The search for stillness has escalated. My chest is so bruised and sore at the moment that I have to find a way to stop myself banging it. I went out at lunchtime and bought some elbow supports and I’ve put one on each arm – back to front.…

The Tourettes crazy language machine swung into a frenzy this evening to the tune of “If you’re happy and you know it.” All these tics occurred in the first half hour and then I repeated them full blast for several hours:

“Norma Major’s in your mouth, take a bite.”…

When my chest-banging tic first started a while ago my chest bruised really badly and it was incredibly painful after the first few weeks. But then the bruising faded even though the tic hadn’t changed. It was as if my body just couldn’t be bothered to maintain the bruise anymore.…

“Dot, dot, dot, dash, dash, dash, dot, dot, dot.”

Not an actual SOS, this. It’s just that I’ve spent too much time with King Russell who would speak entirely in binary code if he had the chance.

I’ve had a breathing tic for the last few months that seems to be a mix of a motor tic and a vocal tic. I’m blowing, breathing in and breathing out in little bursts, making a variety of huffing and puffing noises in the process.

I’ve just noticed my t-shirt has a shiny distorted patch just below the neckline. It’s caused by one of my tics that makes me bang my chest repeatedly.

I’m hoping that this patch, buffed by my fist, will become as beautiful as the pieces of glass, tumbled and smoothed by the waves and sand, that you find on the beach.

Very often, several times every day, strangers mimic the noises I’m making and it’s a reaction that I find puzzling. Laughing because something’s funny, being hostile because you’re offended, or backing away because you’re scared are all understandable reactions, but mimicking tics makes no sense at all.…

For the last five years I’ve kept track of my regular tics, the ones I say or do over and over again (for months or even years on end). Up until now though, I’ve never paid much attention to the tics I don’t repeat all the time.…

Welcome to Touretteshero!

www.touretteshero.com is a place to share and celebrate the creativity and humour of Tourettes. It’s not about mocking or commiserating. It’s about reclaiming the most frequently misunderstood syndrome on the planet.

I am Touretteshero, a superhero with Tourettes Syndrome.…

It’s the start of a new year and I’ve decided it’s time to recognise and record something that’s a big part of my life, but something I’ve always tried to ignore up to now. In preparation I’ve bought a voice recorder, and for the next 24hrs I’m going to record every noise I make.…