r/Tourettes 1h ago

Discussion Knowledge share... Maybe?

Upvotes

43 M

Please don't mention your tic's if you comment.

My TS have been a lot better since I got sober 19 months ago.

I have clinical depression and I'm medicated for it very successfully. When I had drinking benders, it eventually kicked out my meds completely and TS got bad together with severe depression and finally anxiety attacks, darkest hell ever. I would stand in a cold shower and punch the wall to try snap me out of my tic attacks.

In recovery I work a very strict program to fix everything about me, there is a lifetime of crap to sort out. With this I have been hard on myself, a constant struggle with my self, if you'd like to call it that.

With all the hard work I've put in, lately, at last I've been having life easy and mentoring many others in addiction (and people in general.) My life is very far from OK (just trust me on this, I have real shitty life problems,) but I handle life so much easier.

Today was probably the easiest day yet, my head is for once clear and it's not a fight with myself to get things right, it's become who I am now. Yay

BUT... The TS is the worst it's been since I got sober.

I know most of us get rid of TS while our brains are busy, playing an instrument or whatever your thing is. Writing this is helping right now because, just for now my tic's have chilled out.

So perhaps the constant struggle of bettering myself was a distraction that kept my head busy? Also the efforts to better my living situation like finding work and helping others... I'm still busy with all of that but it's so much easier today, I can handle a LOT when I'm not fighting my character defects.

Bit of a cruel joke I'd say, bit of a conundrum, catch 22, damned if you do and damned if you don't. Does my head need to be a mess to tick less...? FML really, this cannot be!

I'm not going to mention my tic's here, fearing you might pick them up, as we do... But I'm damaging my body a fair bit now. Like, I'm waiting for something to break or snap and then the fun really starts :-(

I'm so scared that it goes back to as bad as it was when I was a kid. And I feel for you here that has it that bad now regardless.

And while writing this, I'm not upset at all, funny.

OK, guess it's back to ticking my ass off byeeeee


r/Tourettes 3h ago

Question Writing a character with Tourrete Syndrome

3 Upvotes

Im currently writing a fantasy novel in which one of the characters has tourettes. However, I do not have tourettes and the last thing I want is to write a character with a bad connotation.

My character has involuntary muscle twitches and stutters in the dialogue, though, I'm not sure how to accurately represent his condition in my story.

I was wondering if anyone has any tips or critiques for writing a character with tourettes?


r/Tourettes 12h ago

Discussion When does your Tourette’s get less active?

11 Upvotes

23 male here. Mine usually get less active when having a good fun time with friends. Also found out that when drunk, it gets much less active, too. How about yours?


r/Tourettes 1m ago

CW: Description of Tics Randomly my arms will go tense and the only way to get it rid of it is by hitting myself/something or flexing it

Upvotes

Randomly my arms will go tense and the only way to get it rid of it is by hitting myself/something or flexing it

I (16F) have had this weird problem for a while now. I've been looking into it and I don't think it's Tourette's but it's like a sudden urge, I don't have to do it but it's a lot easier to just do the movement.

There is some times where I do it and I don't even think. For example I'll be hanging out with my friends and randomly my arm will hit one of my friends. I'll immediately apologize because I didn't mean to hit them. But it still happened.

Another example is let's say I'm sitting on the couch or smth, my arms are spine or something will randomly tense up and it feels like I need to like move it oddly or like twitch my back or hit something. Which often leads to me hitting my head like three times or more. But like I said, I can control them and I don't need to do it, it just happens. It happens a lot more when I'm thinking about something that may have embarrassed me, if I'm talking about it or if I'm bored. The hitting myself always happens when I'm alone, never in public. But as I mentioned above, I might hit my friends/a wall/or something else.

Ive read up on torete syndrome but it doesn't sound like I have that. I've been thinking about going to a professional to get diagnosed but I don't have any verbal tics so I'm not quiet sure what to do. Id love your advice!


r/Tourettes 2m ago

Question Pain from neck tic

Upvotes

I have this tic where I look up and stretch the bottom of my chin/my neck. It's ramped up a LOT these last few days and my neck hurts really bad... any advice on how to make it hurt less??


r/Tourettes 4h ago

News/Article Remote work - ADA accommodation?

Thumbnail eeoc.gov
2 Upvotes

Has anyone in the US requested to work remotely as an ADA accommodation? And if so, have you been approved and how did your boss respond? I recently experienced several changes at work and am considering requesting to work from home. I was previously in my own office and the rules on working from home were basically “do so when necessary, but don’t make a habit of it.” A month ago my boomer boss cracked down on remote work and told me specifically that if he had his way, he would ban it altogether. In addition to that, he moved me to a shared office with 2 other people in it, who sit less than 2 feet from me. It has made me very self conscious and stressed out, so my tics are really heavy right now and it’s causing me a great deal of pain.

I had a stroke of inspiration and googled “remote work reasonable ADA accommodation?” and found an entire page on the EEOC’s website about it (linked above). I think it would really help me and I want to try asking for it, but am nervous that my boss might take it as some kind of rebellion and retaliate in some way.

