- I can sit here.
Fuck you
You you're a piece of shit.
I don't like you.
Fuck you.
- Shut the Fuck up.
That's just a tick. I promise.
- I figured
- But you know,
(theme music playing)
We have Tourette's syndrome get with bitch.
- All right.
It bothers me when people laugh at my ticks
three
two
one
go.
(beep sound)
- I have a lot of funny ticks,
whether it's just word ticks,
whether it's a big movement,
whether it's my cussing ticks,
ah, I also make social media content on Tik Tok,
exploring the funny sides of Tourette's and
what it's like to live with Tourette's,
and when I'm with my friends, we laugh at
my ticks because they're funny cow, moo-oo.
And when people laugh with me, at my ticks,
then I feel more accepted then I'm,
I feel more myself and I feel like
I can freely tick, but if you're laughing at me,
that's a whole different story.
If you're making fun of me that's,
that's drawing the line.
- I realized that what would be way worse
than being laughed at is if like my friends
and peers and family were like trying to baby me,
you know, and like be tiptoe around me
and like walking on thin ice like,
I would much rather be
like made fun of
from somebody that I don't care about then like
know that I'm being treated differently by the
people in my life just because I have this thing.
- Sometimes I'll say something like,
just kind of mean all around,
really insulting to someone at that point,
it's like the only way to play it off,
If it's like a friend of court is to like
laugh at and be like,
wow that's such
a ridiculous thing, I just said, what?
So it definitely does depend on the tick.
- Anyone who like laughs at me like they're my boys.
Like I just met them.
Like, yeah, laugh at my ticks.
I don't care. If you don't laugh,
or you're gonna look at me weird,
then I won't be like, yo,
what the Fuck you looking at bro?
Like the Fuck, everybody is laughing.
You're just looking at me.
That's like disrespectful right there. You know?
- I think it definitely is the distinction of
laughing at someone rather
than with them again, using common sense.
- (Summer)Fuck you
- Fuck you
- Fuck you first!
I went to a restaurant like a couple weeks ago and wow.
I was ticking pretty bad. Wow.
Fuck off.
And the table across from me started like laughing at me and
trying to get me to tick and like loud just treating me like
a side show more than anything.
And that was really not appreciated.
- (Narrator) Okay, so this is fun.
So there's hot takes that our audience has submitted,
which are assumptions that they make
about people with Tourette's.
- I already know what they're about.
(laughs)
- (Narrator)Having sex is hard because of my tics.
- It makes it better.
(all laugh)
I call it the Twitch shrug, calling us to shrug.
And like, I could go for hours all night, six hours.
It's like endurance.
I twist sometimes here and there,
but it's like, they don't get, they don't care.
Like they like it. It's weird.
- (Narrator) It's okay for people with
Tourette's to say the N-word,
if it's a tic.
- I (beeped)
- I have that tick. And, um, you know,
it depends on the context of the situation. You know,
if you're like an actual really shitty person
and you enjoy saying
it and someone's like, oh yeah, like,
I really want to say this word, but it's okay,
cause I have Tourette's people will just excuse
it as a Tourette's, but really no, it's not okay.
But you know, with this certain tic,
I sometimes don't know when it's coming and I have no
control over holding it back.
- It's not right for anyone to say that if they, you know,
aren't black, but the thing is it's involuntary.
You can't control having this disorder.
You can't control what you say,
but I still agree that like in normal conversation,
don't say it unless you have the right to say.
- Would you say that I'm only over here because the way the
treads works in my mind and probably a lot of others is like
what you want to do or say the least is the thing that your
Tourette's wants you to do or say the most.
- (Narrator) Verbal ticks,
sometimes show your true feelings.
- So I can sit here.
Fuck you
You're a piece of shit.
I don't like you you fuck you.
That's that's just a tick I promise.
- I figured,
But you know,
I can go around saying,
I want a boyfriend,
but do I actually want a boyfriend?
Maybe not.
Maybe I do.
I don't know.
It kind of depends.
- I have some vocal ticks where I call them my truth ticks.
And I'll be like,
do you want to know a secret about this person?
And then I'll be like,
you have hair or you're tall.
