Tic Files

One of my main coping mechanisms for my TS is drawing and making.  I have recently found that focusing on a task for a few minutes at a time really helps me to chill out.  It has been proven that voluntary physical activity counteracts the involuntary movement, so that when we do something consciously it cancels out the involuntary movements or sounds.  For me, I find my tics get worse when I am over working or somewhere where I need to be still and focused for a long period of time.  I have found that doodling really helps me when I am static and where I feel most anxious-places where I need to concentrate and there is no escape! A couple of months ago I was in a meeting for about 5 hours and I nearly flipped the table over because my tics were building and I could not let them out. I find that when I am drawing it frees up the space in my mind to concentrate and listen to what is going on around me, because I am not sat there thinking about trying not to tic,...

Todays Question? What do you do if you have TS and you are due to teach a yoga class but can't stop shouting 'Hey'.  Do you crack on and assume all will be ok? Or do you rest because you are absolutely exhausted and feel that the participants might not feel uber chill and want their money back!?? Comment, Like, Share!

Check out the conversation I had with Sarah Waddington from Plymouth Herald about life with TS... The good, the bad and the funnies! blob:https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/a82443a7-116a-4c64-9038-7cb3a1955e51 It was so lovely to share my story and to help spread more awareness of the condition.  See article below. Five years ago Clair Beckett's eyelids started twitching. Then her head started to jerk. Not long after her arms began to move, and her elbows started to shake. But it was the night before her Nan's funeral that Clair experienced an overwhelming rush in her body. Her mum walked her outside of the pub they were sat drinking in, and she completely lost control of her limbs.   The symptoms lasted all night and into the following day, before she collapsed with exhaustion. Paramedics strapped her down in the back of an ambulance, but her body would not stop jolting.  Four years after this attack, Clair was finally diagnosed with Tourette's. ...

Finally, it is out! Here I am featuring on BBC 3s 'Things not to say to...people with Tourette Syndrome! It was a fantastic opportunity and I am super pleased with how it has turned out.  It communicates what TS is really like and it challenges those reeeeaaalllly annoying stereotypes. I do some of my most classic tics here, my top top tics! I hope that this shows to people the ups and downs of TS and how life can go on!  Take a look and comment below :)

I have been asked to take part in the Rebellious Sounds Archive of Women’s Activism, where I will document my story to be part of the first community archive collection of oral histories about the activism of women in the South West. I am going to be recorded in a couple of weeks time and I would love to know about other peoples experience of diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome within adulthood.  My focus for my story is going to be around the confusion of the condition and how often adults with TS are misdiagnosed because of G.Ps lack of experience and knowledge of the condition.   I feel that one of the most common misconceptions is that TS is only seen in childhood, and that it disappears in adulthood.  This can lead to many adults finding diagnosis a lot later on in life, and a real lack of support that comes with it. If you have TS and were diagnosed as an adult I would love to hear from you.  I have 6 key questions that I would like to ask you: Your age...

This is a short experiment of ideas for a film I have just completed with with Different Voices 2 and Biggerhouse films.  The final 2min version will be available next year!

Here is the direct link to my Youtube page where I will be posting up my latest films, ideas for projects, and all things Tourettesy! Enjoy folks! Youtube  - Click here