Vlog of Tourettes

Hello everyone,

So I have decided, after much thought and people supporting me in saying it will be a good idea,
to make a youtube vlog on my life with tourettes syndrome

I want to help explain not just what tourettes is, but in what way it can effect us.
Not just in the bad ways, but in the good ways aswell.

For example, I've not been ill since I've had Tourettes, coincidence maybe, but something to talk about.

Also my artistic skills have been brought alive since I've had Tourettes.

I'd like to hear your opinions on this, and if you would support me doing this,
I will be doing it regardless but opinions always help =]

Regards,
Mark

End of college, beginning of the rest of my life

Hey everyone,

So I've just finished college, last week the whole of my design department made an exhibition to put on show for everyone, which would show off the best pieces of our work that we had done over the past two years. The exhibition will be up for around 3 weeks though parents and new students starting in September where invited on Thursday night and it was quite scary to be honest!

I couldn't look at my part of the exhibition because people where always around it, and watching the 3D games trailer I had made and also playing my flash game, which I guess isn't a bad thing! But I just couldn't look haha!

Well I've got 3 months until I start University so a lot of free time that's for sure! I got a new guitar early this month, so that makes two I have now! It's called a Schecter Damien B-2, its really good.

Of course, I'm still song writting and I will post one of them at the bottom of this blog, but theres something I would like to discuss.

I was walking down my local towns street when I was grunting and ticing, the usual (It's been pretty bad as of late with all the stress of handing in everything for college)
I heard a few chavy lads walk by mimicing me, I'm not too bothered I don't wanna cause a fight, but then one of the decided to throw a glass bottle at me, it missed thanfully and I was just about ready to turn around and unleash hell on him, but I thought to myself 'is he really worth it?' and walked away.

I just want to know wyour opinions, do you think that's not standing up for myself or do you think it's doing the right thing and not causing a scene?

Well I'd like to know your opinions!
As promised heres another song I wrote:

You and me,
We could of seen it all.
I could picture us standing
Standing so high and so tall.

And everything,
Could of went away,
If i had of been there for you.
And everyone,
They wouldn't have been this way.
If I had of been there for you

Don't you think I'm not dying inside,
My lifes built of paper planes
Your pulling the wings off,
They can no longer glide.

Can't you breathe once without hurting,
The ones that you love,
And everyone your hurting,
Your beginning to shove, away.

If my path was that simple,
You've torn it in two,
And I can't decide which direction,
And which one would suit you.

Don't you think I'm not dying inside,
My lifes built of paper planes
Your pulling the wings off,
They can no longer glide.

Please is the word, its so simple
The word that I seem to hear all the time.

Please is the word, your not hearing
The word that I no longer,
Feel I can hide.

And I beg you to stay,
Or please just wish me away,
So no more I feel what I feel inside

Make the pain stop, before I pass out,
Waking up without you by my side.
If I'm dreaming than stop me,
Theres not a lot more places that I can hide.

Don't you think I'm not dying inside,
My lifes built of paper planes
Your pulling the wings off,
They can no longer glide.

My papers so heavy,
The angles acute,
I can't see no way
That I won't fall, is this the end?

Oh I wish you would stay,
But I can't bare a lie,
The truths what I'm hearing.
Then I guess its goodbye..

Thanks for reading, hope to hear what you think,
Regards,
Mark

Thoughts about Univirsity and such

Hello everyone,

Yeah so I'm in my final year at college doing a National Diploma in Interactive Media (formerly known as Multimedia) Currently on my Final Major Project!Which is actually a 3D animation games trailer for a game I had developed in another lesson in the course called games design.

Anyho, I'm really excited about moving out, going to Univirsity and meeting lots of new and wonderful people! You don't get many chances to start again, forget the bad times and leave the people behind that's caused pain in your life. And Uni is THE perfect place to do that!!

I am going to be going to Bolton Univirsity as their games design course is amazing!
THe accomidation's pretty neat too, and nice prices per week to rent. I will be bringing my guitar with me hehe because I have a piece of software on my laptop that allows it to produce different amp tones so I can just plug my guitar into my laptop, plug some earphones in and jam away to myself!

