I do that too claritytoo. My brother has tried to stop me in the past, but I would still burn it or shred it. For me though, I am less likely to throw it away if I write it as a poem, or invent a character and write it as a story. I think I do this because, if somebody else read it, they would read it as a fictional story, and not something about me. (at least that's what I tell myself) To LydiaB, I also do things as you have described, but a different version. I don't do them in public. In that situation, I know it's in my head, so I may shake my head or turn away and find something else I can think about. A tic however is something done without thought. My dad had some tics. I have a couple of those too. I don't know I'm doing them until somebody makes me aware of it.