by Ben Davies

Created on: August 08, 2009

Tourette's Syndrome is a neurological disorder resulting in vocal and motor tics which can manifest themselves in countless different ways. Each tic is either simple or complex. Simple motor tics may include blinking or shrugging whereas complex tics may be jumping or other sudden movements. Some simple vocal tics include sniffing or throat clearing, but at their worst complex vocal tics can include swearing or other outbursts of words.

Tourette's has many associated conditions with it, and understanding these often make anyone with Tourette's feel better about having the condition. The main one is probably OCD - obsessive compulsive disorder. Stereotypically, people think of this as hand washing and cleaning, but it can also apply to obsessive thoughts about something, such as how something may bring about your untimely death, or how doing something could result in getting good grades at school. OCD also can present itself as urges to do things, such as touch fire, but these urges can sometimes be suppressed. ADHD - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - is also a common associated condition, as are Autistic Spectrum Disorder and depression or anxiety - naturally, Tourette's can make this worse, and often being in an uncomfortable situation or doing anything causing anxiety or stress exacerbates the tics and they become uncontrollable.

Some people accuse those with Tourette's syndrome of faking their tics, and this is one of the worst things for anyone with it. For a person to cope with having the condition themselves, others around them need to be tolerant, and often education is the best way - since most people are diagnosed during their school years, teachers could give short lessons to the class about Tourette's syndrome.

Also, it has to be realised that whilst tics are involuntary, they can often be suppressed, for example, during school or other situations where they would be inappropriate, but this almost inevitably leads to them getting worse later, so although they may be embarrassing, I personally think not suppressing tics is the best thing to do. I have been recently diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome and although I still find it hard to let tics out in public, I try to as if I don't, I get really bad when I get home, sometimes having as many as 90 various tics a minute. People will get used to it in the end and they will understand it, but this is so hard to accept at first! I found talking to people I see everyday about it made it better,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>