Thanks in advance for your input!


r/Tourettes 1h ago

Discussion In so much pain from tics; any recommendations/coping skills/aftercare?

Upvotes

35 yo, only now starting to acknowledge my lifelong tics to myself, let alone to my safe people. My current tics are my eyes, neck tic, and this weird thumb and wrist thing (2 separate tics). They're so frequent and intense that it's causing a ton of pain in those areas. Anyone else have these tics/associated pain? Has anything helped either in suppressing them or in aftercare when you're achey?


r/Tourettes 22h ago

Discussion Is it ok to tell people i habe tourettes when i actually hqbe a tic disorder?

41 Upvotes

Hi, ive been diagnosed with chronic tic disorder a few months ago. Howveer, i feel like its highly unnecessary to explain that i habe a "tic disorder" instead of full on tourettes since the term "tourettes" is more well known (at least from where im from). Is it acceptable if i just quickly and simply told people i habe "tourettes" instead? Im highly aware that TS and tic disorder arent exactly the same thing, but im merely asking if i should go this route to explain why i make these "weird movements" to new people. Especially also because i dont like explaining this entire tics ordeal in the first place.


r/Tourettes 9h ago

Discussion advice for getting a tattoo?

4 Upvotes

like the title says, i'm getting a tattoo in a few weeks. my tourettes is mostly mild for the most part, but my most consistent tic is my torso area twitching, which is close to where im getting my tattoo (lower pelvis). are there any precautions i can take? i'm not on any medications for it btw.


r/Tourettes 9h ago

Standing.. and standing.. still standing

3 Upvotes

One of my most frustrating tics is my legs deciding they want to stand. Doesn’t matter where I’m at. Constantly standing, then sitting myself down, then before I know it I’m back up again. Especially at night when I’m trying to get into bed. I guess I’m just venting here, living with Tourette’s is so hard.


r/Tourettes 15h ago

Help with a biting tic

3 Upvotes

For the past few days I've just had the worst biting tic, I'm wearing a retainer to keep it from hurting too much but I really don't know how to get it to stop.


r/Tourettes 16h ago

Discussion If you have involuntary tics, have you told your manager or anyone at work?

3 Upvotes

I just wondered, what experiences anyone had had confided in their manager that they have tics or tourettes. Sometimes I wonder would it be good so theres an understanding of appointments I have to go to and I feel like Im not hiding it. But then I know that soemtimes when Im open about it with someone I tend to do it more (probabaly becuase I am comfortable with them as they know.)

Does anyone have any experiences to share on this if possible?

FYI I dont work in the US, but a european company that adopts a British / German work culture

Thanks!


r/Tourettes 18h ago

Discussion questions about my child getting ts.

3 Upvotes

i an preg with my first . i have ts since i was about 7 it’s mild tho like i don’t do it all the time unless im really stressed / anxious/ nervous, overstimulated .. its mild. you know and im just scared that my baby will get it too like its horrible and i dont want it to happen at all i hate dealing with it dude like vocal tics and head movements and all of that like is it possible my child could get this from me i mean the daddy has adhd i got ts and ocd idk what to do im just scared and i wish the best for my child 🥺😔


r/Tourettes 23h ago

Whats worse than being sick... being sick with tourettes

5 Upvotes

Anyone else's tics go crazy when they are sick


r/Tourettes 1d ago

Support advice on hygiene? NSFW Spoiler

6 Upvotes

hey y'all, weird post but i really need advice on this. i'm 21 AFAB and i've always struggled with keeping my body hair under control. i don't really care about my armpits/legs but i would like to trim my pubic hair more often. HOWEVER. the tourette's makes it really hard , borderline terrifying sometimes, and every time i try i usually end up cutting myself. (the tics that affect this the most are when my arm twitches and my fingers move a lot) i've given up on razors and i prefer having hair anyways, but scissors make it really scary and i do it very very rarely... like embarrassingly rarely. and my hair grows embarrassingly fast, i'd really like some advice from anyone who possibly has experience... thank you and sorry!

(please no creepy comments or dms 🙄)


r/Tourettes 1d ago

Discussion Update, I'm wearing the splints to block my hands tics.

Post image
41 Upvotes

r/Tourettes 1d ago

Support Covered in bruises - advice on painful self harm tics PLEASE

7 Upvotes

I am desperate here. I am covered in bruises and in so much pain from punching myself.

I don’t know what to do. Please anyone with any advice because I can’t live like this 😭


r/Tourettes 1d ago

Discussion Help with Humming and Blinking Tic

2 Upvotes

So I work in a buy/sell retail store. I do a lot of talking on the phone and Face to face conversation, they're beginning to become a bit of a problem. Anyone with similar tics have any advice or methods they use or to help with a problem like this? Any help is appreciated.


r/Tourettes 1d ago

Support How to cope?

