Hello all,

I've had a certain problem all my life, and I think it's about time I did something about it. Every time I use the muscles around my mouth, for instance when speaking or smiling, they start to vibrate. It happens mostly with the muscles in my upper lip and those next to my nose that are connected to my upper lip. This all results in my upper lip taking a strange form and me being unable to pronounce words correctly.

Until recently I thought that this problem was caused by a lack of self confidence, and that the tremors would go away if I was not nervous anymore. But, looking back, the tremors are at their worst when speaking to my best friends and my family, i.e. the people who know everything about me and around who I am not nervous at all. And, secondly, I feel that my self-confidence problems are almost entirely gone. So I'm starting to think that maybe this is a physical problem, and not a mental problem.

I should also mention that the muscles don't vibrate when I don't use them. It is 'only' when I start e.g. speaking that the problem begins. This is also the solution I have used until now. I speak as little as possible and keep my face emotionless ... I avoid the use of these muscles.

You can probably see how this problem is stopping me from growing as a person: going to the pub with friends is difficult, as is meeting new people, building a career and public speaking. I can see that life has a lot of nice experiences to offer me, and I want to enjoy it to the fullest!

Does anybody here recognize this? I should probably just talk to my doctor, but I'd like some upfront information

/Frits (from The Netherlands)