Hi Cathy, my mother had essential tremors as a teenager and I noticed it as a kid. Her hands would tremor whenever she got stressed or nervous. She told me she would hide her hands because of embarassment. I had it, but it went away. My problems are Spasmodic Torticollis along with Oral Mandibular problems. This disease can effect every muscle in the body. Have you checked to see if anyone in your family has this disorder - mother, father, grandparents, greatgrand parents, cousins, and any other family members way back? It only has to take one parent to pass this monster on to you. Whenever my MOM got nervous, she would light up to smoke or get gum to chew. Her hands would tremor when nervous. She would talk non-stop because it relaxed her muscles in the oral cavity. She had the oral mandibular problem plus her hands shook badly. All ten of my aunts and uncles had this monster. I always thought "why are my reatives so nervous?" They could not help it. It was the DYT1 gene!! This is totally genetic on my part. I'm related to the famous Ted Tuner and his foot would pop up when stressed. My cousins have essential tremors also. Check out your realtives. Hope I have helped you any way. Dorothy