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Facial tics are characterized by sudden, apparently unintentional muscle contractions of entire muscle groups in the face and neck region. These contractions are habitually recurring in nature, and appear to have no actual reason. Most of the tics are exaggerated eye blinking, squinting, nose wrinkling, facial grimacing or even vocalizations such as throat clearing or grunting. Tics often show themselves during childhood, and most of the time resolve as the child ages. This is not always the case, though, and many people continue to experience tics as they enter adulthood.

Tics often increase in frequency as an individual feels tension or discomfort. People who suffer from tics report they are often aware of a tic as it approaches. It's often described as an overwhelming feeling of tension and the compulsion to perform the tic to break the tension; somewhat akin to the approaching urge to yawn or sneeze which relieves the person. Controlling a tic can trigger tension, which can lead to the onset of another tic. Tics are often described as being automatic but research and reports from sufferers indicates they are indeed voluntary motions that can be controlled by the victim.

A tic can manifest as a simple tic, as in facial grimaces, mouth twitches or grunting or can be more complex such as is often seen in Tourette syndrome. Simple tics are more common than complex tics, but can be just as upsetting to the individual; while a facial tic does not cause physical pain to the victim, it often causes mental distress or social problems.

Children, in particular, can have a difficult time dealing with a tic because of mocking from other students, or teachers that don't fully recognize the difficult situation the child is in. While tics are often described as not being totally involuntary, control of a tic can be quite difficult to establish, especially in children. Children often do not establish the skills to identify a tic onset as well as an adult.

Adults can also face crucial trouble in their lives when dealing with a facial tic. Social problems are very common, and even when tics are generally controlled the adult can become quite tired by the frequent need to identify the onset of and control the tic impulse. Adults and children alike may suffer from self-esteem or self-worth issues due to their continuous suffering from a disease that often causes them to become social outcasts.

Relieving an individual from the distress of a facial tic can be a life-changing experience. Self-confidence often improves, and social anxiety is no longer a strength holding a person back from experiencing a meaningful life. In children, relieving a tic may let the child develop with less tension while he/sh has a happier childhood.

Over the years, many treatments for tics have been used with varying degrees of success. Psychotherapy or counseling can help reveal the emotional causes of a tic, and may help an individual understand better how to thwart the urge to perform their tic. Sedatives and other forms of medication are sometimes successful in cases of simple tics. These medications often come saddled with negative side effects, so many people seek alternative treatments.

Hypnotherapy and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) methods have been created expressly for the purpose of dealing with facial tics. Since facial tics are not firmly unconscious in nature, these treatments aim to change the sufferer's unconscious response to the onset of a tic episode such as facial grimacing or throat clearing. In a large number of cases this can be accomplished by allowing the unconscious mind to prevent the onset of the tic. In some extreme cases, however, the sufferer's response will be redirected to some innocuous portion of the body such as twitching a toe instead of facial muscles.

Facial tics can be an embarrassing life-affecting malady. Children and adults alike can suffer a lot from the occurence of a facial tic such as grunting, nose wrinkling, facial grimaces, mouth twitches, squinting or eye blinking. Eliminating a facial tic can prove very useful to the victim on an emotional level.

Although several treatments have been created to combat facial tics, NLP and self-hypnosis aim to utilize natural unconscious methods of redirecting the tic response. This type of treatment has great benefit over other methods such as psychotherapy, which may not help the tic behavior at all, or attempt to modify the conscious reaction to tic behavior.

NLP and self-hypnosis also do not suffer from the unwanted side effects of drugs. This beneficial method of treatment can also cut stress and anxiety in the sufferer's life, thereby both reducing the impulse to form a tic and proving an advantage in everyday life. Due to these factors, NLP and self-hypnosis are often the safest, most preferred methods of treatment for tic sufferers.