Living With Adversity: The Reality Behind the Tics - Jessica's Story

Living With Adversity

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Monday, 3 August 2026 - 9 minutes

Jaiden is joined by special guest Jessica, who shares her lived experience of living with Tourette syndrome and Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). Together, they have an open and honest conversation about the realities of disability, the challenges young people face, and how we can all better understand and support one another.

 

Transcript:

 

 

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Jaiden: Hello and welcome to living with adversity with Jaiden Davies. My name is Jaiden Davies. My guest at this time of Jess.

Jess: Hello.

Jaiden: Hey, how are you today?

Jess: I'm good. Thank you. How are you?

Jaiden: I am very good. Thank you.

Jess: Good. Good.

Jaiden: Starting off, can you

Jess: **Whistle tic**

Jaiden: Starting off, can you explain to the people what your disability is?

Jess: So my disability is, I have Tourette syndrome. I also have autism. And I have functional neurological disorder, which is also known as FND.

Jaiden: how have you managed to cope with your disability?

Jess: Um, it's took a while to get used to it. Um, **whistle tic** obviously I shout out random stuff at random times and it's a lot to cope with. I have motor tics, I have vocal tics, and that's meant I've lost friendships and stuff like that because of it. And I've really had to trust in the people around me to help me because at the end of the day, my support system is my friends and my family. As much as it might get annoying for them, they've helped me a lot, so they've really helped me cope with it.

Jaiden: That is amazing. Yeah. What is the biggest struggle you have had have had with your disability?

Jess: Uh, the biggest struggle that I've probably had is either when I have my seizures, I get a lot of people coming up to me, obviously, because they want to help and they want to, they want to try and help,

Jaiden: yeah of course

Jess: But they're not exactly the best at helping in situations when it can be quite stressful because my friends and family know what to do if I have a seizure and they'll come up and they can make it rather stressful for me. So it's been quite difficult learning to live with the public as well, because I can have some rather rude tics. Obviously there can be swearing, there can be inappropriate words, and I don't think that society really understand that. So it's been quite difficult learning that their opinions, their opinion. And at the end of the day, I've just got to live with it. My life's going to be filled with Tourette's  like, do you know what I mean?

Jaiden: Yeah. It's in your point of view. And the very different. Your thoughts. Yeah, people.

Jess: Yeah, it's one hundred percent.

Jaiden: And I don't think people get that sometimes.

Jess: Exactly. They don't they don't understand the difficulties that we go through.

Jaiden: Oh 100%, I'm like i try my best to hide.

Jess: Yeah.

Jaiden: Mine. It's hard in your situation I'm sure.. Yeah. No it's because we shouldn't have to hide who we are. We should feel comfortable just being ourselves in public.

Jaiden: Yeah

Jess: Like. **swear tic** If I if I swear or anything like that, they should just understand that that's how some people are. They've got to live with it. It's much more annoying for the person living with it, rather than one person passing in the street. Do you know what I mean?

Jaiden: Oh yeah 100 percent.

Jess: Like, but yeah, so that's been my biggest struggle.

 Jaiden: Yeah. It not your burden to bear.

Jess: Yeah. Literally.

Jaiden: Yeah. But people make it.

Jess: Yeah, they make it my issue.

Jaiden: Yeah. Oh well I get that completely.

Jess: Yeah

Jaiden: Yeah. Um, can we talk about Assumptions?

Jess: Yeah.

Jaiden: Assumptions with erm... What what are some of you, what are some of the assumptions  people have had about your disabilities?

Jess: So a lot of people actually assume that everyone with Tourette's swears. I do unfortunately have a case where I do swear with my tics, but it's actually only like one in ten people with Tourette's that have swearing tics, and people. So there's been times where I've gone into a public situation or a situation with my friends, and I've been sat there and I've just been having little neck jerks or motor tics, and I haven't been really having a bad tic day, what I call it. And they've been like, oh, you're not taking that much like. And they've literally accused me of faking Tourette's just because I'm only having slight tics. And I'm like, what do you mean? You're saying that I'm faking a disability that I've had for two years when I'm not having a. Just because I'm swearing, People think that I don't have Tourette's. That's not the case. They just assume that it's always the same, but it's not.