Been doing this Student Finance application last night, real pain in the ass, as well as having to fill in a really big online form, my parents are also required to send all their money earning details inc birth certificates and so forth. Though mind you this is so I can get some student loans and hopefully a few non repayable grants.

My Tourettes has been quite bad this past month and a bit, I think it's because the stress is eating me, with trying to complete any outstanding work for college, my Final Major Project, friend issues etc I've not had time to think it all through and my Tourettes hasn't seemed to respond well to it at all. Hopefully after college is over I will be a tad more calmer which hopefully fingers crossed will keep my Tourettes at bay.

On an ending note, I wonder sometimes; why can't friends just be simple and why in some cases, do they cause more hassle then good?

Thanks for reading this,
Best Regards,
Mark

18, Now I can actually buy things

Hey everyone,

So I'm 18 today (2nd May) Heh, the past 4 years have went by pretty fast and I think things will get better, I mean come on, Uni in less than 6 months!! I'm really excited for that.

Over the past two weeks quite a lot of stuff has happened, some of it has made me happy and glad certain issues are resolved, but others, people, even at the age I'm at, can be so immature it's ridiculous. I will be really glad when i get to Uni, start fresh, meet new people and new friends.

I'm starting my final Major Project for College which is a games trailer for my survival horror game that I made in another class in my course (Games Design) and it's turning out to be quite a fun project, building the environment for my trailer is quite a task but I'm certainly getting there!

Sorry this hasn't been a long or interesting post, but hey, there you go, I guess I'm just a bit busy with the fact I'm finally 18 haha!

Thanks for reading,
Regards
Mark

Quick update, more on song writting

Hello everyone,

Sorry about the inactivity lately, been a bit busy, stuff has happened thats not been too great.
You know, all of that type if thing.

And it's caused me to have quite a witting fit haha.

My tourettes has got considerably worse since the stress has come back,
Finding it hard to have any control over it but I'm looking towards Uni, sort of like my bright light at the end of this very long tunnel.

Any ho,
I would like to share with you some lyrics I wrote about the time I'm going through,
I'm pretty sure my lyrics, if you piece them all together, would make my life story haha.

Enjoy them, tell me what you think, I would love to hear from you!

I won't let this go down beside me,
It just can't go this far,
And everything I ever did for you,
I won't let it be all for this

If I ever had to let you go,
I just hope I wouldn't know.

Where everything you know of me,
Will never truly leave.

I won't let this go down beside me,
This just won't go down without me.

And everything we ever held,
I would hold again without thinking twice.
The lessons I have not learn't
Will come back to haunt me again.

But I just can't let this go down beside me,
And you know I won't let you go.
Not even if you, try,

It doesn't matter how long you wait,
I will never forget you.
It doesn't matter how much you take,
I will still do anything for you.

I won't let this go down beside me,
And I won't let you too.

I still cherish every near miss,
Everything that we once meant.
And I still smile from all those times,
Those times we don't regret.

But now I regret even meeting you,
And all the ache that you've caused.
How I wish that we didn't know
Oh how I wish we never knew...

Shes been all that I can think,
What has she done to me,
I'm thinking alone of all the pain,
But if I'm selfish you've made me that way

If I'm selfish I still want you.

I can't let this go down beside me,
And I won't you go down beside me.

No I can't,
No I won't let this go down,
Beside me....

Regards,
Mark

Tourettes Syndrome and how the media portray it

Is the media giving Tourettes a Syndrome a bad name to the public?

Now Tourettes and Epilepsy are nothing to be ashamed of as people have come to accept these a lot more than say, 50 years ago where you would be looked down on for been different to the rest.

Sadly, in some cases this is still the same. Now obviously people have there own right to look at other people to try and figure out what is the matter with them, to a certain extent. Not to the point where they make rude faces are actually come up to you and tell you to stop.
I myself have Tourettes Syndrome and have been diagnosed now for nearly 4 years. I have Coprolalia

Now it is hard enough trying to walk down the street without groups of people asking me to stop ticing and swearing in public without people like this 'Tourettes Guy' pretending to have Tourettes when he obviously does not have, going into stores and public places with a video camera and purposely verbally assaulting everyone he sees, his sentences are most of the time well structured and in Coprolalia the sentences if said, bear no sense or meaning.


