A Twitch streamer who is diagnosed with Tourettes Syndrome has explained how the condition affects her sex life.
YouTuber and streamer Anita, 32, has lived with tics for as long as she can remember. She would embarrass her mum by wolf whistling on the streets as a child, she swore a lot and she would say things she 'didn't mean'.
Hear Anita talk more about her experiences below:
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Tourettes typically develops during childhood and, according to the NHS, can present itself in a variety of physical and vocal tics, including blinking, shrugging, jumping, whistling, coughing, making 'animal sounds', 'saying random words and phrases', and swearing.
It was what was happening to Anita, but doctors didn't spot it.
Instead, she recalled, she was told she was 'probably just attention seeking' and would 'grow out of it'.
Over the years, Anita became aware of Tourettes, but didn't associate the condition with her own behaviour.
"I had such a stereotype in my head that I never thought that could apply to me," she told LADbible TV. "My stereotype of Tourettes Syndrome was that it was only swear words... that it could never be complex. And the things I was doing when I was alone were complex."
Anita noted there were 'certain situations' where her tics didn't happen, including when she can 'focus and fixate on something without distraction'.
She went on to give an insight about how the condition affects her sex life, explaining sex is one of the occasions when she doesn't often display tics.
"A lot of people who have Tourettes tend to report that they have fewer tics or none during sex," Anita explained. However, knowing about this lack of tics can cause problems in its own right.
Anita continued: "The thing about that is, that's because it engages your focus, so it only applies to good sex, which is really f**king brutal. I've never hurt a guy's ego more than suddenly going [pop sound] during an intimate moment."
Her physical tics can also ruin romance, as Anita recalled once having 'punched a dude in the d*ck'. He obviously knew it wasn't intentional, and Anita added that they stayed together for five years after that.
It wasn't until she was 27 that Anita was actually diagnosed with Tourettes, and she said it wasn't until that moment that her 'life started'.
"I got a job, I got an explanation and I got friends, and everything started for me, because the minute and involuntary an offensive action has an explanation, people can connect to you," she explained.
Topics: Health, Twitch, Sex and Relationships
Emily Brown