Can vocal tics be brought on by anxiety and not Tourette's Syndrome?

Question

I have just recently quit a stressful job that brought on a lot of anxiety. During this time I held in vocal tics (tics such as humm and huhh). When I was working in the job, I had also done many vocal tics at home. I was diagnosed with anxiety and Tourette's.

However, I have never had vocal tics up until the sixth month of my job. I have shaked my head very rarely at times when I was nervous in the past (going back years). By the way, I'm 22 years old.

I was wondering if vocal tics could be brought on by just anxiety, and not Tourette's syndrome.

Thank you.

Just to let you know, when I stopped my job, my vocal tics at home stopped. Granted, I've been under both Klonopin and Halderol (sp?), but still ... can't that prove it isn't Tourette's?

In addition, I saw my neurologist, and he did brain wave tests on me that were negative. An MRI of my brain was negative, and the neurologist used that funny looking "axe" thing for my reflexes. He said that I do not have tourette's, but rather, just anxiety.

btw, I was diagnosed with tourette's by my psychologist, not neurologist

Answer 1

No, not very likely. Vocal tics from tourettes are usually uncontrollable, and anxiety can increase the occurance of those tics. Anxiety-induced tics are more controllable. A very simple & foolproof test is done by your doctor to diagnose Tourettes, where he/she would touch you at two different points on both right & left sides of your body. A person with Touettes will not respond to one stimulus, while people w/out tourettes will respond to both.

UPDATE: Being that the diagnosis was done by a psychologist, and a neurologist was not able to come to the same conclusion, then it's very likely you don't have tourettes. A psychologist is just a hack, in my opinion, who gets paid too much to tell you too little. To top it off, your psychologist seems too undereducated to even be a hack. Do you grimace or have any other symptoms of tourettes?

Answer 2

Having Tourettes is not the worst thing in the world. It is Neurological, or to be more specific, Neurobiological.

Your software is fine (mental). Your hardware (brain, spinal cord) is not hooked up correctly and causes you to tic.

Stress increases tics.

If you have Tourettes then anxiety, stress, and any other conditions will not change your Neurological makeup. You either have it or you don't. Tourettes is diagnosed by oral history from you and observation by a Neurologist. There is not a test for Tourettes. Any tests given will only rule out other seizure disorders or conditions.

Living in a stress free (as much as possible) environment will help. Face the facts. Tourettes is lifelong and there is not a cure. Since you are 22, most likely the worst is over.

Best wishes to you for a positive outcome.

Answer 3

Anxiety Tics

Answer 4

As with any illness, there are all levels of severity in Tourette's. Anxiety can bring forth the symptoms of Tourette's. In all my years of working with patients who had voice disorders, I never saw vocal tics NOT related to Tourette's. Trust your neurologist; they know the score.

Answer 5

Tics Caused By Anxiety