Do you ever hear someone make a random noise or sound out of nowhere? Or maybe just see someone make a random movement? There’s a high chance that what you just saw was some sort of tic, but… what are tics exactly? 

“Tics are sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly. People who have tics cannot stop their bodies from doing these things. For example, a person might keep blinking over and over again. Or, a person might make a grunting sound unwillingly. Having tics is a little bit like having hiccups. Even though you might not want to hiccup, your body does it anyway. Sometimes people can stop themselves from doing a certain tic for a while, but it’s hard. Eventually, the person has to do said tic,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

( https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/tourette/facts.html ) 

A common disorder revolving around tics would be Tourette Syndrome. Tourette Syndrome forces someone to make involuntary sounds or movements, basically tics. What a lot of people don’t realize is that tics don’t just come from TS ( Tourette Syndrome ). Some tics can be caused by stress, sleep deprivation, and even the well known mental disability, anxiety. Like I’ve said before, tics are more times than not, uncontrollable. 

When it comes to ticing, a person has no control over what they do or say. A common tic would be randomly moving one’s head violently, and some verbal tics even consist of a tongue roll or tongue click. 

This is something society thinks very little of, and when someone does have a condition where they tic they are told “they are faking it” by a lot of people. Many people also get judged and called “the weird kid” because of an issue they can’t control. Put yourself in their shoes for a bit. You’re sitting in class, and out of nowhere, a random noise comes out of your mouth, and you didn’t mean to make it. Now your classmates are staring at you, judging you, and making mean comments about you to their friends. 

Think about a football player who happened to have twisted his ankle. Most of the time, he gets nothing but attention and praise for how awesome he performed, but his condition isn’t permanent. Tics are permanent and are a lot more serious than a broken ankle someone got while playing football. The football player gets praise for basically getting hurt doing something cool, while the person with tics gets bullied and hated for a condition they’ve had since birth or developed and can’t control. 

Let what I’ve said sink in. Bullying people because of their tics is wrong, and it’s a serious thing that happens in society today. It needs to be stopped.