GuidanceIf you want to translate into another language, please use the translate feature in your browser.
“In the middle of a quiet meeting, head to my neck suddenly moved on their own. At first glance, people might think I was just stretching. But inside my head, there was a wave of unexplainable urgency — like a tiny explosion demanding release. The more I tried to hold it back, the stronger it pressed.”
For a while, I lived with something I didn’t fully understand: small, repetitive movements I couldn’t easily control. A twitch in my shoulder. A blink that came too often. A subtle jerk of my neck. They weren’t constant, but when they came, they felt impossible to hold back — like trying not to sneeze when the urge is already there.
What It Felt Like
It wasn’t dramatic enough to stop my life, but it was persistent enough to make me aware of it every day.
In quiet moments, I’d catch myself doing it. In public, I’d try to hide it — which only made the urge stronger. The more I fought it, the more my body seemed to insist.
Understanding Tourette’s (in Simple Terms)
Tourette Syndrome is a neurological condition involving involuntary movements or sounds called tics.
- Motor tics — physical movements like blinking, shrugging, or jerking.
- Vocal tics — sounds like throat-clearing or small noises.
In mild cases, tics may come and go, often triggered by stress, fatigue, or even excitement. They’re not a sign of weakness — they’re the brain’s misfired signals to the body.
Why It’s Hard to “Just Stop”
Suppressing a tic is like holding your breath — you can do it for a while, but the pressure builds until it bursts out. That’s why telling someone “just don’t do it” doesn’t work. The urge is neurological, not simply a habit.
What Helped Me Calm It Over Time
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Awareness Without Judgment
I stopped treating the tic as an enemy. The less I fought it with frustration, the less power it seemed to have. -
Stress Management
Meditation, breathing exercises, and light physical activity reduced the frequency. Stress was a major trigger. -
Channeling the Energy
Sometimes I’d redirect the urge into a small, less noticeable movement — like tapping a finger — to release the tension. -
Routine and Rest
Fatigue made the tics worse. Consistent sleep and balanced routines helped keep them in check. -
Gradual Desensitisation
Over time, by noticing the urge early and letting it pass without acting on it immediately, I could stretch the gap between tics.
The Turning Point
It didn’t vanish overnight. But slowly, the tics became less frequent, less intense. One day I realised I’d gone hours without thinking about them. That’s when I knew I was regaining control — not by force, but by understanding.
Closing Reflection
“Sometimes the body speaks in ways we don’t expect. The goal isn’t always to silence it — sometimes it’s to listen, adapt, and gently guide it back into rhythm.”
Living with mild Tourette’s taught me patience with myself. It reminded me that control isn’t about domination — it’s about cooperation between mind and body.
I realized that one of the causes of these recurring symptoms is repetitive behavior that is subconsciously considered satisfying by the brain, such as initially trying to shake the neck to relax the muscles after work, but because it is done repeatedly it will become a habit, as if it has become an obligation.
So I try to minimize it and keep myself busy so I don’t have time to feel it flare up. I relax more, and I distract myself. This process usually takes more than a month—after that, I don’t try to bring up the trigger again.
