Facial Ticks A Dissociative Partial Seizure?

[Powder]

Eyelid ticks. Facial involuntary muscles tightening. Is this a dissociative symptom?

Various body parts going numb or activating seems to be a somatoform manifestation of Emotional Parts or dissociative disorder.

Is facial ticks falling under that category?

 

[Sideways]

Facial tics are quite a common side effect to a lot of different psychotropic medications...have you checked the side effects list for your meds? Might be good to raise it with your doc if it's medication related, because for some people that side effect gets worse over time (which is not an "omg you need to panic" statement- just something to be aware of).

That said, I only need to dissociate really mildly before my right hand and arm start twitching, and the more I dissociate, the more it turns into a very obvious tapping with my right hand. I look a bit freaky when it happens, but I've nutted out why part of my head is doing that (safety thing) and made peace with it.

 

[ladee]

Mine is my left hand and arm... glad to know there is a reason for this... It happens when I am under a lot of stress and when I am almost asleep ... Thanks for the info @Ragdoll Circus.

 

[Sideways]

@ladee - People have asked me if I play the piano! Gets a lot of weird stares when I'm flipping out badly, but that actually works well for me, because it means people give me a wide berth, and I'm a big big fan of 'personal space'!

 

[Powder]

Mine is my left eyelid. I will check my med that seems to go with it, Clonidine, very low dose.

However, I only take C. when having major EP disturbing flashbacks and body memories, so I dont' know if it's leftovers of the FB or a symptom of switching or what.

 

[ladee]

Ha @Ragdoll Circus !!! What ever it takes , right?? I am of course alone at night, so no big deal, but if I am stressed and having to use a computer when someone is watching, that left hand has a mind of it's own.... only thing that will stop it is to stop, breathe and start over... and yes, people look at me strange, but they do that when I'm not having the hand jive !!

 

[Powder]

@Ragdoll Circus I concur. :)

I do lots of body focused repetitive stuff, like twisting my hair, picking at my lips, bounding my foot, etc.

If I can do these things, then I'm not being attacked. I do think that it is a way to tell the body "hey, we're safe. settle down in there." And some parts need that safety demonstrated in these tangible ways.

My sister used to bite her nails very low. Same thing. Now she cuts, unfortunately, and using eating disorders.

Behaviors that seem maladaptive but help to remind of safety. Same thing.

Supposedly, it can be good to carry small, smooth stones, a stress ball, or a beanie baby toy around to mess with in the pocket so people cannot see. Some use prayer beads to fuss with.

I once made homemade lavender beads to wear as a bracelet. Smelling it and or toying with it seemed to help ground me.