A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I’d started ticcing “I’m Amazing!” That’s now been joined by, “I’m appalling!”

I made myself laugh as I went up the stairs to the lair tonight, shouting each of them out in turn.

This evening I looked after my friend Gurpreet’s son Owain. Gurpreet was working late so I picked Owain up from the childminder, took him home and hung out with him for a couple of hours. I was a bit worried about how I’d manage because although I look after kids all the time, there’s usually someone else around if I’m ticcing a lot and need help.…

This evening I had to take the bus home. Two young men got on and sat behind me at the back. They were soon having a conversation about me and Tourettes:

Youth 1: She’s one of those people who can’t control what they say.…

I work in South London in an area that’s affected by gang activity. This morning I was doing some research for a funding application on youth gangs that operate locally. We’ve got the: Claptown Crips, Poverty Driven Children, All Bout Money, G-Street, Stockwell Man Dem and Murder Zone.…

I’m hitting my chest very hard at the moment. Earlier, at Leftwing Idiot’s, he’d been holding my hands to stop me doing it, but then he’d needed the loo and was worried I’d hurt myself while he was out of the room.…

I’ve just started my Christmas shopping. I should leave it until closer to the end of the year, but as I’ve explained before, I enjoy choosing gifts for people and can’t resist starting early. So far I’ve bought presents for Leftwing Idiot and King Russell and I’m really pleased with what I’ve got them.…

Coventry, normally associated with silence, got a taste of the noisy treatment today as the city hosted a Tourettes Action conference.

Leftwing Idiot, Ruth and I travelled there by train. The air-conditioning was on full blast and Ruth kept ticcing, “HELP!…

I spent the morning risk-assessing a spooky Halloween party at the playground where I work. The children have been excitedly preparing a trail through the woods for weeks. I risk-assessed everything in detail: the trail, falls, trips, the bonfire, and scalds or burns from the food we’d be serving.…

Many of my tics are funny and random, but recently I’ve been saying some fairly nasty things most of which are about myself. For example: “I’m a horrible cunt,” “Shut up bitch,” “Poke out my eyes.”

I don’t feel particularly full of self-loathing or hatred but these negative tics do seem to get more forceful if I’m feeling miserable or frustrated.…

Two weeks ago in a meeting, I banged my chest as I do hundreds of times a day, but this time I felt a horrible sharp pain in my thumb. I tried to style it out so no one would notice but when I looked there was a thick blue mark running down the middle of it, ending in a lump.…