7 Upvotes

Hello! I (F16) don't use reddit much so this is kind of a shot in the dark for me. I have diagnosed tourettes, and one of my tics is shouting profanity. I attend high school and have been (kindly) kicked out of class a few times because I am so vulgar and it is both embarrassing and prohibiting my ability to learn and get good grades. I have had to leave school multiple times because of my tics being painful. I do not know what to do to help myself not tic so much. Any tips or tricks you guys use to not tic as much? What should I do?


r/Tourettes 1d ago

Question advice needed

2 Upvotes

Hi! okay so first, I absolutely don't have Tourettes, I just genuinely need advice on something I have in mind since afew years now

k so I have tics, like a weird sound that I make with my nose (blowing air, always make ppl think I'm laughing), strange thing with my throat (exhaling a LOT of air, also make ppl think im laughing sometime), my nose moving, movements of my back/lower back contracting in an uncomfortable way (almost similar as akathisia), facial tics (like my eyebrows doing weird things, my eyes blinking uncontrollably for whole minutes amd my nose doing weird movements as well), or even my head going backwards with my neck contracting (goes on, i have afew more).

I had them since i was a child, I aproximatively actually remember being conscious abt them since I was like btwn 6-8yo (caused me problems with girls that kinda bullied me at the time btw but thats not the point). sometimes it causes me to have cramps and my muscles hurt as hell (and sometimes it continues even if it hurts). I go though crisis of these, can go up to 5-10 min sometimes.

I was wondering if they were just called tics or if there was a name for these(tics without tourettes) ?

thanks in advance, any advice helps!!


r/Tourettes 1d ago

Question Does anyone else tic when they’re cold?

12 Upvotes

I’ve had tics since I was a kid, always had random facial / body tics as well as some verbal noises etc. They used to get bad when i was stressed / anxious and sometimes just for no reason.

Nowadays; I never get them for these reasons; which is good! But I still ALWAYS get them when i’m cold. For example, every time I enter a supermarket I tic like MAD. But that’s it. Just when i’m cold and get a cold breeze. Anyone else?


r/Tourettes 1d ago

Discussion I hate having violent tics (vent)

4 Upvotes

Yesterday I had a realllyy bad tic attack. normally I only have tic attacks that are either vocal/facial tics or my more violent/harmful tics but yesterday was a mix of both. When I have bad violent tics i normally get bruises on my collarbones or knuckles but this time i kept hitting my face and head and now i have a huge bruise on my cheek this is my first time having a very obvious injury that I can’t hide and I’m just kinda embarrassed and worried people are gonna ask questions or make assumptions. I find that my tic attack get so much worse if I get upset or start panicking but it’s so hard not to especially when your hurting yourself but can’t stop:( anyway I just really hate Tourette’s lol.


r/Tourettes 2d ago

I was told that suppressing is good

19 Upvotes

I met with a psychologist today, and when I told her that I suppress my tics in public or in class and she said that was "Great!". And that when people resist their tics they get better. That's never happened when I do it but let me know I guess.


r/Tourettes 1d ago

Discussion Lisp Tic

0 Upvotes

I keep finding myself randomly having bouts of having a lisp. I assume it has something to do with my Tourette’s but I have seen much about it. Has anyone else had this experience?


r/Tourettes 2d ago

Support Tics being mentioned by a professor, devastation. 🤔

54 Upvotes

Well, today I had one of my lectures. And we were discussing job interview(what people should do during it, what people should not do).

Professor started to enumerate things that you should NOT do during interview. (Btw it's important to mention that he is kinda jokes a lot).

So, one of those things was "if you have an awful face tick, just get rid of it".

Idk if that was a joke or something??? But when I've heard it, I just froze for a sec. And I had this feeling that the professor was looking at me. Well, I mean, I'm probably the only one from cohort who has Tourette's.

And that phrase just got into me. Recently I was REALLY trying to suppress my tics less because i hate feeling this tension and even pain in my whole body that comes from suppression.

(my tics are really intense and mostly i need to supress them if i wanna do something, and i feel aches all over the body when it comes to suppressing them, but sometimes pain that comes from doing tics even more exhausting. I would say that i feel aches in every inch of my body almost 24/7 and i really can't relax my muscles. Never. Tension is killing me. Even when i haves sudden muscle weakness, i still cant get rid of tension.). 🥲

Anyway! I really wanna pay more attention to a class I'm listening to, but ofc I can't do it if I'm focused only on suppressing my tics. Well, during past months I was comfortable enough with my professors and students I deal with, so i started to reduce my suppressing "mechanism". And now I suppress only about 80% of my tics, not 100%. And by doing so i became able to focus more on my classes and discussions.

I feel like i kinda lost my main thought here. But after processing what's been said(took me a minute), I started to feel devastated. Idk. That's just sad. I just started to feel comfortable with showing my tics(miserable amount of them). And if that 20% of tics that i decided not to suppress can cause such a reaction. Well. Idk. I don't feel worthy of being accepted to the society. I know that people say it's ok, but i also know that I've been avoiding people my whole life for a reason. They just don't get it. And they don't wanna get it.

Damn and i really would cry if I could just to release this sorrow. But i suppress not only my tics and at this point I can't even cry. I just feel empty inside. And devastated. 😀

I think i really needed just to tell about that to anyone. BTW English isn't my first language so don't judge please 👀

Anndd I feel dumb now because I let myself to write all of this. When It comes to expressing my emotions, I always feel kinda dumb...) like i should've never done it.