What’s Tourettes?

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Tourettes syndrome is a brain disorder that ranges from a minor discomfort for some to a totally debilitating condition for others. It takes its name from a French physician, Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who laid some of the foundations for the study of the disorder.
In the popular mind, Tourettes are characterized by the uncontrollable spitting of obscenities. This particular symptom is known as coprolalia and is in fact relatively rare among those diagnosed with this disorder. Most reports show between 10% and 15% of those with Tourettes as exhibiting coprolalia. However, in the public eye, the condition is closely associated with coprolalia.

The two main exhibits in Tourettes that occur most often are phonic and motor tics. Phonic tics consist of uncontrollable sounds, often low-pitched whines or punctuated high-pitched noises. Motor tics take different forms and can manifest in different muscle groups throughout the body, often on the face as rapid blinking or twitching of the lips or cheeks.

Unlike many neurological disorders, in which physical tics occur without warning and out of control, Tourettes’ tics are often described as semi-voluntary, because those with the disorder are often able to show some control over them. Most people describe a period before a tic occurs where they become aware of the need to express. This can often present as an itchy or scratchy sensation, or as a strange sensation analogous to the need to sneeze. Eventually the urge becomes too great and the person has to indulge in the tic, be it phonic or physical.

Some people, particularly as they get older and have been consciously dealing with Tourettes for some time, find that they can repress their tics for extended periods. They may find at first that they can hold in their tics for a few seconds or minutes, and eventually they may be able to repress them for hours. Ultimately, however, tics must always be expressed, and when they are they often seem to be intensified by being held back. Many people living with the condition have mastered the art of repressing their tics while out in public until they can find a secluded space to let off steam with a barrage of verbal or physical tics.

The manifestation of these tics appear to be exacerbated by a number of factors, especially high energy states. This can be positive, such as in the case of high excitement, or negative, such as in situations that create a lot of stress.
It is thought that 1 to 10 out of 1,000 people have Tourettes of one level of severity or another. While most have what is diagnosed as minor, a number have the disorder so severe that it hampers everyday life. While medications are available to help treat it, many who live with the disorder choose to instead focus on learning to integrate their tics into their daily lives. This is partly because many people with Tourettes have learned to accept their tics as part of who they are, and partly because the medications used to treat the condition are not terribly effective and have adverse effects ranging from mild to very serious.

There is an energetic contemporary movement to help dispel the myths about Tourettes in order to make life easier for those affected by the disorder. Hollywood and a popular false conceptualization of the disorder have helped demonize it to the point where those on the front lines of having the disease may find themselves socially stigmatized or at a disadvantage when they find work. Groups such as the Tourettes Foundation aim to educate the general public so that those living with the condition have an easier time integrating into society.

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