Explaining Tourette Syndrome
Let me start by saying that my account is not dedicated to Tourette Syndrome. I usually just post and reblog random nonsense and I still plan to do so. However, I just wanted to take a bit to do my best to briefly educate you on Tourettes. Feel free to ask any questions you have and Iâd be more than happy to answer.
A few disclaimers before we begin:
- I cannot speak for every single person with Tourettes. Itâs different for everybody.
- Tics does not always equal Tourettes.
- I personally donât believe itâs a good idea to self diagnose yourself with Tourettes. That being said, I feel that diagnosing yourself with tics is completely okay.
What is Touretteâs?
Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder that involves the signals in ones brain going haywire. This is what causes unwanted movements and sounds, also known as âticsâ.
What are tics?
As said before, tics are involuntary movements and sounds. There are all different kinds of tics such as simple, complex, motor, verbal and mental.
Simple motor tics may include:
- Sniffing
- Nose Scrunching
- Head Twitching
- Shoulder Shrugging
- Eyebrow Raising
And more. A simple motor tic I have is eye darting.
Complex motor tics may include:
- Jumping
- Arm Flapping
- Spinning
- Touching Other People
- Knees Buckling
And more. A complex motor tic I have is clapping.
Simple verbal tics may include:
- Whistling
- Throat Clearing
- Grunting
- Tongue Clicking
- Blowing
And more. A simple verbal tic I have is making a hiccuping sound.
Complex verbal tics may include:
- Imitation Of Sounds
- Making Animal Like Noises
- Differences In Speech Patterns
- Uttering Phrases That Are Out Of Context
- Yelling
And more. A complex verbal tic I have is stuttering.
Now here are some tics that will probably need a little bit more explaining.
Echopraxia (motor): A tic where we involuntarily mimic other peopleâs movements.
Copropraxia (motor): Involuntary obscene gestures. Not everyone with Tourettes has this. It varies from person to person.
Palilalia (verbal): A tic where we repeat our own words. One of the most frustrating
Coprolalia (verbal): The swearing tic. Only 10 percent of people have it. It is thought to be caused by damage to the amygdala, which is the section of the brain that controls anger and aggression. That is the science behind it, but when we swear, we are not usually angry or aggressive at all.
Echoskepsi (mental): Like echolalia, but we donât say it out loud. Instead, we repeat things that other people say in our heads.
Coproskepsi (mental): Repeating swear words over and over in our heads and is totally out of control.
Paliskepsi (mental): This is the mental version of palilalia, involuntarily repeating our own words in our heads.
What is a premonitory urge?
A premonitory urge is the build up feeling that we get in our bodies before tics happen. Motor and verbal tics can usually be ârelievedâ by ticcing. And I use that term very loosely. Mental tics are a bit more difficult to get rid of. Again, itâs different for everyone.
This post is just a brief explanation of Touretteâs as well as what tics are. I hope this provided some kind of education to anyone who may come across it. Again, donât hesitate to also any questions you might have. Iâll answer as soon as I can. Thank you for reading. /gen
