Pressures of Being An Adult

    As a child I couldn't really identify with this statement. It wasn't that I couldn't see the people who didn't accept me for who I am, I simply wouldn't. Now as an adult, it seems that I notice people's disapproval more and more, not to mention, the pressure I put on myself to be an upstanding, accomplished adult. I hide some of my tics around family members fearful of disapproval or misunderstanding. As I've mentioned in the past my immediate family has always been very supportive, but sometimes even around them I get self conscious, because "watching your back" is a hard thing to turn off. I hide many more in public these days. Part of this, I think, results in a change in the way I feel about myself. As humans change is only natural. I feel as if I've entered a new stage in my life and the pressure to do certain things and be a certain way have only increased.
    I recently started a new job and did not convey to my boss that I have Tourette Syndrome. Usually I do, but this time I want things to be different. A few days after I began working there we had a night where things were rather quiet and as you may or may not know, when it's quiet those of us with TS always feel the need to fill that silence with our vocal tics. The urge was so overwhelming that I wanted to curl up in a ball and hide. The next day I broke down in tears telling my mum and sister what had happened and how I felt about it. Every day, I'm worried that my tic cycle will get worse or my individual tics will be so terribly obvious that someone will take notice.
    This concerns me because I believe they will not want to give a promotion to someone who seems, in their eyes, to have a disability, that they will see it as a weakness. Also, I have experienced discrimination and humiliation in past jobs due to my tics.
    As always I'm experiencing new and different tics all the time. Just when I've adjusted to one, another one joins the club. I worry that when I tell people that my urge to throw my pen, phone, or other object onto the floor is just a tic, they won't believe me. They'll think I'm just making trouble. After all, I'm an adult and adults don't do things like that or make sounds that sound like the beginnings of temper tantrum which in reality is merely stress coming out in the form of a vocal tic.

Proud To Be Me

    In all walks of life there are many people who would have one conceal certain things about oneself in order to preserve some social fantasy that they keep in their head, some picture that they harbor of how people should and do view them. I have touched on this subject before, but my heart especially goes out to those who are made to feel ashamed of their disorder in one way or another. This doesn't just apply to those with Tourettes, but also those who have other medical issues that can be considered a social stigma. I'm not saying anyone has to broadcast their disorder or should be known by it, but, they should not have to feel as if they are an inconvenience.
    I was blessed to be raised in a family who let me be myself with and without TS and was encouraged instead of put down. I was always told that I would be able to do wonderful things, not just in spite of, but also because I have TS. I would be able to relate to people in a way that not everyone else can and I would be able to see people in a different light, because I, myself, had been there. I have experienced my own share of negative encounters with people because of the simple (or not so simple) fact that I have TS - some of these I have shared with you.
    You may argue that learning of a person's disorder can change the way some people think about them or the way they treat them and you would be right. I have encountered such ignorance through my own eyes; but really, do I want to be close to and hang around people who think that way with such unwavering diligence? When I have children someday there is a 50% chance that they will be born with Tourette Syndrome and/or one of the other co-morbid disorders that I have. Society will do the job of making one self-conscious, ashamed, embarrassed, etc. about one's disabilities. Therefore, it has no place in the family. To anyone out there with children who suffer from such things or perhaps they themselves do, I would say, your disorder does not define who you are, but it is an integral part of who you are. Learning how integrate your "TS self" and how to live harmoniously with it instead of constantly fighting it is vitally important not only for your own peace of mind and body, but so that you may also be an example to others.

HAPPY TOURETTE SYNDROME AWARENESS MONTH!!!

    With my college graduation coming up in three days, this seemed like a good time to share a couple stories. Now, you may have noticed that I haven't posted for a week, but that's because I was getting ready for this week's post and of course GRADUATION. Yay! Going through college with Tourette Syndrome has definitely made for an interesting ride. All the hard work I have put into my college career has paid off, but it hasn't always been easy. I won't say it hasn't been without its rewards though.
    When I first started college, like most students, as freshman at West Liberty University I was living in the dorms just trying to acclimate to my new life. I had been going through a couple years of suppression where I had worked so hard to disguise my tics, that I couldn't tic if my life depended on it. This was all due to feeling humiliated at anyone seeing me tic, as many of them can be unsettling or distracting. It was as if that part of my brain had temporarily gone somewhat dormant to the point that if I did feel the need to tic, it felt alien and I almost couldn't. (I don't recommend this) So, the most I experienced were facial grimaces, crossing of the eyes, and scrunching up my facial muscles. I made a few friends, even met my first real boyfriend, and did pretty well in my classes.
    During my sophomore year, I had begun to dislike dorm life and wasn't doing as well in school as I needed or wanted to. I missed my family (pets included) and I didn't like being away from everything, so I began to explore the idea of switching schools. I knew this would mean a longer ride and with choosing Wheeling Jesuit I would become a commuter, an idea that I was actually kind of excited about. When I entered WJU in spring of 2010, things began to look up, but it was only the beginning of one of the biggest challenges of my life.
    In the spring of 2011, something got triggered in my brain and my tics came back in full force. It was was like I was that kid again who looked like they were constantly hyped up on sugar and caffeine. I began seeing a therapist to help me cope because ticcing in front of people, let alone in a small classroom, was no easier than it had been in high school. In March of 2012 I attended the National Tourette Syndrome Association conference in Arlington, VA. I met people of all ages who dealt with the same things I did. I wasn't alone in my TS anymore and that felt good. Long story short, I was inspired to do a TS Awareness Campaign for my undergrad senior project. It wasn't readily accepted, but I stuck to it and was met with success; even won a couple awards!
    It was a long, arduous process to be able to tic comfortably in public. I took baby steps and LOTS of them, but today I can tic just about anywhere and as soon as it's over I resume "normal" activity as if nothing happened. I've noticed it seems to make most people more comfortable to see that it doesn't bother me or at least doesn't appear to bother me. There are still times when I struggle to tic in public. I have to remind myself everyday (especially if someone looks at me weird or is obviously startled by my tics) that it's not about them, it doesn't matter what they think, and without that part of me, the TS part, I would be a totally different person then the one I am today. So, take it from a very soon to be college GRAD: "We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot." - Eleanor Roosevelt 
HAPPY TOURETTE SYNDROME AWARENESS MONTH!!!