Living with Essential Tremor

As a young girl, I had anxiety and I dont’ remember which came first…the ET or the anxiety. Certainly they fed into each other and anxiety makes tremors worse and tremors make you anxious because you worry about how you look and how you are perceived. Now as a middle-aged woman, I still keep it secret from most everyone who knows me, because it is so silly yet so humiliating at times. It’s not common so people don’t know what’s going on when they see it happen. Mine is in my head/neck and it is primarily noticeable when I have to be still such as a picture being taken, a public introduction, speech or being put on the spot. It has caused a secondary problem which I know you can all relate to….panic attacks!!! I have been on anti-depressants (and earlier on, beta blockers) for years. The panic attacks then started to take on a life of their own not even related to the tremor but still made worse by it. It’s really a vicious cycle and very difficult esp. as a young person. Because you can go to a neurologist or any doctor and most of them have seen such horrible neurological diseases that they really treat you as though your being overly dramatic. I always tell them, if your sensitive and you have a bad moment with the shaking in front of someone who doesn’t know you that well, regardless of how minor it may seem, it can blow your self-esteem apart in an instant. I’ve learned to just announce before it happens, “oh, by the way, I have a tremor in my neck so if it shakes while your cutting my hair (especially bangs!!, etc) don’t freak out..it’s no big deal” You know, most people say something like, “Oh, no problem, just tell me if I’m making you nervous, or….Ok, I won’t take long”. Sometimes they even talk about a mom or grandma who shakes. It totally let’s the build-up out of your tremor and sometimes you barely feel it, because you feel as though it’s out in the open now, so if it happens, no one’s gonna freak out or look at you like your having cardiac arrest!!
Unfortunately it can progress. I have noticed changes in mine and sometimes it effects my voice esp. when I’m PMS-ey… or had too much caffeine. By the way, caffeine is like a death wish to people with E.T.. - too much of it really makes the shaking out of control. I’ve gotten stuck in that situation before & was really frustrated that I allowed it to happen. Better to go decaf, or mostly decaf. Also, calcium supplementation, Omega 3 oil, and lot’s of exercise really helps. I would also warn against using alcohol to tone it down. It is heavenly to feel calm and steady when you’ve had a couple, but it’s easy to let that be your regular medication and can turn into a crutch. My mom, and aunt had bad tremors as well, and I saw my mom use the alcohol as a way to relax when socializing. You can have a love affair with it when your a person with ET so be very, very careful. Better to NOT drink!! Well, hope this story helped others in some small way and I hope it helps to know your not alone!