Image from aleuranthropy

And as this 'Tourettes Guy' has become so popular on video streaming sites such as Youtube and Google video, the media has gained a stereotypical view on Tourettes that is involves swearing and bad manners.

Now I know for a fact that 'coprolalia occurs in as low as 5-15% of patients and 5-30% in some clinical series' quote from Tourettes Disorder.com. Now another thing people tend to think as they see me or any other Tourettes sufferer with Coprolalia, is that it is amazing to have, and 'so much fun' and the amount of times I have had to argue this fact is quite amazing, literally hundreds of people have come up to me and said 'Wow you have Tourettes that must be so much fun' and even when I explain it is not, they don't take it seriously.

It is quite obviously not fun having to explain to someone you didn't mean to utter some rude comments at them and that you don't want any trouble all the time.

I have been in some tricky situations thanks to my Tourettes and none of them where fun at all, some even life threatening.

I am sure many of you who live in Britain like I do, have watched Big Brother, and know that somebody with Tourettes Syndrome was on one of the series, called Pete Bennett. He wanted to get his confidence back up and so wanted to show people he was not ashamed of having Tourettes Syndrome so he went on Big Brother and won it, but one of the reasons was public appeal because the public thought Tourettes was 'cute' I don't know how Pete himself felt about this, I would like to know. But it is not cute, it can be funny sometimes yes, I know for a fact some things or actions I do make people laugh and can cheer the day up, but they are laughing with me, not AT me, but it is not cute.

Pete been on big brother has helped raise public awareness of Tourettes Syndrome, hopefully for the better. But more needs to be done


Image from pete-bennett.co.uk/

For those who have to fight on with Tourettes (like me) because no medication will work on them, it is a daily struggle made harder because of the way the Media portrays Tourettes Syndrome, and the way the public view it as because of the media. This does not make it any easier.

And I want to increase awareness about Tourettes Syndrome to everybody that reads this.

And with enough public understanding, maybe this will reduce the stress of our lives (people with Tourettes Syndrome) while walking out in public.

Thank you all very much for reading this and I hope you take your time to visit tourettes-disorder.com/ and read up on Tourettes Syndrome, I am trying to increase awareness of Tourettes and stray it out from what it is been portrayed as in the media.

Thanks for reading, i hope you've learn't something from this,
Regards,
Mark

Tourettes and Concentration

What is this mysterious link between the two? Will this lead to breakthroughs about Tourettes Syndrome?

Image Source

So, what many people don't know about Tourettes Syndrome is that in most cases, the sufferer can actually be quite skilled in a certain area of music. For example one could be greater accustomed to a piano than somebody not suffering Tourettes Syndrome.

I myself am talented on Guitar and while playing it, helps me to concentrate and reduces the amount of tics I do, both physically and verbally.

Now this does not work all the time because there are days where I tic no matter how hard I concentrate on things. But it is a great getaway from the usual tics and pains that come with them.

I really enjoy playing the guitar and it helps enjoying the thing that relives you from your twitches and tics.

A lot of Tourettes sufferers are very talented playing the Piano and can grow up to be very successful at doing so.

Image Source

But it does not necessarily have to be music that is the only sedative for Tourettes, lots of people notice when they are concentrating on the computer, surfing the internet or playing a game and so on, there Tourettes is not as bad as not doing those activities.

To help control my tics I played video games quite a lot because this would help to ease the twitches and spasms I would and still do get.

The only bad thing about these "methods" of reliving some of the intense pressure of Tourettes, is that almost all the time after the sufferer has finished concentrating on that certain thing, all those withheld tics and twitches all come back at once and you can have quite a bad outburst of a few minutes because of keeping them in, even if you didn't think you where, the whole process of concentrating is in a way holding the Tourettes in; its like when you try to hold the tics in and after a while they all come out at once because you can't hold them in forever.

The thing that still baffles scientists even today is why concentrating can stop tics, what part of the brain is controlling this action and why. If they knew that, there might be a breakthrough in discovering a cure for Tourettes, which as of today has no cure.

Thank you for taking your time to read, if you would like to know more about Tourettes Syndrome then please, visit this link: http://www.tourettes-disorder.com/.

Thank you for reading everybody, i hope you do comment,

Regards,
Mark