[ACanthony]

Hello and thank you in advance for your help. I have suffered from some moderate twitching all my life. In the last 3 years, 95% of it has gone away. I used to think it was just biological but I learned that the twitching stemmed from anxiety and it was my body's way of dealing with stress. I eliminated the twitching by learning some cognitive techniques, meditation, and overall just becoming a more peaceful person.

I still experience twitching (mostly eye twitches in the form of excessive blinking) when I go to class (I'm 27 and go to night class for psychology). Now I wouldn't say at all that I am nervous in class. In fact, I enjoy speaking in public. But the blinking does bother me as you can imagine and I get somewhat self conscious about it. When I become aware of the blinking, that's what makes it worse. I do notice that it occurs more when I am tired. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd rather not take any medicine for this because it really only is confined to the classroom setting and also when I go on a first date. But like I said, I'm not nervous but not exactly 100% comfortable either.

[sundog]

Hi ACanthony. It's great you've been able to manage your anxiety symptoms through CBT and meditation. Well done!

I get some eye twitching too, and it's quite irritating. With me it doesn't seem to be related to anxiety. It has more to do with being tired. Or if I've been sitting at the computer for a long time (which is very common for me) I don't blink excessively, mine is more like a constant throbbing in one eyelid. I haven't found a way to eliminate it, other than trying to make sure I get enough rest (which I'm not very good at doing!) I did go and see my doctor about it a while back and she basically said it was quite common and it should resolve itself on it's own. It hasn't so far, but it doesn't bother me too much anymore, and it only happens sometimes. I think the doctor did mention muscle relaxants as an option, but, like you, I'd rather not take medication for it.

It's good that you don't otherwise feel nervous in the classroom setting. I think probably the best thing is just to carry on regardless of the twitching and hopefully it will ease up on it's own after a while. And if you've also noticed a connection between the twitching and being tired, then making sure to get enough sleep etc should also help.

Perhaps there are some kind of eye drops? You could maybe ask your pharmacist. Or maybe putting a cold or warm compress over your eyes before you go to class would help?

Good luck!