You hear me cover many different types of topics in my weekly emails, on my blog, and on social media – everything from the latest science about food sensitivity testing and diet to sleep, exercise, meditation, and spirituality.
As a parent you may have searched high and low for natural treatments to tic disorders, will tics go away, do magnesium and B6 work for tics, natural remedies for tics and Tourettes, and I am sure the list goes on. You have done the research you have tried all the natural treatment recommendations but you still feel stuck.
It may not always seem as if these topics have anything in common, but they do. They are all addressing different types of stress that we encounter throughout our day and combat it.
We think of stress as “my boss is a jerk” or “there is a bully at school”. I am going to ask you to step out of the box and consider all types of stress! Stress isn’t just the mental or emotional stress we initially think of about work, relationships, or traumatic events. Stress is much more than that.
STRESS IS ANYTHING THAT PLACES A BURDEN ON THE BODY.
I know what you are thinking. But, what does this have to do with tics?
I want to know why tics come and go? I always wondered why my son had good days and bad days. Out of thousands of doctor visits, we never discussed how tics are associated with stress (all types), leading to systemic inflammation that can change from day to day. Tic symptoms seem to be the highest when there is higher inflammation in the body. Therefore, Tic symptoms may increase drastically if you have days with high levels of inflammation or if your diet contains foods that cause inflammation like sugar, gluten, caffeine, or alcohol. Many factors contribute to inflammatory response, for example, food choices, constipation (stool pathogens), IBS (microbiome imbalance), underlying infection, stress (physical, mental, or hidden stress), nutrient deficiencies, toxins, and heavy metals, to name a few!
When your child experiences tics that seem to come and go, it’s confusing and frustrating. It’s like riding on a roller coaster; there are ups and downs. Some days are great with very little or no symptoms and some days are off the charts. next time you are experiencing the tic toller coaster consider underlying stress.
I hope this blog post has given you some insight into how systemic inflammation may be affecting your symptoms. If you want to reduce your child’s tic symptoms, click HERE to grab the Tic Disorder Cheat Sheet that will guide you through diet changes and other lifestyle modifications.