TS and Misconceptions

[Energizer_Bunny]

Pipau you brought up a very good point in a previous post and it is one reason that I try to do as much as I can on forums and in other areas concerning tourettes and that is because of the misconceptions that people have of tourettes.

You said " One funny thing is though. One of my co-workers says she believes she has TS because she swears a lot. But it's not tic-swearing, she is just very.... dirty. *g* I told her not all TS'rs do that and she was really amazed...."

I think the public is so ignorant and I hate using that word becuase they refer to people with TS as having that cussing disease which is so untrueand it actually unravels me.

The TV and the media have taken Tourettes and have turned it into something so negative and it is not. They only show the severity of the disorder and not the fact that you can have mild, moderate or severe TS.

Sherry

[Piupau]

You're so right Sherry! I've told three of my co workers I have TS, most already know I have adhd, but it's more accepted somehow. One of them, we've become close friends, has seen my tics frequently because she knows what they are. I don't hold them back, but it's hard not to when you see ppl you don't know too much. Also most ppl think all my "stuff" are part of adhd...

Another thing, when I recieved my dx, I recogniced how many ppl actually have tics! LOTS of ppl at my work have tics... maybe my job is a tic magnet? *g* You know, driving a car alone or with a collegue is pretty good if you have things you want to hide from the public

[Trebor]

Well, part of the misconceptions is the fact that there was a rather popular by kids movie released in the United States that featured an actor playing the part of a female with TS. Specifically, all she said were cuss words.

It's another late night and I was involved in a car accident today, so had fun at the hospital (Everyone was ok, just bumps and bruises).

However, this means I still havent located all the books I was looking for.

In terms of people in your work place piu. A psychologist in one of my mothers books wrote a section called "Witty Ticky Ray". This part of his book noted that Ray had Tourettes and was a patient of his. Ray is on Haldol for most the week because he has a severe case of TS. However, the days he wouldnt take his Haldol, is when he had a Jazz Gig. It made him more creative and his random hits on the drums became trademark.

The psychologist notes that after having met Ray, he took a walk outside only to notice that everyone he saw showed some form of a tic. Be it minor or major. He was astonished when he made this comparison.

After having read that, I figured out that he was right.

Quite astonishing when you think about it a little bit.

[Sc@tterBr@in_UK]

One question - a woman I got to know online says that she realised she had to have TS was when her family told her she swore a lot when she got angry. I thought that was odd, because I always thought that coprolalia was not only rare, but also occured mostly in "inappropriate" situations, impulsive/compulsively coming out in situations where swearing isn't what others would do.

[Piupau]

The swearing in TS comes as any other vocal or motor tic. Sudden. You can feel it coming and propably delay it a bit, but eventually it'll come out. I've had mild corolalia, or maybe I have but it's "resting" like all my other tics that come and go... I can give you an example from when I shocked one of my co-workers... I was driving and she was sitting next to me. I sad "This is *very dirty name of womans genitals* where we turn left. But it's not just like saying "That's f****** cool" or something similar. The bad word comes anywhere in the scentance and also in the wrong tone or tempo compared to how I speak normally. So just because you use bad language when you're angry doesn't make it TS. Also there has to be motor tics along with the vocal, for atleast a year and no tic free period for more than 3 months in a row.

[Sc@tterBr@in_UK]

Thanks - She was diagnosed with TS, and so most likely has those other tics, I just didn't think that the "red mist" type swearing was indicative of TS in the same way as coprolalia as you described it.

(The "red mist" and aggressive urges can be linked with TS - at least with some of the severe forms where co-morbids like bipolar play a part - from what I've read - among other people Oliver Sacks describes this in his account of the surgeon with TS)

[Piupau]

When I was a kid I used to "see red" when I was angry. I blocked everything out and was a killer machine. Nothing could stop me. What made me rethink about my life was broken bones in my hand and stuff from hitting walls in my late teens. (Not SO long ago, I'm just 27) I didn't use bad language when I was angry, I couldn't speak at all, I was like an animal. Selfcontrol made my life change. The same control I've had over my tics I turned into something good and controlled my anger instead

[Energizer_Bunny]

Coprolalia, the shouting of obscenities or profanities, is probably the most over-emphasized symptom of TS, and is actually present in only about a third of all patients. Other complex phonic tics include palilalia (repetition of the last syllable, word or phrase in a sentence), or echolalia (repetition of someone else's words or phrases).

I have wondered something if I have some coprolalia but I am not sure if I am just wanted to say the bad word because I am not sure if the need or the feel to say it is there. I know also that you can have mental coprolalia, and this I have done.

I uee to have palilalia but it was not very severe and it often surprised me when it happened, again the urge was not there but there was a big surprised factor involved.

[Piupau]

I didn't even realize I said the bad words until after when I saw the expression on ppl's faces I still have some "favourite" words that wants to slip out but I stop them, it's like any tic, once you know the trigger you can delay it och replace it. Sounds like I'm stuttering when I talk and the bad words wants to get out.