face twitching stress happens when a person gets very anxious.
When people get tremendously anxious the heart starts to race, and in worst case scenarios it can run through the mind, and one is unable can to sleep or is sleeping too much.
These sleeping issues are some of the more commonly known symptoms of anxiety and stress however muscle twitches including face twitching is also mostly the result of stress. Twitching may occur anywhere on the persons body from the eyes to the feet.
In this article I have tried to explain what can be the possible causes of face twitching stress and what diagnostic procedures, treatment options and preventive majors are present or can be used nowadays.
what you will read next :
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- What is face twitching stress?
- What causes face twitching stress?
- What are the symptoms for face twitching stress?
- How is face twitching stress diagnosed?
- What are the treatment options for face twitching stress ?
- What one can do about face stress twitching?
- Are there any preventive measures that may help to stop face twitching stress?
- Takeaway
What is face twitching stress?
Face twitching is a very potential sign or a symptom if a person had anxiety. However it’s not like everyone who has had anxiety experiences face twitching as a symptom, in many cases of anxiety there is no face twitching.
Twitching takes place when a muscle, or even a group if a group of muscles, moves involuntarily without a person himself trying to move them. This can be a small movement or even a larger motion if jerking .
Anxiety twitching can affect any place or any muscle in the body and sometimes any number of muscles at a time including the face . Face twitching can last for just few seconds or sometimes even much longer like for minutes.
What causes face twitching stress?
Anxiety causes the human nervous system to release the neurotransmitters, that are chemicals which the body uses to send messages between the neurons, or between the neurons and muscles.
Some types of neurotransmitters will command the muscles to move. When a person is having stress or anxiety, neurotransmitters will be released even when there’s no clear reason for them to be released and this is what can lead to cause stress twitching.
Another reason why stress can cause muscle twitching is because it leads to hyperventilation. And muscle twitching itself is one symptom of hyperventilation.
What are the symptoms for face twitching stress?
The most common symptoms associated with face twitching stress might include usually the following:
- Its mostly on one side of the face
- Its uncontrollable
- Its mostly painless
These type of sudden twitches or contractions often start in the eyelid, and later on may progress and affect the cheek and mouth on the same side of the face or on both sides. At first, this face stress twitching comes and go’s however eventually, usually over the course of few months to a few years, they start to occur constantly in some people .
How is face twitching stress diagnosed?
If the face twitching happens long-term or interferes with the persons daily life, the doctor may be able to help so to diagnose persons condition, doctor will first take a proper medical history, which will include following :
- questions about the symptoms
- when did the symptoms start
- details about the face twitching
If a person is experiencing stress and anxiety with the twitching, he should for sure mention it to the doctor which might be enough for them to diagnose a person with twitching related to stress . But sometimes they might still do few tests to rule out other conditions.
These tests may include following:
- blood tests to look if there are any electrolyte problems or thyroid issues
- an electromyogram (EMG), that looks at how well the muscles work
- a CT scan or MRI of the brain or of the spine
- a nerve conduction test, to see if the nerves are working correctly or not
- If a person has stress or is suffering from anxiety and any other potential causes of twitching can be ruled out, the doctor will likely be able to diagnose a person who has stress twitching.
What are the treatment options for face twitching stress ?
Treating stress and anxiety is the best way to treat stress twitching. If the concerned doctor thinks the twitching is caused by anxiety, they may refer the patient to a mental health professional, like a psychologist because they can do a more in-depth diagnosis of the stress and anxiety plus will help you to find the best treatment option available.
Treatments for stress twitching may include following:
- psychotherapy, like cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses mostly on changing negative thought patterns and reactions
- medications, like antidepressants that can also treat stress and anxiety or anti-anxiety medications
- In most of the cases, the twitching itself doesn’t need treatment it stops after a while . However, some home remedies and few preventive measures may be able to help to deal with them.
What one can do about face stress twitching?
The best bet for resolving a stress facial twitch is a good dose of patience honestly. However while one is waiting for the stress face twitches to go away, there are a some practices available which might help to hasten the twitches.
- Like reducing the amount of caffeine and alcohol intake , of course it’s easier said than done . However as caffeine and alcohol can surely stimulate this kind of face twitching, so decreasing the consumption can help widely
- Eliminate the face twitch causing stimulants in particular. Like few decongestants, diet aids and some prescription medications like those for ADHD are stimulants for face twitching. If a person takes a prescription drug, he should first speak with the concerned doctor about whether this stimulant could be contributing to the twitch problem
- Lessen the eye irritation, as in case it’s the eye that’s twitching, its better to keep the eyes comfortable by cutting down on the screen time, or time of wearing sunglasses, and avoiding bright lights and in particular using eye drops in case the eyes are dry
- Try to be more chill, as stress makes literally everything worse, for sure the facial twitches. So its best to try to not fixate on the facial twitch because that’s very stressful.
- We all know and have head this million times that getting enough sleep is the most important task, Because Overtiredness can contribute to so many problems including muscle spasms and twitching, so one should be sure to get enough of sleep each night.
- For people who feel they are vulnerable for twitching should eat foods with high magnesium , as it plays an important role in regulating proper muscle function so in managing twitching too.
Are there any preventive measures that may help to stop face twitching stress?
The best way by which stress face twitching can be prevented is to help prevent anxiety in the first place as it’s the main cause .
Other preventive measures help in preventing the twitching itself, while some other measures help prevent both anxiety and twitching more generally.
To help stop stress twitching:
- One should eat a proper healthy diet as having the right amount of salt and the micronutrients is important as it makes the muscles less likely to have twitching. And a nutritious healthy diet can also help a person to reduce anxiety.
- One on a average should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night at least .
- One should avoid energy drinks or caffeine rich things .They can make both twitching and stress or anxiety worse
- One should get some kind of regular exercise as this helps to reduce stress and anxiety , also tones the muscles, that makes them less likely to have twitching.
- One should drink enough water as dehydration can lead to mild anxiety which can make muscles twitch.
- One should reduce the stress as much as possible as it only worsens twitching.
- Avoid drugs and alcohol they are bad for a person overall especially for twitching.
- Try some relaxation methods like a progressive muscle relaxation method, to do this, tense, then relax the muscles one group at one time, making way from the toes to the head.
- Ignore the benign twitching, it can be hard, but worrying about it can lead to more stress which in turn can lead to more twitching and make it worse
Takeaway
Muscle twitching which is caused by stress especially face one can be worrisome, however it’s usually a harmless symptom and goes away on own .
In fact, one should try to ignore the twitching as it’s one way to reduce the stress and twitching both. Stress twitching usually gets worse as the stress and anxiety increase, although one may take some time to subside once a the stress is reduced .
If in case either the stress or the face twitching interferes with the daily life, one should talk to a doctor about the treatment options available.