WHAT IS IT?

Transient tic disorder

A tic is an abrupt, uncontrollable movement or sound that’s not a normal gesture. People with tics may uncontrollably blink their eyes, raise their eyebrows, shrug their shoulders, flare their nostrils or clench their fists. These are physical tics.

Sometimes a tic can cause you to repeatedly clear your throat, click your tongue, or make a certain noise, such as a grunt or a moan.

There’s no known cause, but some research indicates that tic disorders may be inherited or could be linked to the chemicals in the brain that transmit nerve signals to your cells (neurotransmitters).

However, no studies have proven this mechanism. Tic disorders include Tourette syndrome and repetitive behaviours as seen in autism.

Tics are often confused with nervous behaviour. They intensify during periods of stress but don’t happen during sleep. Tics occur repeatedly, but they don’t usually have a rhythm.