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How to Cope with Essential Tremor (ET)
Tips for living your best life with hand tremor
Imagine how your life would change if you were unable to bring a cup to your mouth without spilling, if you couldn’t do the buttons on your clothes or even brush your teeth without difficulty. If you are one of the 7 million Americans living with essential tremor (ET), you already know what that’s like.
ET causes one or both hands to tremble while trying to perform routine tasks like eating or getting dressed. Sometimes the head or other parts of the body are affected as well.
Although both are neurological disorders, ET is actually eight times more common than Parkinson’s disease and affects people differently. Unlike Parkinson’s, people with ET experience shaking during goal-oriented activity, while Parkinson’s patients experience trembling while at rest.
Although far more likely to occur later in life, ET can also affect younger people and even children. It is a progressive disease, so tremors usually increase in frequency and/or severity over time. Tremors are not part of the aging process; this is a big misconception.