Like it's things like that.
So in those cases,
it's not really my.
- Teal teal for Tourette's
- like sometimes I will say what I'm feeling,
but most of the times it's just coming from somewhere in my
brain that I have no idea.
- mom jeans.
- These are my Jeans The most comfortable.
- (Narrator) Dating is hard.
3
2
1 go.
(laughing)
- I don't think treads makes it hard.
Not at all like to me.
And it's not.
I'm just,
I think it's just hard in like this generation nowadays.
It's just hard dude.
You can't that's the Tourette's
that were affecting me with like finding somebody you know
- I agree that dating in general is hard
adding my personal treads on it.
It makes it a hundred times harder.
Every single second of every day.
I'm ticking.
Whether you notice it or not is a different story.
Like I've literally gone on dates and just been so anxious
and been ticking so much that I just,
I ended up leaving and like the other person
seems visibly uncomfortable.
So it just takes that much harder to find someone who's
willing to commit.
- It's these little things where like you know,
I can't cuddle with someone because
the second they touch me,
I like tense up and I am like,
I am just like you know,
although I do want to cuddle with them.
So yeah it really just depends on the severity.
But for me it's it hasn't been so bad.
But just because I don't believe that it's hard doesn't mean
that her believing it is hard is invalid.
- Yeah definitely with things like Cuddling or hand holding.
I feel very restricted and my ticks are like,
let's break out right now.
So that's a bit difficult.
But I think if you find the right person that isn't just
with you to pity you because of your condition,
then it's wow a lot easier.
- I feel I'm very lucky.
I've been with my boyfriend now for almost six years.
When we first got together,
we were friends for quite a while beforehand.
And so he very much knew the severity of my ticks.
And cause he saw my ticks probably at their worst and at
their best even when I was dating before we were together,
I'm very upfront about my TS from the get-go because I found
that it's almost like a,
um I don't know if the word is litmus test,
but my ticks make it so that the people who are around me
are generally better people.
And because there are people who are more accepting and more
understanding.
- But that's my issue is finding the right person.
Cause I'm upfront that I have Tourette's and I tell them
like the severity of it,
they see my tik tok,
they see my Instagram and then I get ghosted and then I get
swiped left on or they find someone else.
- (Narrator) Has anyone ever lost a relationship?
because of um Tourette's.
- it's just my other you know,
terrible personality traits not the Tourette's.
(Laughing)
- I feel like anybody who was going to
break up with somebody because of their TS.
I think a lot of people don't want to seem ableist.
So they're going to find some other reason to tell you.
So for all I know,
maybe I have been broken up with because of my TS,
but who knows like.
- (Narrator) I have lost opportunities
because of my disability
3
2
1 go.
- Since you're the only one over there.
Why do you,
if you don't mind me asking,
why do you somewhat disagree?
- I feel like I haven't necessarily lost opportunities
because of my TS.
I've had some cases where I don't go after opportunities
because of it,
but I haven't necessarily had somebody tell me no,
just because of my TS.
It would have been for other reasons.
- I had to drop out of school due to my Tourette's syndrome.
I was asked to leave certain classes.
I was asked to leave a Starbucks once at a Tourette
convention.
I was asked to leave a place and all of us had Tourette's,
but I was the only one with coprolalia or the only one
with cussing ticks.
And then I also can't keep a job because I would get yelled
at by the customers.
Yes.
The job was aware that I had to rest and the aware that I
couldn't control it,
but then the customers would make a scene.
And then therefore I couldn't work.
Therefore it made my anxiety worse,
made my Tourette worse and ultimately
ended up me having to go on disability
because I wasn't allowed to work.
- In high school like ever since
I started playing sports,
I was really good.
But the coach,
- I am a dropout
- All the coaches always just like hated on me.
Always said,
it's something about me and that's why I wouldn't play.
So I had to transfer schools like three times
I was going to football and like,
I couldn't play the first five games.
So like just like,
like lessen my opportunities to get offers you know?
And it was a dream of mine.
But like after that I was fuck,
but like,
obviously like now I have great opportunities coming my way.
Cause I don't give a shit
I'm living my life.
