{"id":4224,"date":"2015-02-10T07:30:11","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T12:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/tsparents\/?p=4224"},"modified":"2015-02-10T07:30:11","modified_gmt":"2015-02-10T12:30:11","slug":"52-weeks-of-ts-week-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/tsparents\/52-weeks-of-ts-week-40\/","title":{"rendered":"52 Weeks of TS: Week 40"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: Every Tuesday, noted Tourette Syndrome advocate Troye Evers shares his \u201c52 Weeks of TS\u201d blog journal with the TSParentsOnline community. With just 12 weeks remaining in this series, there’s a chance you missed one more entries from his exciting, revealing journey. You can\u00a0read all of them here<\/strong><\/a>. For more information about Troye, please click on his name or visit his\u00a0website<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

How closely is addiction to OCD? I guess it depends on the type of OCD you have. As I\u2019ve said before, my OCD revolve mostly around germs and organization. With my OCDs I have created little addictions. I\u2019m addicted to cleaning, addicted to the use of hand sanitizer, and a bad addiction I have developed, is a shopping and couponing addiction. I guess there are worse things to be addicted to, but it still has its effects on my life.<\/p>\n

I could spend hours a day, organizing my couponing, and coordinating my next shopping excursion. You might think, what is wrong with shopping, especially if you have coupons? But I think there are times I go overboard. I only buy something if it\u2019s on sale, and I have a coupon. It\u2019s even better if I also receive a bonus store credit.<\/p>\n

This week I went on my little shopping spree, I spent almost $700, saved about $300 on sales, $150 in coupons, and received a store credit of $150 to use on my next purchase. So all together, I spent about $100, but when I got home and looked at all the items, I just purchased and wondered how this tied in with my OCD. I sat there and looked at my stockpile. Do I really have a need for what\u2019s in my stockpile?<\/p>\n

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  1. 11 jars of jelly<\/li>\n
  2. 20 cans of Pringles<\/li>\n
  3. 9 boxes of granola bars<\/li>\n
  4. 10 boxes of dryer sheets<\/li>\n
  5. 14 bottles of laundry detergent<\/li>\n
  6. 5- 12 packs of paper towels<\/li>\n
  7. 16 boxes of tissue<\/li>\n
  8. 21 bottles of hand sanitizer<\/li>\n
  9. 13 tubes of toothpaste<\/li>\n
  10. 8 bottles of mouthwash<\/li>\n
  11. 14 bottles of Nyquil<\/li>\n
  12. 16 sticks of deodorant<\/li>\n
  13. 13 bottles of shampoo<\/li>\n
  14. 10 bottles of conditioner<\/li>\n
  15. 19 bottles of body wash<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This is just the half of it. The list goes on. Is this too much? Is this ridiculous? I think maybe a little.<\/p>\n

    Last week I spoke about my anxiety levels, and how I thought it was time for change. Maybe a change in lifestyle, daily routine, or even how I take care of myself. Well, I did it, I changed many things this week. I had my monthly doctor\u2019s appointment to refill my medication. I sat in the waiting room looking at pamphlets and evaluating my life. How and what could I change?<\/p>\n

    One of the pamphlets in the waiting room was about acupuncture. It\u2019s a terrifying thought, but was this a sign, an answer to my question? I said last week that I was going to look into it, so I did. When I went into the doctor\u2019s office, I told him that I heard acupuncture might help with symptoms of TS, and I was wondering if my insurance would cover it. He said it would if he gave me a referral. Now I\u2019m sitting on a referral and trying to get up the strength to call and make the appointment. I have the referral, and I\u2019ll make the call after the weekend.<\/p>\n

    This week, during my coupon excursion, I found some coupons for vitamins. This was another change I have been talking about for a while. There have been many studies that different vitamins can help with TS symptoms. Vitamin D, a multi-vitamin, and especially fish oil. I have taken all sorts of vitamins in my past, but never looked at the effects from them. That\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do now. I have started taking Vitamin D, fish oil, and a multi vitamin. I have not noticed anything yet, but it has only been a few days. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll have to wait a few weeks before I see or even notice any type of difference.<\/p>\n

    I can\u2019t believe we are almost through this year. Week 40 is already here, and only 12 weeks to go. October is here, a new month and new changes. This week I also brought on one of the biggest changes this year. I brought on change that I hope will reduce some of my stress and my anxiety.<\/p>\n

    I quit my job at the hair salon. I didn\u2019t quit doing hair, just left the negativity and immaturity that surrounds the salon that I was working at. I will be starting at a new salon next week, and I\u2019m rather excited. I have not been excited about going to work in a very long time, and this new salon has a very comforting and relaxing atmosphere. At my old salon, everyone knew I had TS, but I still felt like I had to suppress and hide my tics. My boss made fun of me and mocked me for my tics a few years back. I quickly put him in his place, but still to this day had negative feelings about the incident. The fear and embarrassment still lived inside me.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m just happy to take this new step in my life to a new work setting, somewhere that I might be more comfortable to be myself, and not hide from who I am. I like the thought that I will not have to hide my tics, and maybe even have the chance to educate even more people about the truths of this mysterious syndrome. It\u2019s a tiring life trying to hide and suppress who you are. How can we be honest with someone else if we can\u2019t be honest with ourselves?<\/p>\n

    You hear this phrase all time, but if you really think about it, it\u2019s true. I am making a very conscious effort to be myself, and bring on positive changes in my life. I am going to continue to do this in the upcoming weeks. There are still more changes that I want to make that I think will help with certain symptoms of my TS. If I can calm down my anxiety, maybe it will calm down my tics, and OCD\u2019s, and if I can calm down my tics, maybe it will help with my anxiety. I told myself this was going to be the year for change and that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do.<\/p>\n

    Until next week, \u201cI\u2019ll tic to you later.\u201d<\/p>\n

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