Tourette’s Syndrome

[naomi24]

I watched ‘The Undateables’ on television last night – a programme highlighting the difficulties people with disabilities face in finding partners. One of the people involved suffered from Tourette’s Syndrome, a distressing condition that manifests in a combination of physical and vocal tics. Although I haven’t seen many examples of people with this condition, in every one I have seen the vocal tics result in bad language emanating uncontrollably from the user’s mouth. Does anyone know why that is? Is there a medical or a psychological explanation for it?

[Quizmonster]

Well, Naomi, a jam-packed theatre fell about virtually to a man...and quite a few women! But each to his/her own, of course.

[naomi24]

indeed.

[RATTER15]

I heard one sufferer describe it as an itch that wont go away until you say that word, the actual word being the itch.

Imagine an itch that you cant reach or touch, it builds and builds until you just have to scratch it, shouting is their scratch.

[naomi24]

Ratter, So you mean the actual word they shout is the 'itch'? I wonder why words like that?

[RATTER15]

Im not sure as to why they often shout obscenities, possibly because if it wasnt an obscenity then they would say it as we do and not let the itch build up but the obscene words are not so easy to to just blurt out so they suppress it as long as they can and then the itch builds and builds until......

[RATTER15]

The word is the itch, shouting is the scratch.

I may be wrong in my understanding of this but it does make perfect sense to my way of thinking.

[Peter Pedant]

You can take Clonidine for it and that may help

Definitely a disease - there is also an echolallia element - I am quite good at mimicking a tesco check out machine.

associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder
(exams are easy if you can get obsessive about text book reading)

People got used to my swearing

[naomi24]

Peter, thanks for replying. So you're a sufferer? Do you know why you use swear words specifically?

[RATTER15]

Peter, do you actually suffer from tourettes? if so could you throw a bit more light on the original question and would you agree or disagree with my definition of the scratch and itch thing.

[RATTER15]

Sorry Naomi, cross posted.