Anyone have like a "tic" they do when they start getting anxious?

It isn't a real "tic" because it is voluntary. People that know me can TELL automatically when I'm feeling anxious by a very specific and VOLUNTARY movement that I do with my right hand.

Personally when I'm getting nervous I will take my right hand and put it on my chest in-between my breasts and leave it there for a couple seconds or sometimes I'll sort of brush that area with my right hand. I'll do this repeatedly. The more anxious I am, the more frequently I do it.

Can anyone relate? Does anyone do something similar? If you have your own "tic" please share and explain.

I twist the hair around my face. I'm actually trying to stop because I'm breaking it off.

BUT, it gives me comfort. I was a chronically-ill child and my parents used to sit on the side of the bed and rub the short hairs around my face (they called them baby hairs) when I was getting an IV, breathing treatment, or just generally very sick. It was always so comforting. There wasn't much to say to make anything better, but they seemed to be communicating, "we're here, we're beside you, you're not alone."

I guess when I start twisting my hair, I'm kind of bringing back those feelings, because in this struggle, I wish they understood and cared as much as they did then.

Kitt, I have a niece who started picking at about 18 months. I've been trying to convince her parents to take her to a child psychologist but no luck. Poor thing has sores all over her lips and face. Glad to hear that you've gotten that under control - very painful tic!