short periods

I feel I have to rub my nose every so often even though it doesn’t itch

Constantly smoothing my hair (worse if I wear it down)

I sometimes have a difficult time speaking because I talk really fast and on really bad days I get stuck on a word or I can’t get it to come out right

These increase whenever I feel stressed, uncomfortable, or embarrassed

I never really thought about this until my friend jokingly began to say tourettes every time I hiccuped. Then, a few weeks later a different friend pointed out that I smoothed or pushed back my hair a lot especially when I became nervous or excited. She said it was sort of like I had a tic. Could this be a tic disorder or am I just weird?

Tics — yes, likely. Disorder — no.

What people have to realize is that EVERYONE in the free world has many mental illness ’symptoms’ — in fact a great deal have some low level degree of mental illness.

Think of it as no one is perfect physically… some are more fit than others.. some struggle to do the ‘normal’ physical things .. some might have some lower back pain or shoulder pain, or other pain in the body because of poor posture, weak muscles, and so on.. that needs addressing.

Point is that yes, your observations are most likely ‘Tics’. But so what? Tics , by themselves.. are incredibly common. Most people have a tic or 10 they present daily.. most don’t realize their ‘tics’ or habits.. some have and just don’t care.

We are moving beings,.. as humans.. we don’t just sit catatonic — so if emotion causes us to subconsciously or consciously smooth our hair,.. rub our nose.. tap our fingers.. clear our throats and on and on.. it is natural.

No sense in worrying about something that at 16yrs of age you just ‘realize’. Understand?

If you had a "Tic Disorder" .. ie: Tourettes — you would have long ago realized the disorder and have already sought treatment for it. There is little to treat — but everyone could use some mental health counseling, preventative treatment and so on.

I’m not sure when it will happen, but eventually mental health will be treated like physical — in that routine ‘checkups’ are common, and preventative treatment will be the ‘best treatment’.

Nothing wrong with you,.. at least not any more than the next person. Make sense?

Relax,.. if these actions make you overly self-conscious and this uncomfortable feeling won’t leave.. talk to a therapist about them. You can get rid of Tics.. though we all tend to replace them with something else.

I have a few tics of my own. Most everyone else would call these things ‘nervous or anxious movements or actions’.

Just watch people sometime. You’ll see them scratching, rubbing, stretching, bending, coughing, clearing, blinking, snorting and so on as a ‘habit’ not so much as a one time thing to help the itch, or relax the muscle, or clear the sinus.

If people read the DSM,.. the criteria to diagnose mental illness just about everyone on the planet could and would fall somewhere in some illness as a positive. This criteria is only useful in people whose lives are significantly effected by these things.

Now relax,.. forget about it.. and go on living your teenage years!

Or should I major in counseling or psychology, and minor in music? I want to be a counselor and music therapist with my own private practice. It this possible?

Yes, It’s possible to minor in music therapy and major counseling or psychology.

The idea of art therapy interests me quite a bit, and i might want to pursue that as a career, but i am confused on what it actually is. i know people & children can express themselves, but where does the psychology/therapy come in? &about how much do art therapists earn? &do i need to be skilled in art myself, & take art classes? thanks:)
oh and does anyone know if UCSD and/or UC Berkley have art therapy majors? thanks!

"Art therapy involves helping those with emotional and psychological difficulties to deal with their problems through a cooperative process of discovery. Clients are encouraged to come to their own understanding of what their art reveals, facilitated by the therapist, who helps to negotiate interpretations of the client’s drawings, which are created through a therapeutically oriented art-making process."
http://art-therapy.concordia.ca/

(from concordia university’s art therapy department website )

The program at Concordia is offered as a graduate program, and you are required to either have done your undergrad in fine arts, or take a certain number of fine art classes. I don’t know how other schools organize their curriculum, but I think that’s definitely a good place to start your research, the person I talked to when I called the Concordia department was immensely helpful and answered all my questions (I ended up deciding art therapy wasn’t for me at that time)

As for salary, from the few conversations I’ve had about this, I hear it can be a difficult avenue, that many art-therapists do it for love while holding a day job to pay the bills. But this may only be true for some, ie for people who choose to work for themselves, and build up a client base from the ground up. Something to look into.

hope I could be helpful