Jaiden: Yeah.

Jess: So that's the biggest assumption that most people make.

Jaiden: Yeah, very. Yeah. That fair.

Jess: Yeah.

Jaiden: I would be terrified of people. I think that's, one of my biggest fears the people that you're fakeing your disability.

Jess: Yeah.

Jaiden: It's weird to say,.. [...]

Jess: Literally. It's like it's the worst thing ever when I've lost friendships because they've said that I'm faking it. And like, **swear tic** um,

Jaiden: I think one's very fair to say

Jess: Yeah, no. It's so awkward because sometimes my tics I'll be, I'll get told secrets by my friends and family and they'll be like, okay, so don't tell anyone. And my tics will just blurt them out.

Jaiden: Yeah

Jess: Obviously, I don't mean to. I can't control it.

Jaiden: Yeah

Jess: but my tics literally say like the secret that they've just told me and it's like, and it's like oh my gosh, so many people don't trust me with secrets anymore. And I'm just like, you know what? That's so valid. But it's also quite sad at the end of the day because like, I want to be trusted and they won't trust me because obviously I might just blurt it out.

Jaiden: Yeah. I think people do love you and trust you

Jess: Yeah

Jaiden: but they won't [...]

Jess:Yeah

Jaiden: Just in case.

Jess: Just in case.

Jaiden: Yeah. That a very much very up and down topics.

Jaiden:: Yeah. Also, I, I definitely do a bit of time left. So I will ask you FND.

Jess: Yes, I have FND. Yeah.

Jaiden: Can you explain what that for people who don't know what it is.

Jess: Yeah. Of course. So FND is basically when the neurological things in your brain don't add up together as much. That's the best way to explain it. And they can cause um, absence seizures and body spasms. Um, so there can be times where I can literally just go para paralyzed. Yeah. I have recently been in the hospital for a month because my body wouldn't let me move.

Jaiden: Oh, God.

Jess: Um, and that's also kind of a reason for my Tourette's. Um, and the FND mainly focuses around the seizures and the Tourette's as an umbrella term. So yeah.

Jaiden: Yeah.

Jess: And people also assume that with FND that it has a boatload of different like things. It's not, it's just it's all one thing. Do you know what I mean?

Jaiden: Yeah, is it like a spectrum? Or not really?

Jess: Um. Not really.

Jaiden: It more Tourette's with the spectrum

Jess: Yeah. It's it's like. So Tourette's and FND are two completely different things.

Jaiden: Yeah, yeah

Jess: But the FND can, most of the time or some of the times be linked to the Tourette's. They're two separate things linked into one sometimes

Jaiden: Right, got ya.

Jess: Do you know what I mean? So yeah.

Jaiden: Well, thank you very much.

Jess: No problem.

Jaiden: One last question for you.

Jess: of course  

Jaiden: So for our next guest, what would you ask them. Any question on any topic?

Jess: Um, I would say give us one random animal fact that you can think of

Jaiden: one random animal fact  

Jess: random animal fact.

Jaiden: Do you have any or no?

Jess: Um, no

Jaiden: no

Jess: no, I had I don't have any myself.

Jaiden: I put you on the spot there.

Jess: Yeah. No, I can't think of any.

Jaiden: No. Anyway, um. thank you so much. Thank you everyone for listening to the podcast I hope you have all learnt something today. If you yourself have a story you want to talk about please email us or contact us on our social media platforms... say I have a story. I have this disability I want to talk to about it.

Jess: **Whistle tic**

Jaiden: So, thank you very much. peace out.

 

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Song: God's Warrior - By Your Side [Arcade Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds Free Download/Stream: http://ncs.io/ByYourSide Watch: http://youtu.be/

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