What would you do about an on-going eye twitch?

There might be some positive feedback loops going on now with the stress and fatigue triggering more nervous twitching, causing more worry, causing less sleep, causing more stress and more twitching, etc.

The first thing I would try is taking some medical days and sleeping as much as possible, as I suggested before. Have you been able to get some serious rest? If you can take time off and can afford it, I might also try traveling someplace with a different climate, to see if it also might throw off the pattern, since your sinuses were involved.

I would also try believing it isn’t anything serious, which combined with more rest and sleep might help interrupt the cycle, assuming that’s what’s going on. I would also try to find other occupations, distractions, or at least things to fixate on, to try to stop giving any mental attention to the twitch. I’d also use my various studied thought/emotion skills (e.g. focusing, meditation) to listen to what my body is communicating and release it and stop thinking and worrying about it. I’d also use my learned somatic skills (e.g. Feldenkrais) or other people’s skills (e.g. acupuncture, other healer types I know) to try to shift it.

Any and all of those things, is what I’d try.

I expect there are other things going on, of one sort or another, perhaps emotionally and in subconscious thoughts, and the eye twitch is just a symptom.

Hey @Zaku yeah some great advice, I have hyponcondria quite badly and have had it for years and years – since I was 5 and 40 now. So yes I think and imagine it’s just a weakness now and the stress is making it worse… I will try what you’ve suggested. My mind goes to ‘what if they are all wrong and it’s a brain tumor!’

I have an essential tremor. In my case, it means my head will twitch very slightly. It doesn’t happen often or repeatedly, but I notice it. It seems to manifest itself when I’m stressed. Most people wouldn’t notice it and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s not there all the time. Every now and then though, I’ll feel my head twitch.

I tell you this because your stress is likely to be causing this problem. I know you will have seen your doctor and mentioned your eye twitch. However, I can see that you are still very anxious about it and I would suspect anxiety is making it worse. So you are in a chicken/egg situation. While stress/anxiety may not be the cause – and you may not ever know what the cause is – your anxiety is very likely to make it worse. So you have to try to do something about your stress. Are you seeing a psychologist for your hypochondria? They may be able to share some techniques to help you alleviate your stress.

Yeah agreed also – I think the thing is, is, once youv’e had anxiety for 30 years how do you stop the subconscious going -ons.
I will think I’m not stressed but the reality is – obviously at a deeper level I am.
I“m not smiling as much and find it much easier to frown – I think maybe a low level antidepressant might work as well as holistic options…. ok guys .. I’m getting a good idea of what ‘normal’ people would do and it’s helping.

We quite often aren’t consciously aware of how stressed we are. I would certainly say I’m often not aware of my stress levels, but I can be quite stressed. This is where the psychologist comes in. And if you’re also feeling sad and just not happy, a psychologist can help you with that too. Can you get a referral from your doctor? Ask your doc to recommend someone they think you’ll get on with. Think about whether you’d feel most comfortable with a man or a woman and go and talk to them. It’s their job to give you suggestions to help you get past this.

I’m seeing a psychologist and I did exactly what I’m suggesting you do. I know what my problem is, I need to find ways to manage it. The man I speak to is lovely. So easy to talk to and he’s already suggested things I can try to help me feel better about my situation. Things I would not have thought of.

You may be able to get any cost subsidized by your government. I think you’re in NZ? Talk to your doctor about whether that’s possible. I’m sure you can organise to see someone under the public system, but you won’t get any choice that way. If you can get private sessions subsidized and you can afford any shortfall – I really think it’s worth the investment.

Yeah I agree, I’m going to contact my insurance as I’ve exhausted the ‘free’ counsellor sessions you get here in NZ ;) – that says a lot.

Yep it sounds like the hypochondria is probably closer to the root issue, and the eye twitch is just a side effect.

The cheapest way I know to hit at that is Focusing (a short old paperback book). Other approaches to unraveling subconscious patterns of thought and feeling (and body) include Holistic Peer Counseling, meditation, Feldenkrais, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, shamanic work, Landmark Education. And psychotherapy, but that tends to be the most expensive one, and the Focusing book starts by mentioning it was discovered when studying what was happening with the patients who were getting anything out of psychotherapy…

The good thing about all those suggestions is that they benefit practically everyone (at least when not done poorly), and in many sorts of ways.

What is Focusing book? Is that just reading? Great advice….

I think the eye twitch probably has a very strong anxiety related component.

Side note: one week, it was a cold. Refer back to my answer on previous cold/allergy question.

Have you tried a nasal flush like the one made by Neilmed. It sure cleans me out and opens my sinuses. Could that be a factor?
It certainly can’t hurt.
I boil the water and let it cool to 125F before using.

I mean the first book titled Focusing , which is a short book that I found an effective and useful first tool for working through my own material, just using a small used paperback. It’s not reading the book that does it – the book mainly explains how to do focusing, which is a sort of meditation practice explained in neat instructions written in a way easily digestible by many Westerners.

What it actually looks like is finding a time & space where you can relax undisturbed, sitting or lying and relaxing, noticing and dismissing all thoughts that come up, and giving time and attention to what’s going on in your body. Many/most modern Western adults never do that, which tends to cause stuckness and buildup/accumulation of feelings, many of which can be released and processed by simply giving them this sort of attention. It can take a lot of patience and practice particularly if you have no such habit, but if you have no such habit and your body is stressed out, it can be really valuable to develop such skills.

There are other books and instruction available, though I haven’t done/needed those. I have though done many other sorts of self-reorganizing practices (mentioned above) which are other angles for working at the same sorts of things – they’re complementary and it’s helpful to have multiple tools and perspectives to get around the obstacles our psyches build up when we don’t process stuff for decades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focusing
https://focusingresources.com/