This article is in response to several inquiries by practitioners regarding my own management of Tourette syndrome with Emotional Freedom Techniques and other strategies. For those readers unfamiliar with TS (Tourette syndrome) there are several articles for your review on this web site. For those unfamiliar with Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), there is a link to Gary Craig's web site (the founder of EFT) at the conclusion of this brief article.

        The rest of this overview must be framed with some fundamental understandings. I have not "cured" myself of TS and still must be vigilant in managing this neurological disorder. More essentially, I would not be interested in a cure for myself. In Don't Think About Monkeys (1992, Hope Press, CA), a book of first person accounts I co-edited with Adam Seligman, there are many references to the gifts inherent within the TS affected mind. The neurochemistry of brain that produces the painful, annoying, sometimes socially embarrassing physical symptoms is also responsible for the creativity, peculiar way of perceiving the world, ability to have a kinesthetic mirror of visual input (feeling in the body movement outside the body observed visually), and many other unique traits. (My files include some eloquent descriptions of these provided by other writers with TS in preparation for a sequel to the book.)

        A person unfamiliar with an environment such as a rain forest, ocean beach or desert would wander through, enjoying the experience but only able to see the "big picture" or the obvious. A guide, however, would enrich the experience many fold by pointing out to the visitor the subtleties, the patterns, the fabric that produces this environment. The "unseen" would then be obvious to the explorer. So it is in the TS world. Curing TS is like spraying the forest with toxins to get rid of the annoying mosquitoes. These toxins also hurt the forest. I find no useful purpose in the sometimes extremely painful muscular twitching of TS. Is there a way to dissipate, even eradicate, some of the useless muscular spasms and vocalizations of TS without compromising the very spirit of the TS person?

        Educators and mental health practitioners have witnessed something similar with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and ADD with hyperactivity (ADHD.) Why are 90% of ADD and ADHD children American? The Europeans even suggest that this disorder is an American construct. (See my article, Made in the USA, in the web site archives.) It is convenient for adults: have the child take medication. For many correctly diagnosed with a rigid medication regimen, such treatment has made a difference in behavior and academic performance. Also for many, such treatment has dulled the creativity and very soulfulness of the person. There are also gifts in ADD that need to be recognized and cultivated. So let us be cautious in our treatment of these neurological disorders.

        Mood and behavior are greatly dependent on a harmonious interaction between neurotransmitters, neurohormones and neuromodulators. Even the mood fluctuations of a pregnant woman or one experiencing PMS can be traced to a disruption of this delicate balance. The main neurotransmitters implicated in TS (and other disorders) are dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. Many TS symptoms can be understood by considering overactive dopamine neurons. Monoamine oxidase (MAO) breaks down these three main neurotransmitters. So MOA inhibitors (often prescribed for depression) increase the steady-state level of these neurotransmitters. Tricyclic medications and SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) work at keeping the serotonin levels high. And that's what we want, because serotonin is what keeps the nervous system, muscles, and even moods and thoughts under control.

        Whether this background is fully understood or not by the reader, it doesn't really matter other than to reduce it to the central question: Can EFT help increase (or reduce the update) of serotonin levels in the brain? I contend that addressing the serotonin levels rather than the physical symptoms will not only result in more effective treatment but also avoid the problem of compromising the gift-side of TS. The medications of choice in treating TS and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) target the serotonin levels, but often with side effects, such as cognitive dulling and personality changes. The application of EFT would avoid such side effects and generate only concomitant positive benefits "on the side".

        The reader is cautioned to take note the only subject of my treatment of TS with EFT and other techniques is me. Thus this reporting is purely anecdotal and for educational purposes only. Practitioners may receive ideas from what I share here from my own experience and take it from there. (Although I would be grateful to hear of your reports of how you applied EFT to TS and how it went.)

        There are several integrated facets to my management: First is to create an image for MOA and serotonin. Best the person creates his/her own, using colors, textures, shapes, etc. The set-up is a little different in that it doesn't address symptoms, but root causes on the biological level: "I love and accept myself eventhough my MOA is breaking down my serotonin." The tapping follows the standard sequence, holding the image of MOA's dominance. I often follow the EFT application with self-hypnotic suggestions in both verbal and auditory forms: Imagining the outcome I desire of muscular control and mental attentiveness and "programming" my subconscious with anchors to trigger control. For example, "When I get excited or feel stress, I maintain an appropriate level of serotonin-induced relaxation throughout my body."

        Tapping the "Temporal-Sphenoidal Line" further enhances this procedure. As described by Dr. Larry Nims, the area just above the ear from the temple back to the earlobe consists of twenty separate points. Stimulating these apparently bypasses the conscious mind filtering. Tapping this area during the repetitions of affirmations can be a powerful adjunct or substitute for hypnotherapeutic autosuggestions. Due to the right/left brain split, I tap the right side for positive affirmations and the left for positive affirmations with negative frames. Here's the difference: The right side affirmation could be, "My brain knows how to maintain high serotonin levels," and "My brain is maintaining high serotonin levels." The left side affirmation could be, "I no longer need Tourettic responses to stress" or "I no longer need whatever is not useful in my TS." The tapping is done using the first three fingers, joined together, starting from the temple working back in a half-circle to the back of the earlobe. I believe it's best to repeat affirmations three times and vary them, several times a day.

        Again, this is not a valid "study" of the efficacy of using EFT on TS since, for one, I am not controlling for variables. Along with meridian tapping to increase serotonin, exercise, diet, sleep and prayer are also powerful interventions. There are tryptophan-rich foods and supplements (such as lecithin) which provide precursors to serotonin production. Exercise reduces stress and increases endorphins, as does good sleep and a disciplined prayer practice.

        There are many reports in the literature of infections such as strep throat triggering the onset of TS and OCD and a high frequency of allergy reactions among many TS affected people. We may postulate a correlation between the degree of symptoms of TS and the health of the immune system in some cases. In children there is something called Pediatric Autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders (PANDAS) which is often associated with the onset on TS. Whatever can be done to strengthen the immune system, and EFT can be applied here too, will help manage symptomology.

        Again, I am not espousing any alternative treatment. I humbly present an overview of my personal experience with EFT and TS, not as a practitioner but as a writer/reporter who is committed to my personal growth and the dissemination of knowledge.

John S. Hilkevich, Ph.D.
Spiritual Resource Services
www.prayergear.com

For information about EFT, visit www.emofree.com.

This article can be considered an adjunct to the long-standing and popular paper on this web site, Unrecognized Symptomology of the Tourette Syndrome Gene in the General Population. This article is addressed to practitioners of EFT. This educational summary is not an instructional guide and the author assumes no liability in how this information is used.