On Friday I had my second appointment for Habit Reversal Therapy. During the session the therapist said he thought the muscle groups involved in my tics have got stuck with only two settings: relaxed (not in use at all), or maximum tension and ticcing. He showed me some exercises that, with practice, should teach the muscles the gradients in between and help me control what they’re doing.

The main element of these exercises involves doing one of my tics, but in slow motion, and concentrating on how it feels in the muscles. This sounds simple but at the moment it’s quite a challenge. I start slowly but then the tic takes over and finishes at speed, or turns itself into a different tic.

My homework this week is to practice doing this six times a day for ten minutes, and though it’s not easy, it’s already paying off and I’m getting moments of control and having glimpses a different way of moving.