YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

So I'm sitting at work and I pull up episode #201. Then all of a sudden, Paul says my name. Then mentions Tourette's. The says my snapshot. And I sat there staring at my computer screen with tears in my eyes. That was me, albeit with a typo because I meant to say 'when the bathroom stall closed'. But that was me.

I sent Paul an email but as I am in Nebraska, I doubt I'll be able to get to LA soon. But I'm more than willing to answer questions. Here's a video I did of myself that might help?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG4aaQQz0Lo

I did it for another forum I'm on. Anyway.... please ask me questions and tell me where to post a thread so people can find out about this little understood syndrome?

Is there no Tourettes forum? Or alternative neurological disorders forum? Kind of depressing--maybe you can contact Paul or an admin on here on this and ask for one.

I'M SO SORRY NO ONE HAS WELCOMED YOU YET. It's not my fault but I'm sorry anyway! WELCOME! It's so awesome Paul read your survey, I'm happy for you!

Also, your video was enlightening. My step brother had pretty bad seizures when he was younger, and now the medications he's on gives him certain ticks that are similar to yours. Watching the video I just thought, "... The brain is so fascinating." Because you're right--no one would recognize your tourettes except as you said, those who have it. People do almost all the things you do but I realized, as you were talking, that you get more gratification from it, are far more conscious of it, and you do it more often--for the rest of us it's very unconscious, random and not so constant. Tourettes almost seems like OCD except way more powerful, maybe? Sorry if I'm arm-chairing, here.

I also didn't realize that ticks offer some sort of release? I was about to watch a documentary your video directed me to about Tourettes--I've only seen the most extreme versions of it (people cursing and or yelling things) and a lot of people seem to really have a hard time of it. Do the ticks offer them release, or is it more those physical ticks that offer relief because the vocal ones that make social situations uncomfortable?

Anyway, thank you for showing that Tourettes definitely has a spectrum. I did kind of know about that already but your video shed more light on it. Welcome, again!