Struggling with Tics in a Judgemental Environment

It’s worth clarifying real quick: do you mean tics or stimms? :) Tics are involuntary motions or sounds such as whistling or throwing an object. These are not a symptom of ADHD or ASD. They are a part of a tic disorder such as “Tourettes” or “Pan and Pandas”. You often feel a premonitory urge before that tells you what you’re going to tic and can suppress it to a degree but suppression leads to more tics later. You can not just stop the behavior. Stimms are repetitive movements that can feel compulsory to do and help you feel calmer. Stimms include but are not limited to rocking, tapping, counting, finger pulling, leg shaking, and hand flapping. Everyone stimms but ADHD and Autistics do so more than the general population. Stimming is voluntary, but it can be hard to not do if very overwhelmed. There are also OCD compulsions (which I don’t think you mean). These are the strong urge to repeat something over and over again often a specific amount of times or until it “feels right”. This compulsion is often accompanied with intrusive thoughts that tell you something bad will happen if you don’t complete the compulsions. Ex. “Turn the light switch on and off 5 times or your dog will die”. The person the majority of the time will know the intrusive thought isn’t true but will complete the action because it is distressing not to do so. *** These are medical terms so it is important to use the correct words to not spread misinformation and get your self the best/most correct information. The advice for tics which are involuntary is different than the advice for stims which are voluntary. :) :)

i was ticking really bad when i first discovered that i’ve been making my whole life and started my journey to understand myself. it was scary and made me feel so weird. but, me and my therapist worked through some of the things that could be causing it. 1- anxiety from unmasking, this is normal and makes sense. 2- anxiety from relationships, broke up with my ex and my tics decreased a LOT. 3- caffeine, i’ve almost completely cut out caffeine and it’s helped a lot. i’ve noticed when i’m having a meltdown/completely unmasked like around my boyfriend it happens more. i also don’t consciously suppress it anymore, i still do it subconsciously but since i stopped trying to hide it i’ve felt a lot better

I've heard that fidget toys or tools help, so you could try googling those. However, I think that starting off at a new place authentically you could attract worthwhile friends and prevent future masking

I have it too but idk how to describe it but your not alone.