Tic Mythology 2 - Premonitory Urge

Before tics occur, there is a sensation or feeling that comes first. We call this experience the “premonitory urge.” People who experience tics may not always be aware of the premonitory urge, but it is reliably there and we can often help them become aware of the urge with a bit of practice (which is typically done during treatment). Once a person is aware of the feeling before they do something, that gives them a chance to retrain their brain so they can get it to do something else. This helps tremendously with tics.
The premonitory urge may be described in many different ways (perhaps because our language doesn’t quite have the words for it). People often describe it as a feeling of pressure or an itch or like there’s just energy they’ve got to get out. Fortunately we don’t have to precisely describe it to be aware of it and use it to change tics.