[ad_1]
(MENAFN – The Conversation) American singer Billie Eilishr recently told her fans that she was struggling with Tourette's syndrome since she was a kid. Previously, she had avoided disclosing her diagnosis by stating that she did not want to be characterized by her condition.
The mark of Tourette is tics. These can be motor tics, such as blinking, or vocal tics, such as sniffing. And they tend to come and go over time. Despite what many people believe, Tourette's rarely involves uncontrollable swearing. In fact, only a tiny proportion of people with Tourette 's experience actually experience it.
Although the disease is common – about one in 100 children is affected – there is still a significant stigma attached to it, so much so that people try to hide their tics and avoid socializing.
What not to say to people with Tourettes.
Unlike tics found in other motor disorders, such as chorea (involuntary movement disorder caused by neurological problems), the unique feature of Tourette is that people can suppress their tics for short periods. Although this often results in stronger explosions when they allow themselves to play freely.
Tics may decrease with age, and in some people they disappear in late adolescence or adulthood. Other people live with severe tics all their lives.
New study
We recently conducted a study to find out what Tourette's diagnosis looks like and how it affects people's lives. Sixteen adults from the UK agreed to be interviewed for our study. In our in-depth interviews, adults at Tourette told us that they were living rewarding lives, with satisfying jobs and a happy family life. They believe that Tourette does not define them. They even claimed that this illness had helped them to develop emotionally and to find more meaning in their lives. As one participant said:
But some participants said they felt lonely because of their condition. Even those who had become more comfortable with Tourette felt the need to hide their tics in public. Similar to Eilish, they learned to suppress their tics and tried to hide them by any means possible. As this was not always feasible, some preferred to isolate themselves to avoid ridicule and intimidation in public.
Tics have really made me less likely to touch society. Well, to socialize at all or to look for friends, because I was afraid of being a joke.
They also wanted to dissociate themselves from other people with Tourette, a group they viewed as stigmatized by society.
Most adults reported being bullied – sometimes even going on. And some even had negative reactions from their parents. Some parents expressed frustration and disappointment, often because they misunderstood the situation. One participant said:
I was hidden in the closets and rooms. I have never been released in public. I've even been kept away from my own family, with the exception of my grandparents.
As in other studies, our interviews showed that people with Tourette's disease often had difficulties at work, as employers refused to make the necessary adjustments and prevented them from keeping their jobs. Another participant said:
Imagine working in a bar and spending stressful evenings and stuff like that, and you start to break your mouth and people start asking questions, making fun of you drunk, so, you know … And you're trying to get out of here. talk to your employer … & # 39; now I have to go away or go home or something like that, because it's going to make me worse. " It's just a big shot, that's really. And they do not understand that, and they do not care about it either and they do not believe that they have to worry about it.
Reinforce awareness
Respondents in our survey stated that they wanted to be "normal" in order to achieve all their aspirations and goals. They thought Tourette had prevented them from being the person they wanted to be and from doing the things that they wanted to do.
Apart from Billie Eilish and American footballer Tim Howard, few personalities have talked about Tourette outside the context of a joke. Having a pop star proudly admits that she is suffering from this disease and raising public awareness about this disease could be a first step in the fight against the stigma badociated with Tourette's syndrome. Indeed, identifying with a celebrity can make life with this state more bearable and less lonely. It could even help people take pride in their diagnosis and show that there is hope for people with Tourette's disease to make their dreams come true, just like Billie Eilish.
- Psychology
Psychiatry
Tourette Syndrome
MENAFN0807201901990000ID1098735276
[ad_2]
Source link
