OKAY I feel like I should have done this before I started posting about my tourettes but I’m doing it now so that anyone who doesn’t know much about it understands a little better.
Tourettes Syndrome is a disorder that causes involuntary movements and vocalizations, called tics. It is also known as “the swearing disease” by people who don’t know much about it, but swearing tics (called coprolalia) only affect about 10-15% of the total number of people who have TS. I’m part of that number, but it’s actually a relatively rare symptom.
If you’re wondering what ticcing feels like, it feels very similar to a sneeze or a yawn. It doesn’t feel like something else has taken control of your body, and sometimes you get a bit of warning before it happens, and you can technically hold it off, at least for a short while, but it gets painful or at the very least extremely uncomfortable very fast, and you can’t hold out against it forever, sooner or later that thing is gonna happen
Vocal tics can be anything from a grunt or a sharp inhale to a full phrase, and they are not what the person with tourettes is “secretly thinking.” Sometimes there are triggers for tics, but a trigger for a tic can be anything if your brain makes the connection for a split second. A trigger for a vocal tic could be realizing there’s a child nearby, or an animal, or listening to someone speak that you know you REALLY shouldn’t interrupt. Or seeing the person you got the tic from, because if you have tourettes, you can “catch” tics from someone else.
Motor tics are when you have body movements as a tic, and can range from jerking your neck or winking to touching someone else’s face or throwing things. Again, it’s not what you “secretly want” to do. Triggers for these tics can be any listed above, and any listed here can also be triggers for vocal tics; for example, someone standing too close to you, knowing that it’s important NOT to tic in that situation, etc etc.
Also, tics can potentially cause injuries! Please don’t trigger tics on purpose.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask! I’ll be glad to help educate.