So like you know,
I don't regret nothing that I do, you know.
- I haven't had many opportunities to lose but like,
it definitely impacts what I'm able to do.
Like for example,
I do like swim in school and sometimes I have to like stop
and take a break.
Cause my ticks are so bad that I like can't swim.
So like things like that will happen where it definitely
does affect.
Luckily I have not drowned yet.
- Okay Good
(laughing)
- Yeah.
- Yeah K word.
- I used to work retail before may ticks got bad
and similar to you.
It manifested in me cussing out a lot of customers.
So I didn't keep that job for very long afterwards.
And beans, fuck you.
After that,
a I have failed every single interview
that I've tried to go to.
So I've kind of just given up on getting rehired,
but hopefully going back to online school because I was also
forced to drop out of that so.
- I do like engineering and sound stuff, but .
- That doesn't count Fuck you.
I am sorry
- I can work from home and I don't have a
lot of face-to-face with clients when I'm,
when I'm on like a zoom meeting or something for a project,
I make sure to have the push to talk.
So I don't scream while all these people are doing things.
- I feel like I'm very good at suppressing my ticks,
which I know none of us like to do.
But every job that I've ever had has been like a lot of like
backstage stuff.
So if my ticks are too bad and I can't suppress them,
my employers have always been very good about finding me
something to do where I'm not face-to-face.
- (Narrator) I wish I was born without Tourette's
three
two
one
go.
- I mean, I've had it since seven.
So life fucking, it's been a hard,
you know and I got brain surgery for it.
Finally I've like 50% better,
but I used to be like long top and just like body movements,
like twitch,
You wanna walk three weeks done.
I was high as fuck just smoking weed all day.
And like after surgery I stopped smoking for months,
but I would like why not?
Like I'd like to experience life without stress without
having to be fricking taking pills
like twitch uncontrollably.
- I've told this to people and they don't understand,
but like I don't know what it feels like to relax.
- I don't know what it's like to go to
a movie theater and not be just stressed
and miserable and barely able
to pay attention the entire time.
- I've been asked that same question.
My instant answer is always no,
no hesitation.
Even though I go through all of that turmoil and all that
stress and all of the honestly trauma because of it,
it's made me the person I am today.
Like I know way more about myself and my mental health and
being socially aware of like the person I am.
And I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons.
There's a lot of cons physically for myself,
but I'd rather for the sake of humanity in people and
advocacy in loving people,
I'd much rather deal with this so that I can be there for
everybody else.
- I'm so,
so glad that I've was introduced to the treads community,
which by the way,
are the most amazing people you'll ever meet every person
with Tourette's and I'm not even joking.
When I say this always has some unique talent.
All of them are the nicest people and they have a really
good outlook on life.
I wouldn't trade the friends that I've made in the community
for anything.
- I feel like my TS has given me so much more empathy for
people and I feel like it's such a part of who I am.
I'm very passionate about the talents within
the tourette community.
I um actually,
for the past seven years have been hosting
an event called artistic expressions
where I just showcase talents of people
with Tourette syndrome when we're doing something that
we really love to do.
So for me,
it used to be when I was reading books or when I was singing
or when I was dancing, I would stop ticking.
And I think that might be why so many people have such
creative outlets is because that is the only time sometimes
where we can just feels still.
- for me it's playing an instrument most of
the time it's guitar.
And when I pick it up,
I don't tick at all.
I actually got introduced to the,
the tourette community by showing up at Rihanna's event and
just finding out that everybody was like the same.
It's like oh yeah that person plays drums.
This person reads poetry,
this person does that.
And nobody's ticking when they're doing.
- It almost like magic.
- It's magic.
(everybody laughing)
- (Narrator) How was this experience for you guys today?
- Amazing
- Dope
- Good
- Really really fun.
- Life Changing
- (Narrator) That is officially a wrap.
( everyone clapping )
and we brought you some Jubilee merch to take home.
- Oh yeah.
thank you so much.
- Oh I've been looking for some new Stickers.
- Can I take a picture with all of you actually
- Yeah
- I shake too much to take it
so you think you can take it real quick.
( tune playing )
- BEANS
(music playing)